March 20, 2022
March Missions Madness
Luke 21:1-4, Mark 12:41–44
“I can’t give much, so why give at all?”
INTRO: Last May, Robin and I flew with my Mom to Florida for my niece’s high school graduation. While we were there, Robin and I borrowed a car from my sister, and took off for a week. We wound up in the outskirts of Miami, and we did a lot of enjoyable things.
One thing that I had always wanted to do was to drive to Key West, on a beautiful day, with a beautiful woman, in a convertible with the top down. Well, 2 out of 4 isn’t so bad. I drove to Key West with a beautiful woman… the weather, not so great… the convertible was a Mini Van. Key West was an amazing TOURIST TRAP! But as we were getting ready to leave, something caught my eye. It was a small, brass cannon. It had obviously been at the bottom of the ocean for a long time, but enough was left that it obviously was a cannon. Needless to say, we went into the shop. The name of the place was “SHIPWRECK TREASURES OF THE KEYS.” Not your average souvenir shop. We looked at beautiful gold and silver coins, and even got brave enough to look at the price tags. OUCH!!
Before we walked out, the lady working there pointed out some very small coins. They had been set in silver setting and made into necklaces. They were Lepta. The same kind of copper coin as what the widow lady put in the temple treasury. These were priced a bit differently from the Spanish treasure coins. If you want to see what this coin looks like, Robin is wearing her necklace today.
Why bring this up? What does Robin’s necklace have to do with March Missions Madness?
Today, we’ll be talking about the widow lady and her HUGE gift of two, very small, copper coins.
Luke 21:1–4
1 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.
2 And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins.
3 And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them;
4 for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”
Mark writes about this same moment and adds a few details that Luke didn’t include.
Mark 12:41–44
And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.
42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.
43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury;
44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”
Why would such a small moment in Jesus’ Ministry be recorded in two of the Gospels?
(I) The gifts in the temple teach us something about giving.
The biggest gift is not the one with the most numbers in front of the decimal point.
a. “many rich people were putting in large sums.
i. I’m sure the rich people who were putting in large amounts were very proud of themselves.
1. “They gave out of their surplus.”
a. Jesus did not say there was anything wrong with these people’s giving.
b. There is a place for this kind of giving… in fact it is something God expects.
2 Corinthians 9:5–8 So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren that they would go on ahead to you and arrange beforehand your previously promised bountiful gift, so that the same would be ready as a bountiful gift and not affected by covetousness. Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;
c. Thankfully, most of us are able to “give out of our surplus.
i. God has blessed us with more than we need!
1. It is important to show God our gratitude for His blessings.
d. Planned giving is the way the Corinthian church was instructed to give.
e. They were promised that God would help them to be able to give.
i. Sowing & reaping…. God provides.
f. We are to give cheerfully.
i. If you give because “it’s expected” or you feel like you are being forced, don’t give.
ii. Even when we give sacrificially, it should come from the heart, it should be joyful!
1. Giving that we don’t want to give does not please God!
g. Planning our giving keeps us from coveting what we give.
i. “I want it back!” NOPE!
1. It’s easier to be generous when we plan to be generous!
b. The widow lady put in two copper coins.
i. This was NOT “out of her surplus.” It was all she had!
ii. According to the reading I did, the worth of those two coins amounted to a total of about 12 minutes of a day’s work. If you are working 10 hour days at 13.00 an hour, these two coins were worth about $2.60
1. They aren’t going to renovate a section of the temple with her gift….. it’s little…
a. I suspect that the widow lady put her two coins in the treasury when she thought no one was looking.
b. “She gave all she had to live on.”
c. She was essentially saying “God, I’m trusting you to come through for me!”
(II) The gifts in the temple teach us something about God.
a. God doesn’t see our giving the way we do.
i. God does not need anything we have.
1. The dollar amount doesn’t impress God.
2. What that gift “took out of you” is what God is looking at! Was it a sacrifice to give it?
a. A sacrifice of time?
b. A sacrifice of not doing something that I really wanted to do?
c. A sacrifice of “my stuff?”
d. A sacrifice of my “disposable income?”
ii. I have this mental picture of Jesus, leaning against a pillar, watching the rich folks putting in their money…. YAWN! Then, he spots this poor widow lady…. He begins to get excited… She puts in her two little coins and slinks away... Jesus is practically jumping up and down! He “calls out to His disciples.” “Guys! Guys! Gather around! I just saw something awesome!” Did you see that widow lady? What she just did was amazing!”
Years ago, Valentine’s day rolled around. I was broke! REALLY broke! Surprise! I had always bought Robin 3 red roses. Sometimes, blooms, a couple of times, red rose bushes. (the gift that keeps on giving) That year, I didn’t even have money for 3 plastic roses from the dollar store. So I printed out a drawing of 3 roses onto card stock, carefully colored them and cut them out. I left tabs so I could glue them to another piece of card stock so they stood out from it. Robin kept that for a long time. Price? $0.00 Effort? A lot!
Appreciated? MUCH!
(III) The gifts in the temple should teach us something about ourselves.
a. How much we give is not nearly important as how we give it!
i. Our gifts are important to God, not because He needs them, but because they are good for us!
1. Sowing and reaping.
ii. Our attitude is very important!
1. If we don’t give for the right reasons, we might as well have kept it!
2. A gift, large or small, can be pleasing to God when we have the right heart.
Conclusion: How do I give? Why do I give? No one else can answer these questions for you.
Do I give God my money?
Do I give God my time?
Do I give God my resources?
Do I trust God to take care of my needs?
