The 23rd Sunday after Pentecost is the third last Sunday of the Church year with assigned readings of 1 Kings 17:8-16; Hebrews 9:24-28 and Mark 12:38-44. The sermon text chosen for this Sunday is Mark 12:43, “So He called His disciples to Him and said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury.’”

While there are many parables that appear to be talking about our stewardship of money (eg., the parable of the talents), the fact is that whatever a parable is talking about is not what it is talking about. That is, if it’s about tending sheep or fishing or use of money, the primary point of the parable is NOT about sheep, fishing or money. Instead each of these parables would be about how the holy Trinity is working within the kingdom of God on earth; that is, the holy Christian Church.

However, this real event of Jesus remarking about the offering of the widow is one of the few places in Scripture that can answer the question as to how much should we give to the Church. First, a few details about the incident. The “treasury” spoken of here is the money collected for both the service of the temple and for the poor. A mite is worth less than a penny and two mites making a quadrans would be about 5/8 of a cent. But how do we understand that such a small offering can be characterized as having put in more than anyone else at that time?

The normal answer is that unlike the rich who might have given a tithe or 10% of their income, this widow put in 100% (”she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”) Notwithstanding the fact that at the end of Leviticus a tithe in regard to cash is actually 30%, it just doesn’t make sense that Jesus here is urging the principle that we give 100% of our income. Rich believers like Abraham certainly did not do that. So how can we understand the compliment from Jesus?

It’s really a Law/Gospel principle. If God ever criticizes someone, it is never for the sin alone–it always includes the unbelief behind that sin. And conversely, if God ever commends someone, it is never for the good work alone–it is always for the faith behind that work. For God does not judge outwardly by the act but inwardly by the motivation of the heart. And it is here that we find the diamond in the rough.

Jesus points out that the rich gave “out of their abundance” which means they first made sure they had sufficient money to take care of themselves and thus gave from the leftovers. In contrast, the widow gave from what she needed. Thus, the rich needed no faith or trust in God because they had sufficiently covered their personal needs first. She gave all of what she needed which demonstrated a trust in the promises of God that He will never leave us nor forsake us and take care of us better than He takes care of the birds in the air and the flowers in the field.

What is the application for our giving? One application is the following. Figure out what you can afford to give to the Church and then just go over that amount so that trust in God’s promises to take care of you is necessary. For some that might mean $10.00 a week; for others it might mean $500.00 a week. What God is looking for is not the amount of money but the faith in His promises which only the believer through the power of the Holy Spirit has.