The Widow's Offering

 Hey everybody.

Today we will begin our exegesis of Luke 21 with the story of the offering of the poor widow.  Here is my translation of Luke 21:1-4:

1 Looking up, Jesus saw the wealthy placing their gifts in the temple treasury. 2 Then he saw a poor widow putting in two copper coins. 3 He said, “I tell you, truly, that this widow, although poor, has put in more than everyone else, 4 since all of the others have put into the offering from their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, has given everything she has to live on.

Jesus, still in the temple, sees the wealthy putting their offering into the temple treasury.  At the same time he sees a poor widow who puts in a very small amount, two copper coins.  He comments that she has given more.  We all understand that if you look at dollar amounts, she has not given more, but that is not what Jesus was looking at or talking about.  We know that God looks at the heart.  Jesus, seeing that she had given all that she had to live on, sees her heart of faith.  

For me, this story is reminiscent of the Magnificat, Mary’s song back in Luke 1.  Here are a couple of the things she said then, that would happen, and we can see in this story:

• Verse 48 -  For He has looked upon the lowly state of his servant.   
• Verse 52 - And He has lifted up the humble. 
• Verse 53 - Those who are hungry, He has filled with good things,

The poor, humble widow is lifted up.  In spite of the size of their gifts, the wealthy are not.  Jesus is not criticizing the gifts of the wealthy.  He is noting, though, that they gave out of their abundance and she gave out her poverty.  

The widow's offering seems insignificant.  What would the temple do with two pennies? However, it has to be noted that it was insignificant to  God.  Jesus not only notices it, but mentions it to his disciples and it was recorded so that generations later we can know of her sacrifice. 

Here are a couple of comparison to the think about. Darrell Bock makes the comparison of the experts of the law mentioned in Luke 20:47, who make a big show of their religiosity, while they cheat widows and with this widow, whom Jesus lifts up for her faith and generosity. (Bock, 1644.)  This comparison shows us that sometimes those who appear to be blessed by God, are not, and those who appear to not be blessed, are blessed. 

Robert Stein contrasts this widow with the rich man who built bigger barns, but then died in Luke 12.  The widow, giving all she had to live on, was rich toward God, while the rich man was only rich toward himself.   (Stein, 509.) We might consider the old woman to be foolish, as she gave everything that she had to live on, but it was the rich man ,who kept his wealth that Jesus referred to as a fool.  

     Darrell Bock, Luke, Volume 2: 9:51-24:53, Grand Ra[ids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 1996. 

      Robert Stein, The New American Commentary: Luke, Nashville, TN, B & H Publishing Group, 1992.