1 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. 3 So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”
Having spoken of the scribes taking money from widows in the previous section (Lu 20:46, 47), Jesus now turns to the abuse of poor widows by false teachers. They misused the widow’s funds, leaving her destitute. The widow is set in contrast to phony religion.
21:1
And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury,
While sitting in the temple, Jesus observes people depositing money in the 13 trumpet-shaped containers used for collecting donations, that is, into the treasury. Both rich and poor gave to the temple treasury.
21:2
and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.
A widow came and donated two mites, the smallest denomination of Jewish currency. Widows were the most vulnerable in Jewish society. The previous section in chapter 20 warned of scribes who took advantage of widows (Lu 20:45-47).
21:3
So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all;
Jesus offers perspective on genuine giving to the temple: the widow’s gift is greater than all other gifts. Her gift was greater in percentage. It was the sacrificial nature of her giving that made her gift greater than others.
21:4
for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”
Most people gave from their abundance, but the widow gave from her poverty. Jesus’ point in context is a lesson to false teachers who take advantage of vulnerable people. They take their money, leaving them destitute and in poverty.
The argument of this lesson about the widow is not how much we should give to the Lord, but to contrast her with false teachers who abused widows. The widow’s gift to a false system did not honor God; it cost her everything.
PRINCIPLE:
False religion preys on vulnerable people.
APPLICATION:
The pericope in the first four verses is set in the context of Jesus’ condemnation of false teachers. Jesus said nothing about commending the woman’s giving, but only that she gave her all to an apostate religion. In contrast to religion, she gave her all for God. God will pronounce divine judgment on Jerusalem and the temple in Luke 21:5-36. The legalistic works system of Judaism devoured the widow, taking everything she had.
Deceptive religion preys on the desperate and defenseless. This system took the widow’s last cent. Many in evangelicalism are guilty of taking from the weak, sick, and poor with promises of health and wealth. This preying on people is especially true with the prosperity gospel.
