Jesus is in the last week of his life, teaching in the temple every day. He has passed every test and avoided every trap laid out by the Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees. Following this Jesus has explicitly called out the scribes by name saying they devour the houses of widows. “Scribes held significant influence over legal matters and could misuse this power by convincing widows to bequeath property to the Temple or for their own gain. Their services often carried hidden costs, which could result in the financial ruin of vulnerable individuals who depended on their legal guidance.” (Jeremias, Joachim. Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus. 1969) This is juxtaposed against his observation of a widow in the temple in todays reading.
1 He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury;
Jesus sits opposite the treasury, the location for monetary collection and observed those contributing to it, he specifically observes the rich people putting in their gifts.
“The Treasury was located in the Court of Women, where thirteen trumpet-shaped chests were set up to receive contributions. These chests were designated for different purposes: some were for Temple upkeep, others for sacrifices, and still others for freewill offerings.” (Edersheim, Alfred. The Temple: Its Ministry and Services). The Greek word used for “looked up” is anablepō, it has two meanings, one is to look up and the other to recover sight. It carries a purposeful sense of looking, not a casual one. He is not passively watching what is going on, he is going to use this as a teaching opportunity.
2 and he saw a poor widow put in two copper coins.
He then sees a poor widow put in two copper coins. The copper coins the widow put into the treasury is called a lepton. The lepton was a small, thin copper coin, and its value was minuscule compared to other coins in circulation, such as the silver denarius. Two lepta were worth approximately one-sixteenth of a denarius, which was a day’s wage for a labourer. Luke highlights that she is a “poor widow”. A widow in this society was already at the bottom of the societal ladder, without male representation she was at the whims of the world and all its chaos. This is why God has a particular love for Widows and throughout the old testament because of their vulnerability, this same particular love is expressed toward orphans for the same reason. Examples of the Mosaic law’s perspective on widows can be found in Exodus 22:22 where it says “You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.” and Deuteronomy 27:19 where it reads “Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.” .
3 And he said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them;
Jesus uses this societal contrast as a teaching moment for those around him, likely including his apostles but also others in the court. It is important to point out that this court where the gifts were offered was open to lots of people including women meaning it was very busy, which is why Jesus used these locations to teach, he could get a lot of peoples attention at one time. He begins his teaching with “truly” this always proceeds significant teachings by Jesus and is a sign for his listeners to pay attention. He states that the poor widows has put in more than all the rich people they have observed. The phrase πλεῖον πάντων (more than all) can grammatically be understood as “more than all of them together” or “more than each of them individually,” depending on the context. Some scholars suggest the collective interpretation (“all of them combined”) because the widow’s offering represents a profound act of self-sacrifice that outweighs even the sum of the others’ contributions in its spiritual value.
4 for they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all the living that she had.”
In addition to mandatory contributions, there were various voluntary offerings, such as freewill offerings Deuteronomy 16:10. The widow’s freewill offering of two lepta is more in value to God than the large total numerical value of those offering percentages out of abundance because the Widows offering put in “all the living that she had”. She sacrificed entirely, whereas the rich sacrificed nothing. Jesus uses the act of the widow to teach people God’s perception of value coming from sacrifice, a contrite heart not the blood of goats or chests of gold.
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