SPEAKER_00: Good morning.
SPEAKER_00: If you are, if you would be willing, join me in the Gospel of Mark this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Open up your Bibles, turn it on, open it up however you brought it with you and join me once again.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna finish Mark chapter 12 today.
SPEAKER_00: Mark chapter 12.
SPEAKER_00: If you don't have a Bible, we're gonna be on page 910 and 911 in that Pew Bible right in front of you.
SPEAKER_00: That's our gift to you if you don't own a Bible.
SPEAKER_00: Mark chapter 12.
SPEAKER_00: This morning we're gonna pick up all the way down in verse 38 in just a minute.
SPEAKER_00: Are any of you guys people watchers?
SPEAKER_00: Do you guys like to watch people?
SPEAKER_00: I am by nature an introvert, and so I tend to just sit in rooms and observe before I get involved in anything.
SPEAKER_00: And so I enjoy watching people no matter what situation I'm in.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you observe people if you go to a restaurant, you are checking people out, you go to a mall, you go to a ball game, you go to Disney World, wherever you may be, you're like me, you may sit back and just observe people.
SPEAKER_00: You may uh realize that that it's interesting to watch people.
SPEAKER_00: Because people, I'm gonna say they're weird.
SPEAKER_00: People are weird.
SPEAKER_00: We're different, right?
SPEAKER_00: Of course, they're they're weird if they're not like me.
SPEAKER_00: That's what that's the definition of weird.
SPEAKER_00: If you're not like me, you're you're weird.
SPEAKER_00: And so you learn a lot about people just by sitting back and observing, by watching them, see how they act and see how they do different things.
SPEAKER_00: Darlene and I were at uh the beach a couple weekends ago.
SPEAKER_00: Um, wow.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, just wow.
SPEAKER_00: That I I people watching is interesting.
SPEAKER_00: As we come to the end of Mark chapter 12, Jesus has been watching some people.
SPEAKER_00: He's been observing their behaviors.
SPEAKER_00: Uh we've been in this chapter for several weeks now, and that's because it's a long day represented.
SPEAKER_00: This is Tuesday of Jesus' final week, what we sometimes refer to as the Passion Week.
SPEAKER_00: It is on Friday that he will be crucified.
SPEAKER_00: And he's come into Jerusalem on Sunday, he cleansed the temple on Monday, and then he went back to the temple on Tuesday.
SPEAKER_00: And he's been in the temple teaching and helping people to understand who he was.
SPEAKER_00: And during that day, there have been wave after wave of religious leaders who've come up to him to question him, to try to trick him, to trap him into doing something silly or even stupid.
SPEAKER_00: They've questioned him about his authority, and they've questioned him about paying taxes to Caesar.
SPEAKER_00: They questioned him about the resurrection, they questioned him about what the greatest commandment of all was.
SPEAKER_00: Just wave after wave of people have come up to Jesus, religious leaders, asking him questions, and then he turned the table and asked them a question that they could not respond to.
SPEAKER_00: And as Mark concludes his observations of that Tuesday, he does so by showing us that Jesus, in his observation of those in that temple today, found a great contrast.
SPEAKER_00: There was a contrast between the religious leaders of the day who publicly practiced their religion in order to impress people.
SPEAKER_00: And there was a poor widow who was there practicing her religion, not to impress people, but simply to please God.
SPEAKER_00: And this is a contrast that Jesus is making in the end of this chapter.
SPEAKER_00: There are those who would put on pretenses and pretend to be in right relationship with God through outward religious ritual, and then there are others who put on no pretense whatsoever.
SPEAKER_00: They just simply want to live a life that is honoring and pleasing to God.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus tells us to beware of one of them, not to act like one, and to be aware of the other one to follow that example.
SPEAKER_00: This is the contrast that we see as we turn to Mark chapter 12, verses 38 through 44.
SPEAKER_00: And I know you just sat down, but if you were willing, we stand in honor of God's word.
SPEAKER_00: Would you join me in standing as we read together from God's inerrant word?
SPEAKER_00: In his teaching, Jesus was saying, Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes and like respectful greetings in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows' houses and for appearance's sake offer long prayers.
SPEAKER_00: These will receive greater condemnation.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.
SPEAKER_00: 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, for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all that she owned, all that she had to live on.
SPEAKER_00: Heavenly Father, help us as we stand here with your word open before us to understand what it is that you're trying to teach us through your inspired word.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to come with open minds and open hearts, open hands, to learn what it is that you expect.
SPEAKER_00: Not outward ritual that draws attention to ourselves, but inward transformation that desires to please you.
SPEAKER_00: Father, let us be like this poor widow and not like the religious leaders.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to seek your pleasure for your honor and your glory, and not the pleasing of men for our own honor and our own glory.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, thank you for your word.
SPEAKER_00: Change our lives through it, we pray in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
SPEAKER_00: Just three things I want us to focus on today.
SPEAKER_00: What Jesus observed, what Jesus ordered, and what we should do with it.
SPEAKER_00: What Jesus observed as he was in the temple on that Tuesday, what Jesus ordered his disciples to do, and what should we conclude about it as modern followers of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus had been observing things within the temple that entire day.
SPEAKER_00: He had come into the temple on Sunday and observed all that was going on, and then he went back and rested and came back on Monday morning and he cleansed the temple.
SPEAKER_00: He had driven out the money changers and those who were making a business out of his father's house.
SPEAKER_00: He drove them out.
SPEAKER_00: He observed there was an apostate religion going on and he got them out, but he came back on Tuesday and they were right back doing what they had been doing on Monday.
SPEAKER_00: He watched in the court of the Gentiles where most of the people would gather.
SPEAKER_00: It was a hub of activity, and he saw people there who were genuinely there to worship God, coming to the temple to offer sacrifices, coming to temple to offer offerings and prayers.
SPEAKER_00: There were genuine people there trying to worship the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: There were those that were God-fearing Gentiles, who weren't even Jewish, who had heard about the God of Israel and heard about all of his miracles' powers, and they had come there to meet the God of Israel.
SPEAKER_00: But as they came into that temple, the place where they were supposed to find those who would mediate between God and man, what they found were booths where they had to take their animals that were to be sacrificed to be inspected, to see if they met the standard by which they could be allowed to be sacrificed, and they get kept getting turned away.
SPEAKER_00: And they said, Well, we can't accept your off your animal, but there's a booth right over there that will sell you one that is acceptable.
SPEAKER_00: And they had to go buy one from one of their lenders.
SPEAKER_00: But you couldn't just use your money to buy that.
SPEAKER_00: You had to go and get temple currency.
SPEAKER_00: You had to exchange your money for the temple currency at a much higher interest rate.
SPEAKER_00: And there was a booth set up for that.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is observing all of these things taking place in his father's house, a place that was supposed to be a place of prayer, a place that was supposed to be a place where people came to get to know God.
SPEAKER_00: They were coming and people weren't getting closer to God.
SPEAKER_00: They were being pushed further and further and further away.
SPEAKER_00: And as Jesus is there observing, he's observing the religious leaders of the day.
SPEAKER_00: That wasn't hard for him because all day long they had come to him.
SPEAKER_00: Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, chief priests, all of the religious leaders from the Sadducees, excuse me, from the Sanhedrin, the leading seven, the rulers, they all came to him.
SPEAKER_00: They hated him.
SPEAKER_00: They wanted to do away with him.
SPEAKER_00: And so they wanted to trick him into saying something that would cause his followers to stop following him or to cause the Romans to pay attention to him.
SPEAKER_00: And so they kept asking him questions.
SPEAKER_00: And all the while Jesus is just observing these people.
SPEAKER_00: These people who were supposed to be the religious leaders of the kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: These were the ones that everybody was supposed to look up to, and for the most part, the community did.
SPEAKER_00: These were the ones that everybody looked to and said, those religious leaders, they are the most pious.
SPEAKER_00: They are the most holy.
SPEAKER_00: We should follow their example.
SPEAKER_00: These are the ones who should have been leading well.
SPEAKER_00: They have been called to be under-shepherds.
SPEAKER_00: They were there to lead the flock, to feed the flock, and to intercede for the flock.
SPEAKER_00: They were to lead them into a relationship with God.
SPEAKER_00: They were to feed them the word of God so that they might grow and they were to intercede when wolves might come and try to attack them and pull them away.
SPEAKER_00: This is what these leaders should have been, but that's not what Jesus observed about them.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said, That's what you're supposed to be, but that's not what I've recognized.
SPEAKER_00: And he tells his disciples, beware of these guys.
SPEAKER_00: Pay attention to these guys.
SPEAKER_00: Don't follow their example, don't follow their lead, don't be like them.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what he observed about him.
SPEAKER_00: Mark records for us.
SPEAKER_00: He says, first of all, they wear these long robes.
SPEAKER_00: Now it wasn't uncommon to wear robes in that day.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, that was the normal fashion is to wear robes, but they wore special robes.
SPEAKER_00: Typically, people would just wear common everyday robes that were dyed in some kind of dye and some kind of color, but most of these religious leaders would walk around in these bright white robes that stood out and the sun would shine off of them.
SPEAKER_00: And on the end of their robes, on the hem of their robes, they had tassels that would hang down there.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this was prescribed by God to tell the priests, the rabbis, to remember to follow and obey the word of God and to remain holy.
SPEAKER_00: God had told them, wear these tassels to remind you of these things.
SPEAKER_00: The problem was the more pious these guys got, the bigger, more ornate, and more tassels they wore.
SPEAKER_00: Their tassels were all over the place.
SPEAKER_00: They're dragging the ground, they're big, they're massive.
SPEAKER_00: Everybody look at my tassels.
SPEAKER_00: Everybody look at my white robe.
SPEAKER_00: Look how holy I am.
SPEAKER_00: Look how pious I am.
SPEAKER_00: Look how righteous I am.
SPEAKER_00: It's not hard to imagine these guys strutting around the temple like a peacock with his feathers flowing out, going, look at me.
SPEAKER_00: You know, Christ followers, we're not supposed to draw attention to ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: We're supposed to point Jesus, point people to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We're supposed to take the glory and reflect it back on him.
SPEAKER_00: And religious leaders certainly are not supposed to make make names for themselves.
SPEAKER_00: They're not supposed to strut around in their fancy coats and in their in their expensive shoes and say, look how, look how holy I am.
SPEAKER_00: They wore long robes.
SPEAKER_00: He says they also expected greetings of respect.
SPEAKER_00: When one of these 70 would walk around, when one of these religious leaders would walk around the temple or they would walk by a restaurant, they were expected to be acknowledged.
SPEAKER_00: And you would never acknowledge them with a common name.
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't John, it wasn't even Rabbi John, it wasn't even Priest John.
SPEAKER_00: It was supposed to be something like a most exalted one, most excellent one, most great one.
SPEAKER_00: Your excellence, the one with the most knowledge.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, most knowledgeable one.
SPEAKER_00: Good to see you today, sir.
SPEAKER_00: I've been trying to get Darlene to call me most knowledgeable one for about 30 years.
SPEAKER_00: It hasn't worked yet.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not really sure why, but I'm gonna keep trying.
SPEAKER_00: They loved titles.
SPEAKER_00: They loved the respect that they got when somebody acknowledged you're an important person.
SPEAKER_00: You're an educated person, you're a religious person.
SPEAKER_00: Man, we can get hung up on titles.
SPEAKER_00: I got a doctor in this and a doctorate in that.
SPEAKER_00: I got these letters behind my name.
SPEAKER_00: I'm this and I'm that and I'm this.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said, Here, notice what these people are doing.
SPEAKER_00: They're strutting around in their fancy clothes with fancy titles.
SPEAKER_00: And he says they love the chief seats in the synagogues and the and the places of honor at banquets.
SPEAKER_00: When these men would walk into a synagogue, a local gathering of people in worship of God, there was a setup similar to what we have here, an open area where people would sit, and then there would be a platform where they would roll out the scroll to read, and then there would be a section of seats, much like our choir loft, where the scribes and the Pharisees would sit.
SPEAKER_00: We were recently in Sardis in Turkey, a group of us, and we went to a synagogue that has been there.
SPEAKER_00: Do we have those pictures, guys?
SPEAKER_00: Can I show you that?
SPEAKER_00: This is the seat for the religious leaders.
SPEAKER_00: Now, let me show you perspective.
SPEAKER_00: Show the next one.
SPEAKER_00: The picture on the right is from the back of the synagogue looking forward to the table where the scroll would be unrolled, where the person who is reading the text for the day they would read there.
SPEAKER_00: The scribes didn't come and sit in this section.
SPEAKER_00: Go back to the first slide.
SPEAKER_00: This is where the scribes sat.
SPEAKER_00: Not so that they could see the people, but so that the people could see them.
SPEAKER_00: So that they could look at them and go, oh, look how holy those guys are.
SPEAKER_00: Look how awesome those guys are.
SPEAKER_00: When they went to a banquet, have you ever been to a banquet and you get a number and you have to go check the seating chart to see what table you're at?
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm at table 67.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, great.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, good.
SPEAKER_00: These guys never checked the seating chart because they always knew they were going to table number one down front center.
SPEAKER_00: They expected to be there.
SPEAKER_00: They were important people.
SPEAKER_00: They expected to people notice them walking around in their white robes with their tassels.
SPEAKER_00: They expected the greetings, they expected the seats of honor.
SPEAKER_00: And it says they devoured widows' houses.
SPEAKER_00: Now, the widows did not live in gingerbread houses.
SPEAKER_00: They weren't literally eating their houses.
SPEAKER_00: What they were doing was taking advantage of widows.
SPEAKER_00: As a rabbi, you weren't allowed to make your living off of being a rabbi.
SPEAKER_00: You had to have a side job.
SPEAKER_00: Or you had to have donors contribute to you so that you didn't have to work.
SPEAKER_00: And so often these rabbis would go and they would seek out donors to provide for them, and they would go to these widows.
SPEAKER_00: And just like a charlatan TV preacher does even today, they would say, I'm doing the work of God, and if you will give me everything that you've got, God will bless you with it.
SPEAKER_00: And they would take advantage of these widows who did not have anybody there to protect them.
SPEAKER_00: They would take advantage of their gullibility, they would take advantage of their openness and their desire to serve God, and they would take all the women's money and they would live an extravagant lifestyle while these widows were in poverty.
SPEAKER_00: Here are the men who are supposed to be the shepherds.
SPEAKER_00: These are the ones who are supposed to be protecting the sheep.
SPEAKER_00: And instead, they're taking advantage of the sheep.
SPEAKER_00: This is what Jesus observes.
SPEAKER_00: He says, here's what they're doing.
SPEAKER_00: They're wearing long robes, they like the respect, they like the seats, they like to devour widows' houses, and oh, by the way, and then they say these long, eloquent prayers.
SPEAKER_00: These long, eloquent prayers.
SPEAKER_00: But these long, eloquent prayers, they stand on the street corner and they they they just go on and on and on.
SPEAKER_00: But they're not talking to God.
SPEAKER_00: They're not trying to get God's attention, they're trying to impress everybody.
SPEAKER_00: Look at all the fancy theological words I know.
SPEAKER_00: I know all the vs and the th's and all the ologies.
SPEAKER_00: I know all of them.
SPEAKER_00: And I and I spew them out, and every now and then they're peeking to see.
SPEAKER_00: Is anybody paying attention?
SPEAKER_00: To just how smart I am and just how holy I am, and just how righteous I am.
SPEAKER_00: These are ones who had pride.
SPEAKER_00: These are ones who were pretentious.
SPEAKER_00: These are ones who craved the recognition of people over the pleasing of God and who trafficked in a false religion of work.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus observed them.
SPEAKER_00: That's all he did.
SPEAKER_00: He's just been observing them.
SPEAKER_00: And then it tells us that he moved in the temple from the court of the Gentiles to the court of women.
SPEAKER_00: And there he and his disciples found a nice, comfortable place to kind of have a seat.
SPEAKER_00: He'd been up for a long time.
SPEAKER_00: He'd been debating these guys off and on all morning.
SPEAKER_00: He says he found a nice seat across from the treasury.
SPEAKER_00: And the treasury was an area in the court of women where they would collect offerings.
SPEAKER_00: And in the treasury, there were 13 offering boxes.
SPEAKER_00: And each one of those boxes, you were able to go up, and much like we have offering boxes in our sanctuary, you could just go and place your tithes in there, you could place your offerings in there.
SPEAKER_00: Some of them were for certain things.
SPEAKER_00: If you wanted your tithe to go to this or that, you could put it in there.
SPEAKER_00: But they weren't just little boxes like these.
SPEAKER_00: These were big receptacles, and they they they they funneled outward in the almost like the like a trumpet.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, they were called the trumpets because they look like 13 trumpets standing on end.
SPEAKER_00: And and you would just simply walk up and you would drop your offering in one of the trumpets.
SPEAKER_00: And so Jesus and his disciples are just sitting there, and Jesus' people watching.
SPEAKER_00: He's just observing people come in the temple, come out, go along doing their business, taking care of business in the temple, and he watched as they gave.
SPEAKER_00: And Mark notes several things that he noted.
SPEAKER_00: He said, first of all, he saw many people were giving.
SPEAKER_00: They would just come in and they would offer their offerings.
SPEAKER_00: They would go to the receptacle, the trumpet, drop their offering in, maybe say a prayer, and off they would go.
SPEAKER_00: And then he noted this.
SPEAKER_00: He says, he noted many rich people were giving large sums of money.
SPEAKER_00: Now Jesus is just observing.
SPEAKER_00: He's just sitting over on the side, watching all this go on.
SPEAKER_00: He's seeing many people come in.
SPEAKER_00: How does Jesus know they're rich and how does he know they're giving lots of money?
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'll give you two reasons.
SPEAKER_00: Number one, he's omniscient.
SPEAKER_00: He knows all things, right?
SPEAKER_00: He was God in the flesh, both God and man, so he knew because he was omniscient, he knows all things.
SPEAKER_00: He knew that, but he also had some clues to it.
SPEAKER_00: Because when they gave, they didn't give folding money like we did.
SPEAKER_00: They didn't have checks that they would write, they didn't have folding.
SPEAKER_00: All their money was coinage.
SPEAKER_00: And when you would drop your money into one of those receptacles, it would clang around and bang around until it got down to the bottom and then it would clunk at the bottom.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you only dropped in one or two little coins, it's not going to make much of a racket.
SPEAKER_00: But if you give a large sum of money, especially if you drop it from a height where it's going to make a large amount of money, a large amount of noise.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus is watching these people come in and he's giving, and they're giving lots of money.
SPEAKER_00: Now, Jesus isn't condemning them for giving money.
SPEAKER_00: Nor is he condemning wealthy people for giving Giving large sums of money.
SPEAKER_00: There's nothing in Scripture that says it's sinful to have wealth.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible does not say that the root of all sin is money.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't say that.
SPEAKER_00: What does it say?
SPEAKER_00: The love of money.
SPEAKER_00: It's not wrong to have wealth, nor is it wrong to give your wealth back to God for the use in his kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: He's not making that point whatsoever.
SPEAKER_00: He's just observing.
SPEAKER_00: There's lots of people.
SPEAKER_00: Some of them are very wealthy, and some of them have given a lot of money.
SPEAKER_00: But then he noted somebody else.
SPEAKER_00: He says there was a poor widow who came in.
SPEAKER_00: And this poor widow went in and she dropped two small coins into the receptacle.
SPEAKER_00: These two small coins were the smallest denomination in circulation at the time.
SPEAKER_00: They were called lepta.
SPEAKER_00: Together they would amount to one sixteenth of a denarius.
SPEAKER_00: A denarius is one day's wage.
SPEAKER_00: This woman dropped in, we would say she dropped in her two cents.
SPEAKER_00: It amounted to a penny or less.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is just observing her.
SPEAKER_00: Hear me.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is not comparing the amount this woman gave with the amount that somebody else gave.
SPEAKER_00: It was about the way she worshiped and the way they hypocritically walked around.
SPEAKER_00: And so he is observed, these religious leaders, who should be leading other people to God, who should be serving him with all of their lives, walking around in pretense, walking around in robes with fancy names and special places and devouring people instead of helping people.
SPEAKER_00: And he says, these are the people everybody looks up to and says, that's who I should emulate, that's who I should follow.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus says, Hold up.
SPEAKER_00: There's a woman here that nobody notices.
SPEAKER_00: There's a poor widow here that nobody pays any attention to.
SPEAKER_00: She could have come and gone and nobody would have noticed her all day.
SPEAKER_00: Except for Jesus did.
SPEAKER_00: And his comparison isn't what she gave versus somebody else gave.
SPEAKER_00: It's how she was living versus how they were living.
SPEAKER_00: And so here is Jesus' order.
SPEAKER_00: What he tells his disciples to do.
SPEAKER_00: I like how Alistair Begg just simply outlines this.
SPEAKER_00: He just simply, really, simply says, beware the scribes, be aware of the widow.
SPEAKER_00: Beware of the scribes.
SPEAKER_00: That means pay attention, be afraid.
SPEAKER_00: Don't emulate them.
SPEAKER_00: Don't follow them.
SPEAKER_00: Don't act like them.
SPEAKER_00: You should be warned.
SPEAKER_00: I'm warning you, don't be like them.
SPEAKER_00: These are the people that everybody looked up to.
SPEAKER_00: These are the most admired men in religion.
SPEAKER_00: The most admired men in Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is saying, don't act like them.
SPEAKER_00: Don't follow them.
SPEAKER_00: Don't emulate them.
SPEAKER_00: Why not?
SPEAKER_00: Because verse 40 he says, because they're going to face a greater condemnation.
SPEAKER_00: They're going to face a greater condemnation.
SPEAKER_00: Because they've had the truth.
SPEAKER_00: It's been clearly revealed to them, and they've rejected truth.
SPEAKER_00: Because they are the ones who the word of God has been delivered to, and they've chosen the world over the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: They've been invited into the kingdom and they've rejected the kingdom of God for the kingdom that they've built.
SPEAKER_00: There will be a greater condemnation for those who have received the word and rejected the word, but even more, there will be a greater condemnation for those who hold themselves up as religious people who are just putting on a show.
SPEAKER_00: For teachers who lead people further away from God, not closer to Him.
SPEAKER_00: There will be a greater condemnation for those who claim to be religious leaders who do it just for the accolades of men.
SPEAKER_00: For the prestige, for the position.
SPEAKER_00: I think Scripture teaches that.
SPEAKER_00: And I believe there are levels of condemnation in hell.
SPEAKER_00: And he says, don't be like these guys who play games with religion and on the outside are playing games, but on the inside there is no transformation.
SPEAKER_00: There is a greater condemnation for them.
SPEAKER_00: Because in doing so, you may lead people not towards Christ, but away from him.
SPEAKER_00: Don't act like them.
SPEAKER_00: These shepherds who selfishly take instead of selflessly provide.
SPEAKER_00: They were there to lead, they were there to feed, they were there to intercede, and instead, instead of humble sacrifice, theirs was there was prideful domination.
SPEAKER_00: It says, don't be like them.
SPEAKER_00: Don't be like them.
SPEAKER_00: This condemnation, by the way, is not to people in the society that most people would have pointed to and said, those are the sinners.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is not talking about people in the society that said, well, everybody says they're sinners.
SPEAKER_00: The prostitutes, the adulterers, the liars.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus isn't pointing this condemnation at them.
SPEAKER_00: Who is he pointing this condemnation at?
SPEAKER_00: The people in society that society would point at and say, they're the most religious people.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because of something that had changed on the inside?
SPEAKER_00: No, just because of their outward action.
SPEAKER_00: Because of the game that they were playing.
SPEAKER_00: He says, beware of them, but be aware of this widow.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus called his disciples together and he says, Guys, I want you to pay attention to something.
SPEAKER_00: You see that widow over there?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we see her.
SPEAKER_00: She has put more in the offering today than everybody else combined.
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine being one of his disciples saying, Jesus, you've been in the sun a little long today?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, what are you talking about?
SPEAKER_00: She barely put any, what she put in isn't going to make any difference at all.
SPEAKER_00: She put in two small copper coins.
SPEAKER_00: It barely amounts to a penny.
SPEAKER_00: What are you talking about?
SPEAKER_00: She put in more than anybody else.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't make sense.
SPEAKER_00: Yet Jesus' accounting is different than our accounting.
SPEAKER_00: How Jesus views us is different than how we even view ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: And while Jesus looked at the religious leaders and he was not pleased with what he saw, he watched this one poor widow come in and offer one act of worship in her offering, and he was greatly pleased with her.
SPEAKER_00: And again, I don't think the main point is the amount that she gave versus what somebody else gave.
SPEAKER_00: It was her faith.
SPEAKER_00: It was her genuine trust.
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't an outward showing.
SPEAKER_00: It was just an inward devotion.
SPEAKER_00: She gave more than the rest.
SPEAKER_00: How could that be?
SPEAKER_00: How could she give more than everybody else?
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus explains.
SPEAKER_00: All those people that were putting in before, they gave out of their wealth.
SPEAKER_00: They gave out of their abundance.
SPEAKER_00: What they gave, they're never gonna miss it.
SPEAKER_00: They're never gonna feel it.
SPEAKER_00: It's not gonna impact their lives one bit the amount of money they dropped in that pot today.
SPEAKER_00: They gave a tip to God.
SPEAKER_00: But this woman, she gave everything she had.
SPEAKER_00: When she gave those two small coins, it may not amount to much to anybody, but that was all she had.
SPEAKER_00: She didn't give out of her abundance, she didn't give out of her overflow, she gave out of trust, she gave out of faith, she gave out of worship.
SPEAKER_00: They gave, some of them, not all of them.
SPEAKER_00: There were those that came and gave, and they were trying to draw attention to what they gave.
SPEAKER_00: There were others who genuinely came, and I don't think they were trying to draw attention to themselves.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus doesn't make that point and say everybody who gave was trying to draw attention to themselves, but some came and gave in order to say, look how wonderful I am and how much money I gave to the temple today.
SPEAKER_00: She didn't want anybody to see her.
SPEAKER_00: I don't think she made a show of it.
SPEAKER_00: I think she quietly walked in, probably even embarrassed over the amount of money that she could put into the plate, thinking it it doesn't amount to anything.
SPEAKER_00: If everybody saw this, they might laugh at the amount of money I can put in here.
SPEAKER_00: She doesn't want anybody to pay attention to her.
SPEAKER_00: For her, it's not an act of show, it's an act of worship.
SPEAKER_00: I can't blow by this without just quickly, and this isn't the point of the message, but but principles of faithful giving.
SPEAKER_00: When God calls us, he calls us to give our lives.
SPEAKER_00: When he calls us, he commands us to give.
SPEAKER_00: And I think there are some principles that we can draw on.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't long, it's just a side note in the message, but I can't go by this without stopping and seeing this woman and seeing that in her giving it was just an act of obedience.
SPEAKER_00: God commanded her to do it.
SPEAKER_00: And even if she didn't understand how it was all gonna work, much like the widow at Zarephath who helped the prophet, and her jar of flour never ran out, she was just obedient.
SPEAKER_00: God said it, I'm gonna give it.
SPEAKER_00: When she gave her offering, I believe she was giving that offering to God.
SPEAKER_00: I don't believe she was giving it to the temple, I don't believe she was giving it to the scribes, I don't think she was giving it to the religious leaders, many of whom had probably taken advantage of her, had harmed her.
SPEAKER_00: She's not writing a check to the church.
SPEAKER_00: She was giving her worship to God.
SPEAKER_00: It was an act of obedience, it was an act of worship, it was an act of trust.
SPEAKER_00: Do you know God doesn't need your money?
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't want my money, he doesn't need it.
SPEAKER_00: He owns it all.
SPEAKER_00: What God wants from you is your trust.
SPEAKER_00: He wants you to say, God, it's yours.
SPEAKER_00: You've blessed it to me, but you've blessed it to me so that I can use it for your kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: I can use it for your glory.
SPEAKER_00: God, I'm gonna trust you.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know exactly how it's gonna work, but you tell me to do it and you'll multiply it, then I'm gonna trust you.
SPEAKER_00: Giving is an act of worship.
SPEAKER_00: It is saying, I'm giving to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: It's an act of trust.
SPEAKER_00: It's an act of being on mission.
SPEAKER_00: God, take this and multiply your kingdom through it.
SPEAKER_00: God does not expect us all to give the same amount.
SPEAKER_00: He expects us to give out of what he's blessed us with.
SPEAKER_00: Your faithful giving isn't about a dollar amount.
SPEAKER_00: It's not about a percentage number.
SPEAKER_00: It's about worship, it's about trust, it's about faith.
SPEAKER_00: And God commands us to give willfully, cheerfully, joyfully, figuring out before we ever do, God, this is yours.
SPEAKER_00: God, I don't think commands us all to do exactly what this woman did.
SPEAKER_00: I don't think he commands us to take our last two dollars and throw them in the offering plate.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't tell us to give everything, but he does ask us to be willing to say, God, here's everything.
SPEAKER_00: It's yours.
SPEAKER_00: Those of you that are parents, you ever remember receiving gifts from your children?
SPEAKER_00: When you know the only source of income they have is your allowance that you've been giving to them?
SPEAKER_00: And yet they'll go out and buy you a gift and bring you that gift?
SPEAKER_00: And the only way they could afford to buy you that gift was because you gave them money to go buy the gift that they've just given to you?
SPEAKER_00: You know what?
SPEAKER_00: Your heart swells up because they cared enough to get you a gift, even though you paid for the gift.
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that what God does?
SPEAKER_00: Our Heavenly Father gives us all of it.
SPEAKER_00: And we ought to be blessed enough as children to say, God, it's yours.
SPEAKER_00: Use it.
SPEAKER_00: We have Jesus' observation, we have Jesus' orders.
SPEAKER_00: Beware of those guys.
SPEAKER_00: Don't act like those guys.
SPEAKER_00: Those guys are just in it to impress people.
SPEAKER_00: Be like her.
SPEAKER_00: She's not into impress people, she's into it to please me, to honor me, whether anybody else ever sees it or not, whether anybody else counts what she does as important or not, I do.
SPEAKER_00: What should we conclude with this?
SPEAKER_00: There's a stark contrast that Jesus points out that Mark records for us between these hypocritical religious leaders and this sincere, devout widow.
SPEAKER_00: These hypocritical leaders who simply are seeking the approval of man and this one woman who is simply seeking the approval of God.
SPEAKER_00: And these religious leaders were going about their day.
SPEAKER_00: They were trying to get people to pay attention to them.
SPEAKER_00: They were trying to see, look how impressive I am.
SPEAKER_00: And people's eyes were all on them when they would walk in the market or when they would walk in the temple or the synagogue.
SPEAKER_00: Everybody was looking at them, but there was a set of eyes looking at them that day that looked deeper than all the other eyes.
SPEAKER_00: There was a set of eyes that could look past their outward appearances, their robes, and their titles, and their money, and their actions.
SPEAKER_00: And he could see their hearts.
SPEAKER_00: There was a woman that came into the temple that day, and she was hoping nobody would see her.
SPEAKER_00: She was just going there to offer her offering and to drop it in the plate and to sneak off.
SPEAKER_00: She didn't want anybody to see her, but somebody did see her that day.
SPEAKER_00: Because he sees everything.
SPEAKER_00: And he didn't see the two coins that she put in.
SPEAKER_00: He saw her heart.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said, Don't be like those religious people who want everybody to be impressed with them.
SPEAKER_00: Be like her.
SPEAKER_00: Offering genuine worship from the heart.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus was watching that day.
SPEAKER_00: Do you know that he's still watching today?
SPEAKER_00: He watched when we got ready to come to church this morning.
SPEAKER_00: He watched when we argued with our wife on the way to church this morning.
SPEAKER_00: He watched when we got mad with our children this morning.
SPEAKER_00: He watched when we came in and somebody sat in our pew and we got upset about it and we had to sit somewhere else.
SPEAKER_00: He's watching the whole time.
SPEAKER_00: And the question is, is he pleased?
SPEAKER_00: Is he pleased with what I've come to offer him today?
SPEAKER_00: Because am I here just so everybody can see, oh, Bob's in church today?
SPEAKER_00: Good for him.
SPEAKER_00: Or am I here because my heart cries out, God, you've given me everything.
SPEAKER_00: And in view of your mercy, my only reasonable response to that is here's my life.
SPEAKER_00: Here's everything.
SPEAKER_00: When Jesus looks at us, does he see hypocritical actions or does he see real transformation?
SPEAKER_00: Does he see people seeking the approval of men or people seeking the approval of God?
SPEAKER_00: Does my discipleship cost me anything?
SPEAKER_00: Does my giving cost me anything?
SPEAKER_00: And 2 Samuel King David said, I will not offer an offering to God that has not cost me anything.
SPEAKER_00: And yet so often we put stuff in the plate or we show up and it costs us absolutely nothing.
SPEAKER_00: There's no faith involved.
SPEAKER_00: There's no trust involved.
SPEAKER_00: When Jesus looks at me, does he see an appearance?
SPEAKER_00: An outward appearance?
SPEAKER_00: Or does he see an inward surrender?
SPEAKER_00: Thank God you're worthy of it all.