Sermon Tone Analysis

Mark 12:41-44

The Infinity of Little

 

/Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.

Many rich people threw in large amounts.

But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.

/

/Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.

They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”/

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John A. Broadus did a most unusual thing one Sunday morning.

As the ushers picked up the offering plates to pass them around he stepped down from the pulpit and followed those men.

As the people gave their gifts he would reach into the plate and pick up the gift and look at it carefully.

The people became increasingly uncomfortable as was evident by their frozen posture and strained looks on their faces.

I don’t know that those giving near the end gave more than they had planned, but they were clearly ill at ease as the spectacle played out before their eyes.

As the plates were returned to the front of the auditorium Dr. Broadus again mounted to the pulpit and announced his text, the same text under consideration in our own services today—*Mark 12:41-44*.

Broadus acknowledged that his actions no doubt made the people uncomfortable, but he asked if they would experience any greater discomfort if they thought that Christ was minutely examining their gifts as they placed them in the plates.

From that introduction he continued to tell them that Christ does examine not only their gifts but also the manner in which they give week-by-week.

Consequently, I caution against trying such an inspection of gifts, as did Dr. Broadus.

One can do the right thing with the wrong motive and displease God.

It is attitude and not action that ultimately dictates whether we honour God or exalt ourselves through our gifts.

The size of the heart is of greater significance than is the size of the gift.

All these statements are true.

It would do us each well to memorise them and regularly review them.

One example of the verity of each of these sayings is provided in the account of giving by one impoverished woman.

That account is found in the second Gospel, Mark’s Gospel, and I invite you to turn there with me now.

I have read this account many times, and I have wondered what happened to this woman after she had given her gift.

She gave her gift never knowing that the Son of God was watching her.

She gave without ever realising that she was commended before saints and angels.

She gave and never knew that she was an example for all time of how God views our actions.

She gave though she never knew that she had pleased God in a special way.

She went on her way, just as impoverished as before she gave and likely wondering what she would eat that evening.

Her needs—a place to stay, clothing, food—all were yet unanswered though she gave freely to the cause of the Great and Mighty God.

She had no wealth beyond her rich love for God.

There were no insurance moneys, no pension funds, no emergency funds laid aside for a rainy day.

When she left the Temple that day she enjoyed an unenviable freedom which imposed upon her the crushing pressure that attends utter dependence upon God.

Few of us have known such pressure, and what few times we may have experienced such dependence upon God we likely were crowded into the situation instead of freely choosing that condition.

The Measure of Greatness is Love — Jesus did not say that this woman was great, but the tenor of Mark’s account leaves no question that God considered her to be great.

Greatness is a subjective concept, though for the world about us greatness is a reflection of power—especially power over others.

Greatness in the world is measured by wealth or by position or by one’s ability to command others.

Wealth purchases subservience.

A high position in government, in industry or in society ensures attentiveness to our every desire.

The ability to command others is a mark of greatness as witnessed by our view of generals and marshals—those we call great in the world about us.

By such commonly accepted criterion this woman was certainly not great.

She had no power, not even power to change her situation to the least degree.

God measures greatness by means differing from those chosen by the world.

There are a number of statements addressing the concept of greatness in the Kingdom to be found in the Word of God.

Though you are familiar with many of them, for the sake of emphasis I invite you to recall the words of Jesus which are recorded in *Mark 10:42-45*.

You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.

Not so with you.

Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

This is not the first time the disciples had heard this strange, paradoxical message.

In *Mark 9:33-37* we have an account of the disciples receiving instruction in greatness.

/When [Jesus] was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?”

But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

/

/Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

/

/He took a little child and had him stand among them.

Taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”/

What we learn from passages such as these is that greatness is revealed through submission—greatness is demonstrated through humility.

This servant’s heart, this sacrificial attitude, is valued in the Kingdom of God because a submissive spirit is nothing less than an expression of divine love.

John writes these words in his first letter: /This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.

And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers/ [*1 John 3:16*].

Greatness in the Kingdom of God, then, is a measure of love.

The degree of love is reflected in the willingness to sacrifice our own desires for others and it is seen in our humility as we serve the people of God.

The soaring oratory of a widely acclaimed preacher is no measure of greatness; greatness is measured by devotion to the truths of the Word and through one’s willingness to faithfully deliver that Word unaltered.

Greatness is not measured by the exercise of power over the congregation; greatness is measured by submission to the people’s good.

Greatness is not measured by how many people know your name; greatness is measured by whether your name is well known in the halls of Heaven.

Greatness, in the eye of God, is revealed through devotion to Christ and to His cause.

Greatness in the Kingdom of God is a measure of one’s willingness to die to self, even while taking up one’s cross and following Christ [cf.

*Luke 9:23, 24*].

I would that I could so stress this truth that there were never again a question concerning it.

Greatness in the economy of God is a measure of one’s love toward God and toward His people.

It is not likely that the high priest nor any of the priestly class knew this poor widow.

It is not even likely that any of the Levites serving in the Temple knew her name.

She had not likely been invited to any dinner parties hosted by the powerful of the nation.

We cannot know with any degree of certainty that she had no children, but the text would seem to indicate that not only was she a widow but she was childless and therefore had no hope of support beyond that which the synagogue provided for widows and orphans.

This poor woman, even had she been recognised, would not have been acknowledged by the wealthy of her world.

She was a nobody as far as the leaders were concerned.

Despite ignorance on the part of the Sadduccees and the Pharisees of who she was this impoverished woman did love God.

The evidence of her love for God is witnessed in the fact that she valued the ministry of the Temple and brought her pittance to contribute to the ministry of God.

Since her gift was all that she had it meant that she certainly sacrificed food for that day in order to participate in the freewill offerings of the Temple.

For all we know she surrendered any prospect of personal comfort at some future date and perhaps even housing, in order to show her love for God.

In the Court of the Women, immediately outside the Treasure Room of the Temple, were thirteen Shofar-chests [so named because of their trumpet-shape] to receive contributions.

The inscriptions on these Shofar-chests read: New Shekel dues; Old Shekel dues; Bird-offerings; Young Birds for the Whole Offering; Wood; Frankincense; Gold for the Mercy seat; and six were inscribed Freewill-Offerings.[1]

Since her offering was specifically said to be /two lepta/ [literal] we know that hers was a freewill-offering.

The lepton was equal to 1~/64 of a denarius, and a denarius was a day’s wage.

For an individual earning $50,000 per year, a day’s wage is $192.30.

Therefore, her gift was about $3.00 in today’s currency.

What will three dollars buy?  According to the current advertising it will buy three long-distance phone calls of twenty minutes each.

This assumes you can afford a phone, however, or even that you have a place to have that phone installed.

Three dollars will buy a small drink and some fries at most fast-food restaurants.

Most Canadian charities will not give a receipt until the gift is over five dollars.

Three dollars isn’t much, but it was all she had and she loved God.

Turn your mind back to the text for a moment.

When you read the words of our text there is something you won’t necessarily notice.

As the text opens we witness Jesus sitting down opposite the Shofar-chests.

When we read that He watched the crowd putting their money into the Temple treasury there is much more to His observing than may be apparent.

Let me read a portion of that first verse (*verse forty-one*) from a more literal translation/.

He … began observing how the multitude were putting money into the treasury/ [*Mark 12:41 nasb*].

Jesus watched.