Mark 12:28-44

12:28-34 | One exceptional scribe, impressed with Jesus, approached Him with an honest question (Matt. 22:34) based on a common religious practice of the day – that of categorizing the commandments (for example: “heavy,” “great,” “light,” or “little”). Jesus cited two commandments (Deut. 6:4-5; Lev. 19:18) and presented them as one: love for God should naturally issue in love for other human beings, who are made in His image (Rom. 13:9; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8). Only Mark records the scribe’s favorable response to Jesus’ answer, as well as Jesus’ encouraging reply.

12:35-37 | Jesus asked His own impossible question, quoting Psalm 110:1. Jesus did not answer the question for the leaders, but the reader can: David rightfully uses the term Lord to address the Son of David because Christ is also the Son of God. As the God-Man, Jesus is both human and divine and was thus worthy of David’s honor.

12:38-44 | Jesus denounced the scribes’ false piety and attention-getting ways while commending the quiet, humble, genuine sacrifice of the poor widow. Ancient historians say that some frauds attempted to trick the widows out of their inheritance by outwardly feigning religiosity to earn the women’s trust. These men would then gain permission to steward the women’s finances – all to line the scribes’ pockets. In this way, they devoured widow’s houses.

12:41-44 | This story describes the last public act of Jesus before His arrest and crucifixion: He watched as people put their offerings into one of 13 treasury boxes – nine for required gifts, four for free-will offerings – while sitting in the center of the Court of the Women in Herod’s temple.

12:41-42 | God makes what His followers do with their money His business (Mal. 3:10). Jesus did not sit opposite the treasury by accident; He purposefully went to that part of Herod’s temple, placed Himself within view of a treasury box, and watched. He sat close enough to identify the two tiny coins in a poor widow’s shriveled hand.

12:42-44 | Two mites refers to the ancient Greek coin called a lepton, the smallest denomination minted in the Greek world. In that era, a denarius equaled one day’s pay, and a lepton was 1/128th of a denarius – not enough money to buy even a crumb of bread to eat. Yet because it was all the widow had, her whole livelihood, her example has encouraged others to give sacrificially, in faith, to this very day. The widow’s gift demonstrated her conviction that everything belongs to the Lord.

12:44 | Jesus evaluated the temple giving that day by what people had, not by what they gave (2 Cor. 8:12). God expects His people to find ways to give back to Him from all He has entrusted to them – from both their abundance and their lives.