1–12. The parable of the evil vinedressers. – 13–17. The Lord’s answer to the Pharisees and Herodians about tribute to Caesar.” – 18–27. The Lord's answer to the Sadducees on the question of the resurrection of the dead. – 28–34. The most important commandment. – 35–37. Christ is the Son and Lord of David. – 38–40. Speech against the scribes and Pharisees. – 41–44. Two mites for the poor widow.
Mark 12:1. And he began to speak to them in parables: A certain man planted a vineyard and surrounded it with a fence, and dug a winepress, and built a tower, and having given it to vinedressers, he went away.
Mark 12:2. And at one time he sent a servant to the winegrowers to receive from the winegrowers the fruits of the vineyard.
Mark 12:3. They grabbed him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.
Mark 12:4. Again he sent another servant to them; and they smashed his head with stones and released him in dishonor.
Mark 12:5. And again he sent another: they killed him too; and many others were either beaten or killed.
Mark 12:6. Having another son dear to him, he finally sent him to them, saying: They will be ashamed of my son.
Mark 12:7. But the vinedressers said to each other: This is the heir; Let's go, kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.
Mark 12:8. And they seized him, killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
Mark 12:9. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and put the vinedressers to death and give the vineyard to others.
Mark 12:10. Have you not read this in Scripture: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the corner;
Mark 12:11. this is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”
Mark 12:12. And they tried to seize Him, but they were afraid of the people, for they realized that He had spoken a parable about them; and leaving Him, they went away.
“And he began to speak to them in parables”(verse 1). According to the Gospel of Mark, it turns out that the Lord spoke several parables to the high priests and scribes (“them”). And the Evangelist Matthew, indeed, reports three parables in the parallel section (). It is clear that if in the present case the Evangelist Mark gives only one, he does so due to a large reduction in the narrative. The parable he chose (the second in Matthew) is the most powerful. In the same way, of the servants that Matthew speaks about (), the Evangelist Mark mentions one that is probably the most important.
"And they threw him out"(verse 8). According to the Evangelist Matthew, they first took their son out of the vineyard and then killed him. And Mark uses the following expression (ἐξεβαλον αὐτόν), which is everywhere applied not to a corpse, but to a living person (cf. ; ; ). Thus, to this expression we must first add: “after first,” and the whole of verse 8 must be translated as follows: “and they took him and killed him, after they had first driven him out of the vineyard.”
“He will come and put you to death...”(verse 9). The evangelist Mark puts these words into the mouth of the Lord, while Matthew attributes them to the listeners of Christ. But in the Gospel of Mark these words can also be considered the answer of the listeners, placing in front of them the expression: “and they said.”
“And they tried to seize Him...”(verse 12). The chief priests and scribes (this is how the thought of verse 12 should be conveyed more accurately) used all means to capture Christ, but at that time they were gripped by fear of the possibility of a popular uprising because of Christ. The reason for their efforts was their understanding that the above parable was directed against them.
Mark 12:13. And they send to Him some of the Pharisees and Herodians to catch Him in the word.
Mark 12:14. They came and said to Him: Teacher! we know that You are fair and do not care about pleasing anyone, for You do not look at any face, but teach the true way of God. Is it permissible to give tribute to Caesar or not? should we give or not give?
Mark 12:15. But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them: Why are you tempting Me? Bring me a denarius so that I can see it.
Mark 12:16. They brought it. Then he says to them: whose image and inscription is this? They said to Him: Caesar's.
Mark 12:17. Jesus answered and said to them, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and God's God. And they marveled at Him.
Mark 12:18. Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:
Mark 12:19. Teacher! Moses wrote to us: “If anyone’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no children, then let his brother take his wife and restore seed to his brother.”
Mark 12:20. There were seven brothers: the first took a wife and, dying, left no children.
Mark 12:21. The second one took her and died, and he left no children; also the third one.
Mark 12:22. Seven took her for themselves and left no children. After all, the wife died.
Mark 12:23. So, in the resurrection, when they rise again, which of them will she be the wife of? For seven had her as a wife?
Mark 12:24. Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you being led astray by this, not knowing the Scriptures or the power of God?”
Mark 12:25. For when they rise from the dead, then they will neither marry nor be given in marriage, but will be like angels in heaven.
Mark 12:26. And about the dead, that they will be resurrected, haven’t you read in the book of Moses, how at the bush he said to him: “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”?
Mark 12:27. God is not the dead, but the God of the living. So, you are very mistaken.
“Are you being led astray by this?”(verse 24). These words, quoted only by the Evangelist Mark, are better conveyed as follows: “Are you being led astray by what you conveyed above (the case depicted by the questioners), i.e. come to doubt the resurrection of the dead? But you can only go astray if you do not properly know the Scriptures, which are not at all intended to regulate relationships. future life, and not understanding that the power of God can establish all relationships between people in a future life in a completely different way than here on earth.”
Mark 12:28. One of the scribes, hearing their debate and seeing that Jesus answered them well, came up and asked Him: What is the first of all the commandments?
Mark 12:29. Jesus answered him: The first of all commandments is: “Hear, O Israel! Our Lord is one Lord;
Mark 12:30. and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength,” - this is the first commandment!
Mark 12:31. The second is similar to it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other greater commandment than these.
Mark 12:32. The scribe said to Him: good, Teacher! You have spoken the truth, that there is One and there is no other besides Him;
Mark 12:33. and to love Him with all your heart and with all your mind, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is greater than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Mark 12:34. Jesus, seeing that he answered wisely, said to him: You are not far from the Kingdom of God. After that, no one dared to ask Him anymore.
Evangelist Mark differs somewhat from Matthew in this section. So, he says that one of the scribes came to the Lord, having listened to the debate that the enemies of Christ were having among themselves (Matthew calls him “a lawyer from the Pharisees”). The Evangelist Mark does not say that this questioner had tempting intentions (as Matthew reports). Perhaps, in fact, the scribe, who wanted to tempt Christ, soon abandoned his intention, which is why the Evangelist Mark did not consider it necessary to mention that intention. Further, Mark precedes the commandment to love God with the words of the famous Jewish prayer (“Shema”), which was a repetition of the words of Moses (). In the Evangelist Mark, these words of Moses are the basis for the demand for exclusive love for God: there is only one Lord or Master, therefore, all the love of an Israeli should belong to Him alone.
“The scribe said to Him: Well done, Teacher!”(verse 32). Better word“well” is attributed to the verb “said”, because in the Gospel of Mark nowhere is the address “Teacher” placed in second place.
"More than all burnt offerings"((verse 33; see ; )). This addition was very important for the readers of the Gospel of Mark, pagan Christians, who were embarrassed by the fact that they did not have such a temple and such a solemn cult as the Jews had before the year 70.
“Jesus, seeing that he answered wisely...”(verse 34). The reasonableness of the scribe’s answer was reflected not only in his agreement with the words of Christ, but also in his desire to accurately determine the abilities with which a person should serve God. Precisely (for a better reading, see Tischendorf, 8th ed.), he says that God must be loved with the heart, mind or understanding and strength: he thus places reason (ἡ σύνεσις) as the instrument of love for God, which really should be a completely meaningful feat, and not just a matter of feeling. However, it is still not enough to join Heavenly Kingdom one recognition of the unity of God and the need for love for people. It is still necessary to fulfill this highest commandment: the scribe needs to approach Christ not only as a Teacher, but also as a Savior, Who alone can give him the strength necessary to fulfill that greatest commandment. But he obviously did not yet have faith in Christ as the Messiah.
Mark 12:35. Continuing to teach in the temple, Jesus said: How do the scribes say that Christ is the Son of David?
Mark 12:36. For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
Mark 12:37. So, David himself calls Him Lord: how then is He His Son? And a multitude of people listened to Him with delight.
Unlike the Evangelist Matthew, Mark depicts the speech of Jesus Christ as monologue. Christ here speaks to the people about the scribes. But the scribes are undoubtedly present at this address of Christ to the people, because the Evangelist Mark says that the Lord here “answered” (ἀποκριθείς - verse 35; in the Russian translation it is not accurate - “continuing to teach”). But to whom did He answer? It is clear, to the scribes to whom, according to the Evangelist Matthew, He asked the question and who expressed their opinion about the Messiah to him.
Mark 12:38. And He said to them in His teaching: Beware of the scribes, who love to walk in long robes and receive greetings in public assemblies,
Mark 12:39. to sit in front in the synagogues and recline in the first place at feasts, -
Mark 12:40. these, who devour the houses of widows and pray for a long time for show, will receive the most severe condemnation.
From the extensive speech of the Lord against the scribes and Pharisees, which is reported by the Evangelist Matthew (), Mark cites only a few sayings that characterize the ambition, greed and hypocrisy of the Pharisees or, in fact, the scribes, about whom the Lord spoke, according to the Evangelist Mark. For the readers of the Gospel of Mark, the entire extensive description of Pharisaism given by Matthew was not of great interest.
"In long robes" Noble people usually went there.
"In the People's Assemblies"– in markets (ἀγοραῖς).
Mark 12:41. And Jesus sat opposite the treasury and watched as the people put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in a lot.
Mark 12:42. Having arrived, one poor widow put in two mites, which is a coin.
Mark 12:43. Calling His disciples, Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who put into the treasury,
Mark 12:44. for everyone put in out of their abundance, but out of her poverty she put in everything she had, all her food.
The Evangelist Matthew does not have a story about a poor widow who put two mites into the temple treasury (Luke has this story -). Christ sat "against the treasury", i.e., probably in the women’s courtyard, at the church circle (the question of what the treasury is, γαζοφυλάκιον, has not yet been finally resolved by researchers of the Holy Scriptures). According to custom, those passing by the mug put donations into it for the needs of the temple, and the rich put large sums of money. But then a poor widow came up and put in “two mites,” i.e. the two smallest copper coins, which made up one “kodrant” (λεπτόν – Greek coin, κοδράντης – Roman quadrans; the cost of a kodrant is 1/2 kopeck; in Hebrew “mite” was called “pruta”). The Lord, having in mind the imaginary piety of the scribes - wealthy people - about which He had just spoken, did not fail to point out to His disciples the example of a widow who gave everything she had, and who therefore with her donation rose above the rich, who gave much more, but still sacrificed only the most a small part of your property.
Sschmch. Grigory (Lebedev)
Art. 41-44 And Jesus sat opposite the treasury (temple) and watched as the people put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in a lot. Having arrived, one poor widow put in two mites, which is a coin. Calling His disciples, Jesus said to them: Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those who put into the treasury, for everyone put in out of their abundance, but out of her poverty she put in all that she had, all her food.
The image of the poor widow, who put two mites into her cup and is praised by Christ more than all other donors, is again a classic image. It is simple and clear. It praises the quality of the work of faith and love in comparison with the quantity, i.e. with the outward expression of this matter. But the widow's deed is more significant than it is usually imagined, and Christ's words are deeper than just praise of the quality of a good deed. The widow was poor, and she put an insignificant amount into the treasury. However, the Lord singles out the widow from all the donors. By highlighting the widow, the Lord denotes the greatness of her gift not by the fact that she gave one coin out of two, say, for example, that she had, i.e. not by the fact that she gave God half of what she had, and the greatness of the widow’s gift is not indicated by the fact that she put two mites with all her heart, but the widow and her gift are praised because she “she put in everything she had, all her food”. Understand that: “She put in everything she had, all her food”. This is the gift that boasts! This is what the quality of a gift should be! This is how the participation of the heart should be! What is praised is such a turn towards God, such faith in the Lord and such a gift of faith, in which a person completely forgets about himself. He went to God and brought everything to Him, but he doesn’t even know about himself what he will eat today, and whether he will, because man has nothing! A man went to God, and nothing existed for him, he himself no longer existed. Here is the Gospel example of undivided surrender of oneself to God, when between the soul and God there is not even the shadow of the earth. Here is an example of faith and love to the point of selflessness and self-forgetfulness. It is clear that with such conversion and with such faith and love, every gift human soul, no matter how insignificant it may be by external calculation, it will outweigh all the others, because here everything is sacrificed as a sacrifice of faith and love. human life. This is about faith, love and gift we're talking about in a story about a widow's two mites! And you, if you want to measure the smallness or greatness of your gifts to God and for God’s sake, measure them by the degree of giving yourself to God out of faith and love for Him and the degree of denial of yourself, the degree of self-forgetfulness in serving God. That is why another time the Lord commands the one who brought the gift to the altar and remembered that his brother has something against him, to leave the gift at the altar and first go and make peace with his brother, and then bring his gift to the Lord. It is commanded this way in order to free the one who brought the gift from all the burdens of the earth, from all his “debts” on earth that bind him to the earth, so that, in this way, he would be freer to break away with his gift from the earth and even from himself. The power of the gift lies in the detachment of the soul from the earth and in the aspiration towards Christ, when it is not only a gift, but itself is ready to give to Christ every moment. This is how you understand the story about the widow.
The Gospel of the Holy Evangelist Mark. Spiritual reflections.
St. Maxim the Confessor
Who is the widow and her two mites? Perhaps it means a soul devoid of depravity, having lost the old law, like a husband, but not yet worthy higher connection with God the Word, however, bringing to Him as a deposit, like two mites, previous right reasoning and life, or faith and a good conscience, or disposition towards good and its implementation, or contemplation and action appropriate for this, or knowledge corresponding to [them] and virtue, or something beyond them - I mean the logoi contained in natural and written laws. Having acquired them, the soul [in delight] becomes ecstatic and frees itself from this, as well as from all life and everything worldly, wanting to unite with the only God the Word, and prefers to be deprived, like husbands, of cruel modes of action, morals and customs corresponding to nature and law . But perhaps the story [about the widow], through its historical narrative, hints at something even more spiritual, accessible to speculation only by the pure. For everything that is considered great among people in virtue turns out to be small when compared with secret meaning contemplative theology. In addition, although [the mites] are small and made of inexpensive and not very valuable material, they also have a royal image on them, like on gold coins that are brought by rich people. They have even more - [the imprint of] the sincere spiritual disposition of the one who brings them.
Mystagogy.
Blzh. Theophylact of Bulgaria
Art. 41-44 And Jesus sat opposite the treasury and watched as the people put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in a lot. Having arrived, one poor widow put in two mites, which is a coin. Calling His disciples, Jesus said to them: Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those who put into the treasury, for everyone put in out of their abundance, but out of her poverty she put in all that she had, all her food.
The Jews retained a special custom, the one that those who had and those who wished made contributions to the church treasury, which was called “gazophylakion”, from which priests, the poor and widows received their maintenance. While many were doing this, the widow also came up and showed her zeal better than the rich. Glory to You, Christ, that You accept even the small better than the great! Oh, if only my soul would become a widow, rejecting Satan, with whom it had been united by inappropriate deeds, and would decide to throw it into the church treasury “ two mites“, - flesh and mind, having refined their flesh with abstinence, and their mind with humility, so that I too could hear that I dedicated my whole life to God, having no worldly thoughts or carnal motives in me!
Lopukhin A.P.
Art. 41-44 And Jesus sat opposite the treasury and watched as the people put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in a lot. Having arrived, one poor widow put in two mites, which is a coin. Calling His disciples, Jesus said to them: Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those who put into the treasury, for everyone put in out of their abundance, but out of her poverty she put in all that she had, all her food.
The Evangelist Matthew does not have a story about a poor widow who put two mites into the temple treasury (Luke has this story - Luke 21:1-4). Christ sat "against the treasury", i.e., probably in the women’s courtyard, at the church circle (the question of what a treasury is, γαζοφυλάκιον2) has not yet been finally resolved by researchers Holy Scripture). According to custom, those passing by the mug put donations into it for the needs of the temple, and the rich put large sums of money. But then a poor widow came up and laid "two mites", i.e., the two smallest copper coins that made up one “kodrant” (λεπτόν - Greek coin, κοδράντης - Roman quadrans; the cost of a kodrant is 1/2 kopeck; in Hebrew, “mite” was called “pruta”). The Lord, having in mind the imaginary piety of the scribes - wealthy people - about which He had just spoken, did not fail to point out to His disciples the example of a widow who gave everything she had, and who therefore with her donation rose above the rich, who gave much more, but yet they sacrificed only the smallest part of their property.
Mk., 57 credits, 12, 38-44The Lord said to His disciples: beware of the scribes, who love to walk in long robes and receive greetings in public gatherings, to sit in front in synagogues and recline in the first place at feasts - these, who devour the houses of widows and publicly pray for a long time, will receive the most severe condemnation. And Jesus sat opposite the treasury and watched as the people put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in a lot. Having arrived, one poor widow put in two mites, which is a coin. Calling His disciples, Jesus said to them: Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those who put into the treasury, for everyone put in out of their abundance, but out of her poverty she put in all that she had, all her food.
Many people listen to the Lord in the Temple. A little further away, under the beautiful colonnades, in the play of light and shadow, the solemn silhouettes of the owners of this luxury, high priests, elders, scribes, filled with the consciousness of their importance and their dignity, appear. Their attitude is especially disgusting in this place, where everyone must humble themselves in order to pay tribute to the greatness of God. The Lord reproaches them and warns everyone against such pride. Teachers like these cannot help people gain true faith. Hypocrisy is the norm in their lives, and one should beware of this perversion. The word of the Lord towards the scribes is extremely severe. And it contains a useful reminder to Christians: not a single community of believers is immune from producing a class of eminent people who serve not God, but themselves in the name of God. We must be constantly on guard so as not to turn most holy faith into a caricatured religion.
Scribes pretend to be some kind of great people. They walk in long flowing robes, like princes, like judges. It is not a sin to walk in such clothes, but the love of walking in such clothes reveals their pride. While those who serve God must have their loins girded. The scribes portray themselves as very pious. They pray for a long time. And they make sure everyone knows that they are praying. They do it for show so that everyone can see how much they love to pray.
In fact, they love “to be greeted in public assemblies, to sit in front in synagogues, and to recline in the first place at feasts.” What does it mean, given their complete inner emptiness, that they are respected by those who do not know what they are? They love to get rich. And they eat up the houses of widows. But in order to protect themselves from suspicions of dishonesty, they put on the guise of piety. So that no one gets the idea that they are the worst, they try to present themselves as the best. Let none of us say that prayers, and especially long prayers, are bad when they are offered sincerely and in humility. But wickedness having the appearance of godliness is double wickedness. And his fate is doubly terrible. “These will receive the most severe condemnation.”
“And Jesus sat opposite the treasury and watched as the people put money into the treasury.” This is a sacrifice for the Temple and for works of mercy. And in the Church of Christ from the very beginning, as we read in the book of Acts, prayer and almsgiving were inseparable from each other. It is good, says the Apostle, for everyone to put aside and save for himself as much as his fortune allows, so that, if necessary, he can be ready to make a sacrifice to charity (1 Cor. 16:2).
The gaze of Christ is turned to us when we approach the church circle. The Lord notices how we give to the Church and to the needs of the poor. Do we give generously or sparingly, is it to the Lord or to be praised by others?
“Many rich people put in a lot.” It's nice to see rich people full of generosity. It’s good when there are a lot of such people, and when they donate a lot. He who is rich must give richly. If God gives to us abundantly, He expects us to give abundantly. Although, according to church canons, not every rich offering can be accepted. Saint Serapion, famous preacher XIII century, so spoke with strongmen of the world this: “You, an insatiable beast, devour widows and orphans so that you can live in your bestial satiety.” Or as “Izmaragd,” a 15th-century manuscript, testifies about one preacher: “he does not spare the rich who light candles on all the temple lamps and think that the Lord will look upon their rich offering. Don’t you hear, he says, the sighs of widows and orphans, all the people oppressed and humiliated by you, shedding tears because of you? Their tears will extinguish all the candles that you light, and your standing in the temple will be your judgment and condemnation.” Saint Ephraim, Bishop of Novgorod, issues a decree that priests should not accept donations to the temple from those who oppress the poor, who starve others and torment others with nakedness.
There, in the Jerusalem Temple, there was one poor widow who, having come, put in two mites - the smallest coins. And our Lord brings her high praise. “Calling His disciples, Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has contributed more than all.” The Lord values this more than what everyone put together put in, than what the rich put in, for they “all put in out of their abundance, but out of her poverty she put in everything she had, all her food.” Many are probably ready to stop this poor widow- Why does she give everything to others when she herself has nothing? Truly, there are few who will understand her, and, even more so, who will want to follow her example.
The rich who came to the Temple contributed huge sums, but their gift was small and discreet. They didn't risk anything. Moreover, with your life! Putting gold coins into the treasury, they did not forget to carefully calculate how much they had left for life, for good life. But the Lord says: “Whoever wants to save his soul will lose it, but whoever loses his soul for My sake and the Gospel will save it” (Mark 8:35).
Wasn’t that another poor widow from Zarephath of Sidon, who said: “I have a handful of flour and a little oil in a jug. I will go and prepare this for myself and for my son; We’ll eat this and die.” And then she brought everything she had as a gift to the prophet. It is the gift that leads to death, the gift of all that is, the gift of oneself. That's what we're talking about. Two widows, risking their lives, dared to completely trust God. The first was wonderfully rewarded. The flour in her tub did not run out, and the oil in the jug did not decrease. The second was also rewarded no less miraculously: she earned the praise of Christ Himself. When we see these two women, how can we not think about what the Lord is doing? He, too, freely gives everything that He has, His entire life. “No one takes my life, I give it myself,” He says (John 10:18). In the Gospel of Mark, this meeting with the poor widow at the treasury - latest event in the Temple before the Passion of the Lord on the Cross. The gift of two poor widows proclaims the gift of the Son of God.
Where is our surplus? Where is what we need for life? This is the question of today's Gospel - for in the face of God the quality of our lives is measured by the quality of our gifts. Giving too much may mean giving nothing. Such a gift does not impress God. But the most modest gift becomes significant when we give what is necessary for us, something without which we may not be able to survive, when we give part of ourselves and all of ourselves. Behind Divine Liturgy we hear Christ say: “This is My Body.” The Lord gives Himself to us, gives His life for us. We partake of the Body and Blood of Christ - the highest gift on earth. But are we ready to give our lives to Him? Are we ready to give not the excess of our life, but our very life.
Archpriest Alexander Shargunov
Mk. XII, 41-44: 41 And Jesus sat opposite the treasury and watched as the people put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in a lot. 42 When a certain poor widow came, she put in two mites, which is a coin. 43 Calling His disciples, Jesus He said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all those who put into the treasury, 44 for everyone put in out of their abundance, but out of her poverty she put in all that she had, all her food.”
OK. XXI, 1-4:1 And He looked and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury; 2 He also saw the poor widow who had put two mites there, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than anyone else; 4 For all of them, out of their abundance, gave as a gift to God, but she, out of her poverty, put in all the food she had.
A Guide to Studying the Four Gospels
Prot. Seraphim Slobodskaya (1912-1971)
Based on the book “The Law of God”, 1957.
Widow's Mite
At the entrance to the Temple of Jerusalem, a treasury was placed, that is, a collection cup into which worshipers placed their voluntary donations for the temple.
Jesus Christ sat opposite the treasury and watched as the people put money (their donations) into the treasury. Many rich people put in a lot.
One poor widow approached the treasury and put two mites into it (not much more than half a penny), which is a small Roman coin codrant. Such a gift might seem to people not worth any attention.
But the Lord, the Knower of the Heart, pointed His disciples precisely to this modest sacrifice of the poor woman. The Lord assessed her according to her inner worth. Calling the disciples to him, the Savior said to them: “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than everyone else who put into the treasury. For everyone put in out of their abundance, but out of her poverty she put in everything she had—all her food,” that is, she put in the last thing she had, and thus dedicated everything she had to God.
Archbishop Averky (Taushev) (1906-1976)
A Guide to Studying the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament. Four Gospels. Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, 1954.
14. Widow's Mite
(Mark XII, 41-44; Luke XXI, 1-4)
About the “widow’s mite,” which has long been a proverb, only the two Evangelists of St. Mark and St. Luke. In the so-called “court of the wives” there was a treasury, i.e. a large collection mug in which people put their voluntary donations to the temple. Before Easter, it was customary to donate especially a lot: everyone entering the temple put something into this mug, according to their means and diligence. Many rich people contributed a lot, but the poor widow contributed two mites. “Mite” was the smallest coin, equal to 1/4 kopeck; two mites were equal to a small Roman coin called a codrant. A codrant was equal to 1/2 a kopeck and 1/4 an as, and 10 as was equal to a denarius - about 20 kopecks. The Lord said that this poor widow “gave in more than anyone else,” i.e. no longer in quantity allotted money, but regarding its means compared with others. Others gave what they did not need, without burdening themselves too much, but she gave the last thing she had, and thus dedicated everything she had to God.
I have long wanted to write one very entertaining exegetical observation. My good friend— Andrey Shitov, for which special thanks to him. This observation concerns the event recorded in the 12th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, and it was also illuminated by Luke in the 21st chapter. We are talking about a poor widow who put “all her food” into the treasury.
An illustration from the Children's Bible, familiar to us from childhood.
Was made based on an engraving by Gustave Doré
Typically, when reading this account, we pay attention to the virtue of the widow, we praise her for her sacrifice, we set her up as an example, implying that this was also the main task of the evangelists and Christ - to provide an example of sacrifice and to show the relative value of donations. However, very often we miss the context. Mark writes that Christ purposefully sat down at the treasury. He wanted to show the students something, give some kind of lesson.
Christ highly appreciated her action, but is the widow even being talked about in these two passages?
What do wise men say?Barkleybelieves that Christ's task was to teach three lessons:
- Genuine giving must be benevolent, sacrificial;
- There is something reckless about genuine giving;
- Jesus can do great things even with our little things;
Matthew Henrysays that this story is written down twice for the purpose of teaching us some lessons, namely:
- That charity to the poor is the chief essence of piety;
- Jesus Christ watches us: how we give to the poor, how we sacrifice for works of piety and mercy;
- Christ especially notices the charity of the poor, it is especially pleasing to Him;
- We must respect everything that can be called a gift to God, and give generously, according to our strength and beyond our strength;
Even Mac Arthur writes that “The widow set a good example of true giving.”.
In my opinion, it is absolutely obvious that this event is connected with the previous conversation, because even the location of the story does not change, these are the same events, the conversation continues. In general, what I cannot agree with is that the widow - good example. I cannot agree that God values highly when we donate our food and there is something reckless in genuine giving. After all, it is obvious that if we do the same, then it is at least reckless, and to some extent such sacrifice may simply be a temptation of God. Don't get me wrong, I want to live under the guidance of God and I know that sometimes what God calls to do, what the Holy Spirit prompts to do, is indeed somewhat foolish. I know many examples of true sacrifice - fortunately in my church, among my friends, there are so many examples of real true Christian sacrifice, which sometimes stuns me. There are many examples of abnormal kindness, which has no explanation other than God living in them. But this sacrifice always stems from need! But the widow’s sacrifice was not beyond the need. Her coin went into the treasury to support the priesthood and others. Matthew Henry several times in his conclusions refers to works of piety and speaks of sacrifice to the “poor.” But was this the poor widow’s sacrifice?
The treasuries of the Temple were managed by its servants, scribes and Pharisees. They clearly did not belong to the category of poor. Moreover, Christ repeatedly reproached them for their love of money. Let us also remember the very good business, which was established by the temple servants by handing over the sacred square meters temple territory for rent (probably at fabulous prices, because it was the most passage place With target audience). What can we say, literally higher in the text Christ has a conversation with his disciples, in which he gives this to the experts in the Law of that time: “those who devour the houses of widows and pray for a long time for show” (Mark 12:40)
Christ contrasted the teaching of the Pharisees with a sound understanding of the truth. You can remember how Christ condemned Corvan, how he argued with the Pharisees about whether it was possible to do good on the Sabbath, and so on. We see that for God there is something more important than even the fulfillment of the Law. This is humanity, the ability of people to understand the heart of God. Here is another example: why did Moses command to divorce, why did God allow this commandment (and this is precisely a prescriptive commandment) to be written in the Law? Christ answered: because of your hardness of heart. Imagine, at that time the husband hated his wife, but divorce was impossible. What would be? Everyone I didn’t ask answered: “I would have killed” or made life unbearable. For God, human life is valuable, therefore, He allowed the commandment of divorce in the Law. So, in this case, in the light of these arguments, it is not entirely clear how we should treat the widow’s two mites.
Bronze mit, also known as mite,
put into circulation king of the Jews Alexander Jannaeus, 103-76 BC.
To give correct assessment this event needs to be addressed in context. Both Mark and Luke present the events in the same way. This day was a day of questions (Matthew also describes this day in chapter 22) - the chief priests and scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees united in their hatred of Christ. Various worthless people were sent to Him with provocative questions, to which Christ wisely answered. “Is it permissible to give tribute to Caesar? The woman was the wife of seven brothers, whose wife will she be after the resurrection? What is the greatest commandment? Each of these questions is like a mine field. But after each question there was a categorical answer from the Messiah. After this, Jesus warns the disciples: “Beware of the scribes.” All the synoptic gospels agree on this warning (Mt 23, Mk 12, Lk 20). After which Christ illustrates the hypocrisy and depravity of the scribes and high priests. The incident with the widow is a continuation of the conversation, and Christ’s task was to show the depravity of the current system. And He showed!
With this story, He seemed to say to the disciples: “Look, look what these priests have brought people to! She puts down the last one, she has nothing else to eat.” The example of a poor widow who was convinced that she needed to put more into the treasury, all that she had, is an example of the rottenness of the existing religious system. Instead of helping the widow, her house was devoured by those who were called to serve.
Craig Kinnear notes that the teachers of the law profited from the poor by imposing exorbitant fees. Therefore, the example of the poor widow's two mites is an example of wrong organized system collecting donations, an example of an unreasonable sacrifice. Yes, the sacrifice was accepted by God and highly appreciated, because it is not the widow’s fault in this situation. However, those who taught her this way will receive the full... “they will receive greater condemnation” (Luke 20:47).
It's also interesting that none of the commenters I usually use pay attention to this. Not Barkley, not MacDonald, not Mac Arthur, not Matthew Henry. For a long time I even doubted whether it was worth writing about this. However, studying the context of the passage, I became more and more convinced of the correctness of this idea.
It’s also interesting that we have become so accustomed to positivity this example, that in some churches even donation boxes are called “church treasury” without understanding the negative connotation of this phrase.
I see the practical application of this truth in the following: of course we need to live by the guidance of God, however, Scripture notes that zeal should be according to reason (Rom 10:2), and service should be reasonable (Rom 12:1). Therefore, if someone convinces you to donate all your food, ask Christ if He really needs it. And yet... no matter how much we earn, we can always donate “out of poverty,” if only it really belongs to God.
Loading...
