Slide 2:
41 And he sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.
42 And a poor widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny.
43 And he called his disciples to him, and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living.”
Slide 3:
In Scripture we often see widows listed with orphans and as the poorest of the poor.
A woman’s worth, her value, from the time of her birth forward was controlled by the males in the society.
When her husband died the next brother, if there was one, would marry her and raise up children for his brother and thus solidify the widows position within the family or clan.
Many Biblical passages were ignored regarding the plight of the widow (Ps. 68:5; Dt. 10:18; 24:19; 27:19; Ruth 2:2, 7, 15-19).
In Jerusalem and Galilee widows had the legal right to stay in the family home and live off her husband’s property but in Judea widows had their dowry returned to them and they were “dismissed” from the family.
To really come to grips with the plight of the widow lets review 1 Kings 17.
Slide 4:
Elijah wants something to eat and he calls upon a widow and she responds with:
12 . . .“As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a cruse; and now, I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die” (1 Kings 17:12).
Without family both she and her son would starve to death.
So when the widow in today’s reading deposits two coins she expressed her trust in God to provide and was willing to back it up with her last two coins.
Some in the crowd, the hypocrites just spoken of, would be quick to criticize her for only putting in a couple of coins.
Jesus on the other hand raised her up by saying: “this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.”
Her faith was far stronger than those who “contributed out of their abundance.”