The lesson of the widow's offering (Mark 12:38-44)

[Stephan Choe]

August 18, 2025

Verse 43: “And he called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, this widow has put more into the treasury than all those who are contributing.’”

We live in a world where money is considered important. That is why it is easy to underestimate the loving, devoted deeds of believers for God.

But Jesus values such people very highly. Using this example, Jesus teaches us that we should live and work gratefully and devotedly for God and others out of gratitude for God's grace.

Let us now take a closer look at Jesus' teaching.

1. Warning against hypocrisy (38-40)

In this passage, Jesus teaches us that we should not live for people, but for God.

“Jesus taught the people: Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and be greeted in the marketplaces and sit at the head of the synagogues and at the tables during meals.”

All people tend to want to be seen and respected by others. This tendency is particularly strong among people of high social standing. But we must live before God and not before people.

This means that we should live before God first. Living before God means that we recognize that we are great sinners before God and that through God's grace in Jesus Christ we are accepted as his children. Therefore, we should be humble and grateful to God.

I realize once again that I should always be humble and grateful. I was a sinner because I did not believe in God in the past, even though God created me and sent Jesus Christ into this world out of love for me to save me. In this world, I was also a lowly person, because I was supposed to become a woodcutter. By God's grace, I was able to attend middle school, high school, and university. It was only when I became a university student that, through the grace of Jesus, I was able to believe in God and Jesus Christ, marry Esther Choe, come to Germany as a missionary, earn a doctorate, and serve as a missionary to German students. All of this was God's grace and not my own merit.

Therefore, I accept Jesus' teaching once again that I should be humble and grateful to God. I remember that God humbled me when my third sister rebuked me for describing her former job as a domestic servant in my autobiography. I had actually expected praise from her. But she rebuked me for writing about her former job without consideration for her feelings. Through her rebuke, I realized that God wants me not to be proud, but humble and grateful. For God has forgiven me, a sinner, and shown me His grace.

2. Jesus appreciates the grateful, devoted sacrifice of a widow

Jesus is near the “Court of the Women,” a part of the Herodian Temple. Behind the colonnades was a hall, the so-called “treasury,” where temple offerings were thrown in. Among those bringing offerings, Jesus notices a widow. She is a poor widow. She gives the last of her money—two copper coins. A copper coin was the smallest unit of currency at that time and could buy food for one day. So she sacrifices her last money, which would have secured food for two more days.

Jesus also sees rich people throwing large sums of money into the offering box. The widow's offering was insignificant compared to the gifts of the rich.

But Jesus recognizes that the widow sacrificed all her money, while the rich sacrificed only a pittance from their abundance.

What might have been the widow's motivation? The Gospel is silent on this. But we can guess: she loves God and believes that God is alive, cares for her, and will provide for all her needs. Because she loves God, she wanted to sacrifice all her money to God. Because she believes in God, she does not worry about her food. God rejoices in her love and devotion.

Because she loves God, she considers worshiping God in the temple to be very important. That is why she cares little about her own needs. With her meager possessions, she wants to contribute to ensuring that worship in the temple is celebrated in a dignified manner. She wants God's name to be glorified and as many people as possible to believe in God and worship Him. God gladly accepts such a sacrifice and blesses it. God blesses such devotion and does his work of salvation in the world.

God still accepts our devotion as precious today. I read the book by missionary Matheo. He and his wife devoted themselves to the people of an Asian country. They often had to move to escape persecution by the police. But because they loved God and loved his people, they spread the gospel wherever they went. As a result, thousands of people became Christians. God is alive and working powerfully today.

The widow's devotion is a foreshadowing of Jesus' devotion

Jesus is about to die on the cross. This woman encourages Jesus to give his life for the salvation of mankind. A few days earlier, Jesus had answered a scribe's question about the most important commandment:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”

Jesus sees a poor woman here practicing this love: the love that comes from a whole, undivided heart.

After his visit to the temple, he will devote his life entirely to the Father and the salvation of mankind. He wants to sacrifice his whole life. In fact, he sees a preview of this in the widow. What the widow sacrificed was nothing less than her whole life. The Greek word translated as “livelihood” in English originally simply means “life.”

And Jesus says literally: “She gave everything she had, her whole life.”

She gives herself unreservedly. She wants to give her whole life to God in order to serve God. She sacrifices herself completely to him. She renounces her last security in life—which would only have lasted for a short time anyway. She gives up her last earthly support in order to find her support in him.

This widow is modeled on the other widow from Zarephath in the First Book of Kings. She too, together with her son, is threatened with starvation in the midst of a general famine. She, too, is willing to bake her last flour for the prophet Elijah, trusting in the word of the prophet. The flour jar that never empties and the oil jug that never runs dry are symbols of the overflowing abundance that God gives to those who give everything for his sake.

Her deed serves to pass on the story that encourages faith in God to many. The widow's act of faith becomes an act of salvation for herself, her children, and her children's children. Her voluntary loss becomes her overflowing gain.

Love is the ultimate standard before God

What does God tell us through this widow? She shows us the devotion of Christ. Before Jesus gives himself for our salvation, he shows his disciples his devotion out of his complete trust in God and out of love for us. In this way, he teaches his disciples and us to give ourselves to God and to others out of gratitude for his love and devotion. This is true discipleship and true worship.

Because God gave us everything in Jesus Christ out of love, so that we might attain salvation in him, we too will love God and others out of gratitude. He gave everything. So we too should give ourselves for others—out of pure grace.

Of course, imitating Christ is generally a long and arduous journey. That is why we need patience and maturity. This journey is called sanctification.

But we should never lose sight of Jesus, for he is our role model and our goal.

We will fully achieve our goal when we reach the kingdom of heaven and are with Jesus Christ. Amen!