Mark 12:35-44, What Are You Giving To God?
Introduction:
The Pharisees, scribes, Herodians, and other religious leaders have been asking various questions of Jesus in an effort to trap Him in His words so they can arrest Him. Jesus has successfully answered their questions such that Mark 12:34 says that no one dared to question Him any longer. But Jesus now has a question for the religious leaders and it is a far more important question than any of the questions that have been brought to Jesus. This question is going to lead Jesus to discuss what really matters in serving the Lord.
The Messiah Is God (12:35 -37)
The question
After all the questions, Jesus now asks a question as part of His teaching in the temple complex. The question Jesus asks is, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the Son of David?” Now this appears to be an unusual question on the surface because the Messiah was prophesied to be the son of David. Jesus is not saying that the scribes were wrong for teaching that the Messiah would be a physical descendant of the lineage of David. What Jesus is asking is why do the scribes teach that the Messiah would only be from the physical descent of David. Why do the scribes merely teach the Messiah to be the son of David? There was more to look for in the lineage of the Messiah than simply being the physical son of David. But this was all that the scribes were focused upon in looking for the Messiah.
Quoting the psalms
To prove His case, Jesus then goes to the scriptures to show that the Messiah would be more than merely the physical descendant of David. For this proof, Jesus goes to the words of David himself who spoke through the Holy Spirit. Jesus then quotes Psalm 110:1, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.’” Jesus then poses the question to those in the temple complex, “David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so how is He his Son?” So what is Jesus getting at when He asks this question? The first “Lord” in the quotation of Psalm 110 is the Lord God, Jehovah. So the Lord God said to David’s Lord. The second “Lord” is not the word for Lord God, but is the word adonai in the Hebrew, which refers to someone greater than oneself, like a master. David refers to this one, who is understood to be the Messiah, as greater than himself by calling him Lord. However, this one is also the son of David. Here is the point: why would David call his own son “Lord?” Why would David call his own son greater than himself? I do not think I have seen any parent call their child “master” or “sir.” The child addresses the parent as “master” or “sir.” Why would David address his son as “master?” The inference from the psalm is that David’s son is God Himself. Hence the rest of the psalm, “sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.” The Lord God is saying to David’s son that He should sit at His right hand on the throne, signifying glory, honor, and authority.
Further, David’s son is to remain on the throne until all enemies are subjected to Him. David’s son can be no one other than God Himself who has come in the flesh to be in the physical lineage of David. We read this teaching today with a fuller understanding, but are not very impressed by these words. But we need to be impressed with the teaching Jesus makes here in the temple. Jesus has just used the scriptures to prove that while the Messiah must be flesh and blood to be a physical descendant of David, He must also be God since David calls Him “Lord,” and the Lord God sets Him at His right hand. Why is this teaching important? Jesus has made claims that He is God, and it is for those claims that the religious leaders are going to kill Him. The people have been shouting prophetic words that Jesus is the Messiah. People have claimed that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus has also claimed to be the Son of God. He has healed the sick, performed miracles, and forgiven sins. No one can forgive sins except God Himself (Mark 2:5-7). Jesus has now offered scriptural evidence for how He can be the son of David and still act as God. No other person has been able or will be able to fulfill these requirements for the promised Messiah. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies and promises of the coming Messiah.
The subtle language of the Psalm quotation should also be noted. What is stated about those who are standing against the son of David? The enemies will be put under His feet. Those who are enemies of Jesus would be subjected and crushed underneath Him. Powerful words about what Jesus was going to accomplish in the face of His enemies. Though the enemies will kill Him in a couple of days, the enemies would be crushed under Him. Therefore, the large crowd that was listening to Him was delighted at what they heard.
Giving To God to Be Seen (12:38 -40)
Beware of the scribes
But Jesus is not finished with His teaching. He is now going to begin a small discourse about giving to God and how we serve God. Jesus begins in verse 38 by giving a warning to beware of the scribes. The scribes were the primary teachers of the law and were well-versed in the law since they spent their days copying the manuscripts of the law. It was the scribes full-time job to know the law, copy the law, and teach the law to the people. However, Jesus does not praise the scribes for their knowledge of the law or for what they are teaching to the people. Jesus begins a condemnation of the scribes for their actions. Let us notice the things that the scribes were doing that Jesus condemns.
Go around in long robes. The scribes went around wearing long, flowing robes so that people would know who they were. These garments were worn so that it could be noted by the people they these were the scribes who had a very important work.
Wanted greetings in the marketplace. When the scribes were out in public, it seems that they wanted to be addressed in a special way to note who they were. This was not simply desiring people to say hello to them, but seems to indicate they wanted to be addressed by titles, such as “rabbi,” “father,” and “teacher” (Matthew 23:6-10).
Prominent seats and places of honor. The scribes also wanted to have the prominent seats so that they could be seen by all the people. The chief seats in the synagogue were on a raised platform near the prayer leader and reader of the law at the front. In sitting there, they not only had the best seats but all eyes could be placed upon them. Even in private circles it seems that the scribes demanded the places of honor around the table.
Devour widows’ house. This is an interesting description which seems to show their lack of concern for the widows. Further, it seems that they were taking advantage of the widows in some capacity.
Say long prayers for show. Finally, Jesus condemns the scribes for saying long prayers because they wanted to be admired by the people. The scribes’ worship and actions were about the honor and respect that they received from the people and not about pleasing God.
Applications
Common in the religious world still today. What is fascinating to me is that Jesus openly and clearly condemns these activities in His day, yet these abuses are still taking place today. These things are happening not only in the denominations but also even among brethren in many places. We see in the religious world that those who are “men of God” wear all sorts of fancy robes. Jesus condemned us when we do such. We can do the same thing with our attire if the purpose we wear what we wearing is for the glory and recognition of the people. I know preachers who always wear suits and ties because they want people to know that they are leaders. Jesus condemns these motives.
We see in the religious world the desire for people to use titles still today, though Jesus condemned it. People want the name reverend, pastor, bishop, father, rabbi, or some other title attached to their name. They want the honorable greetings of the people. This is condemned also. No one deserves a higher place of honor except God. We also see religious groups taking advantage of the poor, helpless, and downtrodden. Claims are made that if you will send more money that God will take away all your pain and all your problems. Religious groups try to use God to make money on those who do not know better and are trying to find help. I have also known preachers to feel compelled to make long prayers simply because they believe there is an expectation that they pray differently. Things are said for show instead of open, honest words to God. Jesus says that these will receive a harsher punishment. We must beware that we do not fall into these traps.
Service as a show. What Jesus is preaching against is serving God as a show to others. If we are doing anything to be seen by men, then we have already received our reward (Matthew 6:1-4). Motives matter to God. Why do we seek the honor of men and not the honor from God? God says that we are condemned when we are seeking attention to ourselves. Yet we still fall into the trap of trying to draw attention to ourselves and trying to be “somebody” in the congregation. However, we are condemned by God if these are our motives. We must always consider our motives when we are serving God and serving others. If our motives are not pure and we find that we are doing something for recognition, then we need to stop what we are doing and correct our heart problem. We need to see that we are seeking after the wrong thing in life. The glory of man changes moment by moment and we can never please man. Instead, let us seek the glory of God that is unchanging and is greater than anything man can bestow upon us.
True Giving (12:41 -44)
The widow and the rich
Jesus now takes up a place to sit across from the temple treasury. It seems that Jesus takes a moment and watches as the crowds come up and drop money into the treasury. According to William Hendriksen, “by means of letters of the Hebrew alphabet each receptacle was marked, so that the people would know for what distinctive purpose the money it received would be used, whether for the temple tribute, for sacrifices, incense, wood, or whatever.” Jesus is watching as there are many rich people dropping in large sums of money into the treasury. However, Jesus watches as a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. The calculated amount of these two coins was one sixty-fourth (1/64) of a denarius. A denarius was a day’s wage, so let us make a couple of estimations to get an idea about what this poor widow put into the treasury. Let us assume that the average person makes about $40,000 a year. Therefore, a day’s wage would be about $110. One sixty-fourth of that amount would be about $1.71 in terms of our money today. This gives us an idea about the insignificance of the amount of the contribution. This woman did not give an amount that would make an impact on the temple accounting books. And the amount she gave was nothing in comparison to the amount being given by the rich people. Imagine for a moment that you were the treasurer of the congregation recording the checks and other amounts being given. You see these sizeable checks of giving and then you see $1.71. What would be your reaction? I think our reactions would all be the same--Why bother! In fact, if someone were only going to give this much, they probably would not bother. I am sure this would be the same attitude in Palestine , as well, to see this poor widow drop in two small coins. But Jesus seizes this moment as a teaching opportunity.
Application
Give, not out of abundance. Jesus first shows that the widow’s contribution was greater because what she gave was not out of her surplus. The rich who had been giving while Jesus was watching, were giving from their abundance. They had plenty of money, and while the rich were giving more than the poor widow, they were giving from their leftovers. This was extra money that was not going to hurt them if they gave to the Lord. How often and easily we fall into this trap. We give our time only when we have extra time. We give our money only when we have some extra laying around this month. When we give on the first day of the week, how often are we giving from what is left over after paying for everything else that we want and need? We are not giving the firstfruits to God, but the leftovers and out of our surplus. God wants us to give first and let Him take care of the rest. Instead, we have our own bills and our own things we want and if we are out of money for the week or month, then God loses out. Jesus taught that giving is not to come out of abundance. In 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 Paul described true giving--for the Macedonian churches had given beyond their ability.
Give from the heart. It is clear that this woman gave from the heart. This is the only way that we can break free from the trap of giving from our abundance. We must be givers from the heart. Paul also made this point in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” God wants us to give from our hearts, and we see this in this poor widow. She had a great excuse why she could not give, because she did not have anything to give of great worth. But she had a heart that wanted to give so she gave what she could.
Give all we have. Finally, we see the woman gave all that she had. Not only did she not give out of her surplus, and not only did she not give out of compulsion, but she gave all that she could. We always have something to give to God because God has given us so much. We may look at the checkbook and note that there are times when things are a little lean. But is that all that God has given us? Do we have homes? Do we have cars? Do we have jobs? Do we have family? Do we have clothes? Do we have all that we need and even more? Then we have something to give back to God, and need to show God that we appreciate all the other things that we have that may not be measurable in dollars and may not be as liquid as cash in our bank account. We still have been given so much. When we choose not to give and are not giving liberally, then we are missing what God is looking for in our lives. God’s disciples will sacrifice all things, including money for the Lord. We are not His disciples if we are not giving as we ought. There is no way for any person to know if you or I are giving as we should. But we know what we ought to be doing. We know if we are giving from the heart. We know if we are giving from our surplus and we know if we are giving all that we have. Let us examine ourselves and see what we are giving to God.
Conclusion:
Jesus is the Messiah and all authority and honor has been giving to Him. Are we serving Him as He has asked, or are we serving as a show? Do we worship to glorify God or to glorify ourselves? Motives matter to God. Let us serve from the heart. Let us give all that we have and not just the leftovers in our lives.
