As Jesus Christ neared the end of His earthly ministry, His words and deeds became increasingly sharp, focused, and prophetic. Worship of Yahweh was central among the first century Jews, but Jesus sensed sacrilege in the offerings. What was to be wholly devoted to God also became compromised. He speaks out about the problem to His disciples, yet not in private, but “in the hearing of all the people” (Lk. 20:45). [1] The Lord warns against the scribes—so-called respected teachers of the Law—who had grown proud, predatory, and performative.
The Scribes Who Took All, and the Widow Who Gave All
A clear warning is issued by Jesus: “Beware of the scribes” (Lk. 20:46). Scribes more than administrative clerks. They were supposed to be the go-to theologians, legal experts, interpreters of Moses, and decision-makers on religious matters. Yet instead of using their gifts to shepherd their flocks of Jewish devotees, they exploited their office to elevate themselves.
Jesus presents several reasons to expose the religious hypocrisy of the scribes.
1. They Were Ostentatious. The scribes “walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts” (Luke 20:46). Their religion had become superficial. They put on costumes and sought out for themselves platforms to be recognized and validated.
2. They Exploited the Weak. Even worse, “they devour widows’ houses” (Lk. 20:47a). The vulnerable people they were supposed to protect—widows — were being squeezed for financial gain.[2] The expressed commandment of the Lord prohibiting the mistreatment of widows was broken (Exod. 22:21-22). “Pure and undefiled religion” for the Christian is expressed in visiting “orphans and widows in their affliction” (Jas. 1:27).
3. They Put on a Show of Righteousness. Jesus adds, “for a pretense [they] make long prayers” (Lk. 20:47b). Their piety was theater. Their prayers, though long, were hollow—meant not for heaven but for human applause. Pure worship was defiled by their religiosity. More than just going through the motions. They performed the motions to be noticed by others.
4. They Are Headed for Judgment. Jesus concludes with a stark warning: “They will receive the greater condemnation” (Lk. 20:47c). The Lord speaks out in the tradition of the Old Testament prophets —calling out systemic injustice within the religious leadership of Israel (Isa. 1:23; 10:2; Jer. 22:3-5; Ezek. 22:7, 29; Zech. 7:9-14; Mal.3:5). Jesus identifies this abuse of power as more than poor leadership; it is rebellion against God Himself, who “executes justice for the fatherless and the widow” (Deut. 10:18).
The Widow Who Gave All of Herself
Immediately following the public rebuke of the scribes, Jesus “looked up” towards the treasury at the Jerusalem temple, and noticed a contrast so profound it demanded attention. He saw the wealthy giving large offerings, and then “a poor widow put in two small copper coins” (Lk. 21:1–2). She gave a couple of lepta or mites (A lepton was equivalent to around 40¢).
The widow’s gift, monetarily speaking, was insignificant. But Jesus acknowledges the true value of the offering made: “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on” (Lk. 21:3–4). Others gave significantly greater sums of money, but they had leftovers for themselves. The widow gave the least, but that was all she had, which made her sacrifice far more costly. God thus commended her for the great sacrifice.
No sincere offering in worship goes unnoticed by God. Leo the Great said, “What is offered from a little is great, and in the scale of divine justice, the quantity of gifts is not measured but the steadfastness of souls. The ‘widow’ in the Gospel put two coins into the ‘treasury,’ and this surpassed the gifts of all the rich. No mercy is worthless before God. No compassion is fruitless. He has given different resources to human beings, but he does not ask different affections” (Sermon 20.3.1).[3]
Never ought we think the widow who gave up her last two coins ended with nothing. Jesus declared, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20). She dwelt in the place of imperishable indestructible heavenly treasures. Christ’s followers would indeed tend to the needs of widows (Acts 6:1-7; 1 Tim. 5:3).
The widow who gave her last two coins exemplifies the spirit of pure worship, which stood in stark contrast to the apostate scribes who took all for themselves. They devoured widows’ homes; she offered her home, her livelihood, her very life. Her great sacrifice reflected the glory of the last sacrifice that the Son of God would very soon make upon the cross for the redemption of the world. His death would defeat death. His death would be the way for resurrection life to bring new life to the dead. If there is anything beautiful in the widow’s offering, it is because her worship in giving all her coins reflected the objective reference point to all that is beautiful, which is God’s love for the world in giving of His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes would have everlasting life.
Luke20:41-21:5 presents a stark moral and spiritual contrast—those who take all, and the one who gave all. And in doing so, she foreshadows the One who will soon give His life on the cross, not out of abundance, but out of divine love. Jesus, too, will give all He has to live on—for the least, the lost, and the lowly.
— WGN
Notes:
[1] All Scripture cited from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), unless noted.
[2] New Testament theologian Craig Keener suggest “Jesus could mean that these teachers exploit widows’ resources by seeking extensive tithes (which they could set at 20–30 percent, on top of the heavy land taxes levied by the government); or he could mean that they follow the letter of the law in legal decisions, rather than showing mercy to the poor as the law required” (Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993], Lk 20:47). David Pao suggests “Perhaps they cheated the widows of what was rightly theirs acting as guardians appointed by the deceased husband’s will to care for the widow’s estate“ (David W. Pao and Eckhard J. Schnabel, “Luke,” in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, ed. D.A. Carson and G.K. Beale, [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic] 373). Whatever the tactic, the scribes were in some way systematically stripping widows of the only money they had to live on.
[3] Cited from Arthur A. Just, ed., Luke, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 317.
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