Being Seen

And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, "How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, "'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet."' David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?" And the great throng heard him gladly. And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation." And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 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 offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." - Mark 12:35‭-‬44 ESV 

Jesus is revealing the drive/motivation of the scribes. He congrats them with someone to emulate, a poor widow. This passage will be uncomfortable for us. The word of God will often cut us, but it can also be a balm to heal us. 

The Desire to be Seen

The scribes wore long robes. These robes were not normally worn. People stood and honored their presence. They were respected by the people and received the places of honor at feasts. Not only that, they preyed on widows. Jesus called people to beware of them. They were supposed to be mirrors reflecting and pointing to God's glory. But they were not, they were like windows pointing to themselves. The scribes desired to be honored, esteemed, and valued by others. This is often condemned during Sunday school. But we need to pause and consider that we ourselves have similar weaknesses, failings, and sinfulness. This desire is not a bad one, but it becomes a sin when it becomes our ultimate desire. When we give, is it for the other person? Or is it so we can be commended for being generous? When we shared on social media about social ills, is this to improve society? Do our daily lives reflect what we post online? Or do we do it just for show and the approval of men? 

If we are purely motivated based on the opinions/approval of men, we will find that we are standing on shifting sands. People's perspectives on you can change so quickly. It can make us envious of our friends success. We can't be happy when our friends are successful. Poisonous.

Freedom of Being Seen

Offerings were a very showy experience. This was before paper currency. Imagine these people dragging large bags of coin and dumping these piles of coin into a metal container. It would've been deafeningly loud. And along comes this poor widow. She has two small coins, the lowest denomination. She wasn't even named. Jesus pointed out this woman to his disciples. He commended this woman. She gave two small coins. She could've given one coin. But no, she gave both of them. What does this mean? God had all of her heart. Jesus said she gave more. What? Clearly she gave less. But Jesus was talking about her heart. Jeff Bezos is worth $200 billion. He could spend 2 million dollars without noticing at all. It would be like losing some pocket change in his car for the average American. If he gave 2 million into the offering plate, without a right heart, God would value the widows contribution more. 

We are not to look at the widow as a way of living. It is descriptive not prescriptive. We aren't all called to give everything away and live day to day. It is to show us what God values.

The Hidden revealed

God sees our heart. He sees our sinful inclinations, self-centered desires, and spiritual blindness. But God sees all this and still accepts us because of Jesus. Jesus frees us from living lives to please and gain acclaim from others. Instead we will become self forgetful. We will seek to point people to Jesus.