Mark 12:44
“For all they did cast in of their abundance;
but she of her want did cast in all that she had,
even all her living.”
~ Mark 12:44
Usually when we come to this text, we talk about the widow. She is worthy of admiration and emulation. No question. But, other people put money in the treasury that day also. Mark reports:
“And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much”
Mark 12:41
From this description, people of all classes were putting money in and some of them were rich, and many put considerable offerings in the treasury.
Christ commends the widow’s example, but He neither rebukes nor condemns the others. In other words, they were doing good by giving offerings into the treasury. Their gifts differed in size proportionally to their generosity and “many that were rich cast in much.” Everyone probably gave more than the “two mites” the widow gave.
All the contributors had one thing in common that distinguished them from this widow. Jesus said, “This poor widow hath cast more in, than all they . . . For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want” (Mark 12:43-44). All the people of all the different classes gave of their abundance. They were not all classified as rich, some were, but they gave of abundance. This means their offerings were not sacrifices. They weren’t wrong. They just weren’t sacrifices. The widow sacrificed.
Most of us are not the widow, we are the others. We might even be many that are rich. Imagine you are walking down a city street on a cold, windy evening. You round the corner and see an old woman shivering and trudging up the street. She has a thin tattered piece of cloth pulled about her shoulders. The wind is blowing loose strands of her hair across her face and she puts up no resistance. You are moved with compassion and become suddenly aware of the warm hands balled up in your coat pockets. You take off your coat and put it around the woman saying, “Here, Ma’am, take my coat.” She grasps it tight around her, says, “Thank you,” and goes on.
Though your heart is warm, a sudden blast of chill brings you back to reality of just how cold it is. You shiver and think. There are a few blocks to go to get to your car, which will warm up quickly and you will be nice and toasty to return to you warm house and another coat. There is also a clothing store at the corner, which is still open. You could go in and just get another coat. If it is really cold, most of us would probably just go buy another coat right there, but even if we chose to be thrifty and go home to our older coat, we could buy one if we wanted to.
Would it be wrong to give your coat in that circumstance? No, it would not be wrong in any way. Would it be good to do it? Yes, it would absolutely be a good thing to do. But the point is: It is not really a sacrifice. We might trade a few moments of inconvenience, but we really wouldn’t be doing without to give. Please don’t misunderstand. I am not being critical of this act, it would be the right thing to do.
The point in all this is to impact the way we think about giving. At least part of the point Jesus was making was that in God’s economy the bottom line is not the same as that in men’s accounting. Let us not be proud and think more highly of our giving than we ought to think. Let us also be ready to give when it has to come out of our want (2 Corinthians 8:2) and not just out of our abundance.
Luke 18:23
“And when he heard this,
he was very sorrowful:
for he was very rich.”
~ Luke 18:23
Matthew, Mark, and Luke each relay an account of the exchange between the rich young ruler and Jesus. They each gauged his reaction to Jesus’ words the same way:
“he went away sorrowful” (Matthew 19:22)
“he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved” (Mark 10:22)
“he was very sorrowful” (Luke 18:23)
His reaction is interesting, but to see why, we need to flesh out his character from the accounts. The most obvious fact about him is his wealth. Matthew and Mark reported that “he had great possessions.” Luke added that “he was very rich.” The words here indicate an abundance of possessions, meaning the number of them was a great number. He owned many more things than the average person in his community.
The next fact is that he was a man of morality and integrity, or at least appeared to be. He seemed to have a good reputation, which is not exactly the same as being worthy of the reputation. He responded to Jesus’ statement of the commandments by saying he had kept them from his “youth.” I believe it’s safe to conclude he probably lived a careful life concerning the laws and customs of the Jews, though he missed the point of Jesus’ words. Nevertheless, he had a good standing among the people of his day.
Luke reports the next fact that this man was a “ruler” (Luke 18:18). The word indicates a magistrate. He was a ruler among the Jews, some sort of civil magistrate. In addition to his wealth and good standing, he had power and influence. The people honored him. He was a public figure.
Matthew adds to his profile that he was a “young man” (Matthew 19:20). It is hard to put an exact age on him. Given his accomplishments, he was at least an adult. His reference to his youth in response to Jesus was probably a reference to his early childhood. To our modern way of thinking, we would put him somewhere between 18 to 35 years old. That’s probably not a bad assumption.
The importance is not in his exact age but in the fact he was young. With a normal life expectancy, he had many, many years ahead of him, and many years of health and strength. Jesus was not telling an old man to sell his stuff and give Him the last couple of years remaining of his life. He was telling a young man to do this, and it grieved him to hear it.
Now we come back to his reaction. He was sad, sorrowful. The words indicate a great sorrow, an exceeding or heavy grief. This man was deeply saddened by Jesus’ words. His reaction is very interesting when you consider the alternatives. Why was he not angered? Why was he not offended, or insulted? Why was he sad?
He could have stormed off thinking that Jesus really was mad and didn’t know what He was talking about. He could have thought to himself, “How dare Jesus try to tell me how to live my life. Who does He think He is? Who does He think He is talking to?” He could have thought Jesus had publicly humiliated him by suggesting he was not “perfect.” It could have been an affront to him for Jesus to tell him to give up everything and become a poor, wayfaring disciple. Instead of any of that, he was sad. Why?
Sorrow was an appropriate response if his request was genuine. If he only wanted praise from Jesus for his assumed perfection, he would have been very angry and insulted by Jesus’ words. If he was only curious, it could have been possible that he would have been indifferent to Jesus’ words. If he was being deceptive in hopes of humiliating or exposing Jesus as a false teacher, he would have been angered by what happened. If, on the other hand, he did have a sense that something was missing and truly wanted to know the way to eternal life, sorrow was appropriate. He was sad that he could not do what had to be done to gain what he truly desired.
I believe the young ruler was sincere and there are a few reasons for that in the text. We can find sincerity when we take the account as a whole and then look at some of the parts. Mark wrote of how this man came “running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life” (Mark 10:17). His approach suggests an urgency that is consistent with sincerity. He knelt before Jesus and addressed him very respectfully with his question. It could be supposed that he was mocking or even just being courteous, but when kept in context, his manner suggests genuineness.
Another indicator of his sincerity is how Jesus responded to him. Mark wrote, “Then Jesus beholding him loved him” (Mark 10:21). I cannot think of any time in the Gospels that this is said of Jesus about the rulers, Pharisees, or Sadducees that came to Him with sinister motives. His manner and words were pointed, harsh, and enigmatic. Jesus had compassion on this young ruler.
The other indicator is the young man’s reaction. It was the very words of Jesus that brought sorrow and heaviness to him:
“But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful” (Matthew 19:22)
“And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved” (Mark 10:22)
“And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful” (Luke 18:23)
He was grieved that eternal life would cost more than he could pay. It saddened him that eternal life would not be his because he could not do what was required. His sorrow reveals that he believed Jesus and he was wounded by what He said. Of himself, he could not pay the cost.
Men of the world will give up everything and suffer much to buy a few more moments of life on this corrupted, painful earth, but they will not do the same for eternal life. They gain the whole world and lose their soul. They save their life and find they have lost it.
This man had won life’s lottery. He was rich. Most men would choose riches if they could have nothing else. He was also powerful. He was also young. Men are striving, grasping, and selling their soul today to be in the same position. Some few get there and cannot let go their idols. But multitudes more are nowhere near this man’s status and yet they don’t find it any easier to turn from their idols to the living God.
We don’t know what became of this man, but it is a hopeful sign that he was grieved. He discovered the paradox of eternal life—it cannot be bought and paid for like a commodity, yet it comes with a great cost. When Jesus afterward spoke of the difficulty of rich men going to Heaven, He explained that He meant it was “impossible” (Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27). It is only by the grace and power of God that our hearts can be turned to the true treasure of Heaven and earth—Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 12:11
“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous:
nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness
unto them which are exercised thereby.”
~ Hebrews 12:11
Our verse begins with a truth so obvious and universal that no serious objection to it could come from any quarter—“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous.” Who could honestly object? Who has not experienced chastisement of one form or another? Who could not render credible testimony to the grievous nature of chastisement? No one rightly enjoys the chastisement itself whether it is lovingly or hatefully administered, though the latter does add to its grievousness.
A reasonable question would be: Why state a truth so obvious to any reader? One reason we find is the contrast made in the passage. Here the chastening from God is set apart from all other chastisements. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Hebrews 12:6). In the fact that He chastens, He is like many others, but in the nature of His discipline, He is different from all others.
We have all been chastened by our father or some other authority over us, but all of those chastenings cannot be said to have immediately been for our good. “For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure” (Hebrews 12:10). However good or ill intentioned, man’s discipline does not always effect good in the recipient. It is easy for man to take the rod, be too severe, and do great harm rather than good. It may fulfill their design to inflict pain but it is not for the good of the chastened. It is also easy for man to neglect the rod or be too soft and also do great harm, although the harm is different from the physical pain of severity.
However, God is neither too soft nor too severe with His discipline. God’s chastisement is ever tempered by His design, which is expressly “our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). Joseph came under such discipline and rightly discerned the hand of God from the hand of man. He said to his brothers, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive” (Genesis 50:20).
You may be surprised that I would allude to Joseph for he suffered wrongfully at the hands of his brothers and how could that be the chastening of God? First, note that I am not attempting a full exposition of the doctrine of God’s chastening. Secondly, we must realize that God’s chastening is not punitive only but also instructive as the Greek word paideia suggests. That word is a broad word that means training, including both correction and instruction. It is used such in Ephesians 6:4 and there rendered ‘nurture’. Regardless of the form chastisement takes, God always designs and administers it for our good.
Here we find a reason for the obvious statement of our text—That we might rightly discern and acknowledge God in our afflictions. In affliction, some are like Pharaoh and ask, “Who is the LORD” (Exodus 5:2). Others complain against Him terribly exclaiming, “Why am I suffering so? I have done nothing to deserve it!” Our response should be more in line with the godly Joseph who said, “God meant it unto good;” or like Job who said, “The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21); or even as Eli who confessed, “It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good” (1 Samuel 3:18).
Finally, the verse provides us with another important contrast. Scripture does not conceal the fact that God’s chastening does involve grief. In this, it is not entirely different, nor entirely the same as other chastening. However, the contrast is seen between the temporary nature of the grief compared to the lasting fruit of His discipline. “Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” Our temporal displeasure, discomfort, or pain gives way to the lasting “fruit of righteousness” of our sanctification in Christ. And, that sanctification works to our final glorification in Him. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
Psalm 97:12
“Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous;
and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.”
~ Psalm 97:12
God’s holiness is commended to our remembrance. It is not the doctrine of God’s holiness that we are to remember, but His real holiness. His actual holiness causes the righteous to rejoice and give thanks. They rejoice and are thankful for His holiness. God’s holiness is set forth throughout this Psalm. Let us come aside and remember His holiness.
HIS HOLINESS IS SUPREME, for “The LORD reigneth” (Psalm 97:1). None can ascend above God or be comparable to Him. None can even reckon the extent of His dominion—it encompasses all things seen and unseen. Even man’s imagination cannot place a figment above God for all the pagan worshipers are confounded by His holiness (Psalm 97:7). How can they figure it? How can they fashion it? How can they make a likeness of it? Though they boast, they utterly fail—“For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods” (Psalm 96:9).
Even the idols must bow to Him, “worship him, all ye gods” (Psalm 97:7). Idolaters make no progress against His holiness; it is even as Paul told Timothy of those who “resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.” They fight against God, “But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men” (2 Timotthy 3:8-9).
HIS HOLINESS IS TERRIBLE, for “Clouds and darkness are round about him” (Psalm 97:2). His holiness abides in righteousness and judgment. In these, God delights. His righteousness means He is faithful. Of what He has purposed, not one tittle shall fail.
In holiness, He dwells in judgment—pleading the cause of the oppressed, the fatherless, and the widow. He hears the cry of their righteous blood and vindicates them. If God calls you a worm, rejoice—it means He is taking up your cause. For thus He spoke to Jacob, “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 41:14). He did not speak to Jacob thus to grind him into the dust, rather to lift him out of the dust. In the Scripture, we find ourselves as weak, full of sores, a frame of dust, a flower of the field, a vanishing vapor, etc. In all this, we are weak and helpless, but He will take us up, plead our cause, and vindicate us with His holy judgment.
HIS HOLINESS IS NOT PASSIVE, for “A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about” (Psalm 97:3). Neither is His holiness contained or subdued. His holiness is then victorious consuming His enemies. What have we then to fear? The earth trembles at His light (Psalm 97:4); “The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth” (Psalm 97:5). Who shall oppose any that are on the Lord’s side?
HIS HOLINESS IS NOT HIDDEN. Even the heavens cannot remain silent or indifferent, “The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory” (Psalm 97:6). The fool says there is no God. The wicked refuse to acknowledge Him and look blindly in the light of the noon sun. However, are not the works of His holiness entered into the eyes and ears of His people? “Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD” (Psalm 97:8). Do you not hear the chorus of birds singing praise to their maker? Do you not see the glory of the sun spreading its light to illuminate the creation of the Holy God before our eyes? Does not the corn and wheat stand in the field waving an offering to the one who is righteous, faithful to send the sun, wind, and rain upon the earth so that it responds by bearing forth its fruits?
HIS HOLINESS IS HAD FOR HIS PEOPLE. “He preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart” (Psalm 97:10-11). What a ground and anchor is the Lord’s holiness! Those who love Him love His holiness and therefore, “hate evil” (Psalm 97:10).
Why then are we troubled? Why then are we downcast? Why then do we presume to be trodden under foot? His holiness is the rejoicing of our heart and the very knife cutting the taut sack, which bursts open with gratitude. His holiness is an impeccable light and there we have fellowship with Him.
What a shame that any of His people should need reminded to remember His holiness and give thanks. May our hearts and minds soar upward in the quiet gray of the morning when we render thanks unto Him for the day He has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in the light of the day that declares His righteousness unto us. “Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness” (Psalm 97:12).
