We know the first version, or first interpretation, of the story of the widow’s mite thoroughly. The second version is a powerful one, striking at the jewish system.
Widow’s mite – great love
The story is described in Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4:
„He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury, and the many rich people putting in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins, which is about a quarter of a coin. And He called His disciples and said to them, 'Amen, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are putting in. For all put in out of their abundance, but she put in all she had to live on.'” – Mark 12:41-44
The widow tossed in two coins, two leptons, which equaled one quarter (kodrantes), which was approximately 1/64 of a denarius—a worker’s daily wage.
Let’s see how much that is…
• 2 leptons = 1 quarter (quadrans).
• 1 denarius = a worker’s daily wage in the 1st century.
• 1 quarter = 1/64 of a denarius.
• So two leptons were worth approximately 1.56% of a daily wage.
• To put it in perspective: if a day’s wage were 100 dollars today, 2 leptons would be approximately 1.56 dollars; at 200 dollars, that’s approximately 3.12 dollars.
The story of the poor widow is heartwarming. She threw two small coins into the treasury. Christ praised her, comparing her gift to the large offerings of the rich, saying that she had given the most, for she had given everything she had to live on.
The amount the widow gave proved unimportant. What mattered most was the sincerity of her heart, the willingness to share with others. The rich gave from their surplus, the widow put everything in.
This story has many messages, many shades of life. Everyone can find different thoughts here. For example, Christ teaches us how strongly we should dedicate ourselves to faith, love, works, and helping others. This cannot be done half-heartedly or only occasionally.
The widow gave everything, so we should devote our time to serving God.
This story also teaches us powerful faith in God. Giving money meant believing that God would help her. The widow had no husband and was poor. From this story, we can take an example of strong faith, which we should demonstrate in our lives. Faith not only in the existence of God, but also in His help, in His teachings, in His commandments. This faith must be demonstrated every day.
But…
Someone would say this is irresponsible behavior, because how can you give away all your money? After all, you have to live somehow. Buy food, clothes. Today, we have to pay taxes and bills.
In today’s world, this would be a difficult situation, because it would mean either living „under a bridge” or using free shelters.
Would such behavior be responsible?
Let’s see the second interpretation: what else did Christ teach us in this story?
Widow’s mite – the jewish system
Let’s see what happened before the widow story:
„And He said in His teaching, ’Beware of the scribes, who like to 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, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers; these will receive an especially severe judgment.'” – Mark 12:38-40
After these words about the scribes: „Beware of the scribes… who devour widows’ houses,” we have the story of a widow.
The scribes are, among others, the clique that killed Christ. The Lord Yeshu strongly criticizes them for their hypocrisy, greed, pride, and lies…
On the one hand, we have the scribes who live off donations from people, and on the other, we have a widow who gives her last penny to these pretenders.
We can look at this story a bit differently. On the one hand, we have the beautiful example of the widow, on the other, we have the Judean/jewish system of collecting offerings, gifts, and taxes from the poor.
We don’t know if the impostors who visit the widows’ homes not only feed themselves at their expense but also extort money from them. They have developed a system to influence the jews to pay tribute, and in return, they pass on lies to these people.
Christ calls them offspring of vipers:
„Woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the sepulchres of the righteous, and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have been partners with them in murdering the prophets.’Thereby you yourselves admit that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets! You, too, fill up the measure of your ancestors! Serpents(3798), offspring/fruit(1081), vipers(2191), how will you escape the condemnation of Gehenna? Therefore, behold, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will scourge in your synagogues and pursue from city to city. So on you will come all the innocent blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Amen, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone those sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling? Behold, your house/family/temple will become a desolation/desolate(2048)” – Matthew 23:29-38.
„Woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; you yourselves do not go in, nor do you allow those who want to go in. (…) You travel through sea and land to win one for your doctrine; and when he becomes one, you make him a son of Gehenna, twice as bad as yourselves.” – Matthew 23:13–15
Let’s summarize these negative characteristics of scribes:
• Hypocrisy – they teach but do not practice: „But do not practice according to their deeds” – (Mt 23:2–3).
• Law – they impose burdens, they do not help themselves: „You burden people with burdens they cannot bear” – (Lk 11:46).
• Pride – seeking first place and honor: „Beware of the scribes” – (Mk 12:38–39).
• Greed – exploitation of widows, material gain: „Who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers” – (Mk 12:40).
• Deception – „Woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men” – (Mt 23:13).
• Traditions above the Word – replacing God’s commandments with human rules: „You have rejected the commandment of God and are holding to human tradition” – (Mark 7:8–13).
Are these features of the jewish system of exploitation not found in various religions?
Current jewish system
This system of driving people into poverty has survived to our times. In Christ’s time, as today, we have similar patterns of operation by this hypocritical group, which the Bible calls the harlot. In many countries, people live in truly poor conditions. Responsible for this are wars, bribery of politicians, the seizure of resources by corporations, the debt of states, and the debt of ordinary people.
There is a system of taking over/ruining not only entire states but also individuals. Anyone who falls under this axe goes bankrupt and even dies sooner.
The Bible informs us that the financial elite, the harlot of Revelation, is responsible for all of this. It is worth reading these articles to understand: who they are, how they operate, how to recognize them, and how to defend yourself against their destructive influence:
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