Study Guide for the Central Church of Christ What was it about the widow s offering that was so exemplary?

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1 Study Guide for the Central Church of Christ March 12 we will study Mark 12:41-44 Discussion ideas are: 1. What is the significance of animal sacrifices needing to be an aroma pleasing to God? 2. What was it about the widow s offering that was so exemplary? 3. Why would Jesus watch people give? 4. What is the common thread in this sequence of events from Mark: a. 9:33 Who is the greatest in the kingdom? b. 9:21 Sell all you have and give it to the poor. c. 10:37 Can we sit on your right and left hand? d. 10:48 Ordering blind Bartemaeus to be quiet. e. 11:14 Withering the fig tree. f. 11:15 Cleansing the Temple. g. 12:13; 18 Questions about taxes & marriage in the resurrection. h. 12:23 You are not far from the kingdom. i. 12:41ff The widow giving all she had. 5. Agree/disagree: It s not how much you give that is such a test of faith. The greatest test of faith is how much you think you have to keep in order to survive! 6. How does a person change from being a taker to being a giver? a. What light does Acts 20:35 shed on givers and takers? (1) What can we learn from the fact that Paul s quote from Jesus is not recorded in the gospels? (2) Where might Paul have gotten that information? 7. Have you ever experienced watching someone die the same way they lived?

2 Sermon: Do You Get It? The Butterball Turkey Company set up a hotline to answer consumer questions about preparing holiday turkeys. One woman called to inquire about cooking a turkey that had been in her freezer for 23 years. The operator told her it might be safe if the freezer had been kept below 0 degrees the entire time. But the operator warned the woman that, even if it were safe, the flavor had probably deteriorated, and she wouldn t recommend eating it. The caller replied, That s what we thought. We ll just give it to the church. Can you think of anything more ludicrous than giving to God a food item that both smells bad and tastes bad? As a matter of fact, back in the days of animal sacrifice, Jewish people were specifically told to make sure their offering smelled good. Leviticus 1:9 speaks of the Burnt Offering that was to be offered to the Lord. When properly prepared the burnt offering was to offer up an aroma pleasing to God. Leviticus 2:2 describes the Grain Offering, which when properly prepared was to offer up an aroma pleasing to God. Leviticus 3:5 describes the Fellowship Offering, which when properly prepared was to offer up an aroma pleasing to God. Leviticus 4:31 describes the Sin Offering, which when properly prepared was to offer up an aroma pleasing to God. Exodus 29:18 tells of the sacrifices that were to consecrate the priests for service, which when properly prepared was to offer up an aroma pleasing to God. When Noah offered up his sacrifice after the flood, the Bible says the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man s sake neither will I again smite any more every thing living. So what makes an offering to God smell good? The key is in Mark 12. Listen to the word of God: Mark 12: Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything all she had to live on." Jesus was watching people put their offering into the temple treasury! Did you catch that? He was watching people put their money in the offering! Do suppose he still watches? My brother, Guy, told me a hilarious story about being watched as he gave. He was preaching out of town and left his contribution at his home church. As he sat near the front waiting to get up and preach, the contribution basket was passed. A 12-year-old boy offered the basket to Guy, who gave a subtle signal to not offer him the basket. The boy took the basket, hit Guy on the shoulder with it, and said out loud, Ain t you got nothing to put in? Guy said, I got my wallet out and managed to find something to drop in before I died of shame.

3 This story of a widow drawing praise from Jesus as he watches her give what amounts to about 2 cents sits in a unique place in the gospel of Mark. The context goes all the way back to Mark 9:33 where the disciples arrogantly discuss, Who is the greatest in the kingdom? Jesus picks up on their discussion and tells them that great people in the kingdom are accepting of those society casts out, like children. Jesus message falls on deaf ears as a short time later the apostles attempt to run interference for Jesus and keep children away from him. When Jesus hears that he is indignant and chastises the apostles! The 12 apostles don t get it. Do you get it? Soon after the episode about receiving children, Jesus encounters a rich young ruler and, in conversation with him, directs him to sell all he has and give the proceeds to the poor. The young ruler goes away grief stricken. Many a church would go after the rich young ruler with great energy. Many a church would be critical of Jesus for setting such a high standard that a man would walk away saddened. The 12 don t get it. Their comment is, Jesus, by your standard it s just too hard for a rich man to make it to Heaven. Jesus agrees it is difficult, but disagrees that it is too difficult. They don t get it. Do you get it? Soon after the episode with the rich young ruler, 2 of the 12 come to Jesus and ask for the best seats in the coming kingdom. They are still pursuing personal greatness in the kingdom. They don t get it. Do you get it? Soon after the episode with James and John wanting the chief seats, Jesus heals blind Bartimaeus over the protest of the crowds who care more about their own interests than that of a hurting man who only wants to see again. When it comes to compassion, the crowd just doesn t get it. Do you get it? Soon after the healing of Bartimaeus, Jesus withers a fig tree for looking like it would have fruit when it had none. He then marches into the fruitless Temple and creates a scene of pandemonium as he turns over the tables of the money-changers, crying, You have turned my Father s house of prayer into a den of thieves! The Temple leaders don t get it. Do you get it? Then the theologians enter asking questions about taxes and marriage in the resurrection. Their choice of questions indicates they don t get it. Do you get it? Then, out of the blue, one guy almost gets it. He agrees with Jesus answer that the most important commands are to love God and love people. Jesus compliments the man whom he considers to be not far from the kingdom. At last somebody almost gets it! The she appears on the scene. This nameless widow who literally doesn t have 10 cents to her name. She has 2 cents and she gives it all to God. Jesus speaks in superlatives when he describes this woman. She is a woman who gets it! His attraction to her great faith in giving all she had, touches the heart of Jesus. I don t know who originally told this story but I think it is a great teaching tool for children and maybe adults also:

4 Mrs. Baughman was a Sunday School class teacher in my 6th grade class. One morning she brought a pan of brownies to our class. As the goodies sat tantalizingly over by her chair she gave each child a slip of paper marked with a household expense: house payment, phone bill, credit card bill, entertainment, and so forth. My slip had "car payment on it." Before long, Mrs. Baughman picked up the tray of fresh brownies and began naming the expenses named on the papers. As we gave her our expense slips, she redeemed each one for a brownie from the pan. Finally, the last brownie had disappeared. But one boy named Donald still held his unredeemed slip. "God!" called Mrs. Baughman. Donald came forward, hoping the teacher had one more brownie hidden somewhere. With a knife, Mrs. Baughman scraped the crumbs from the bottom of the pan into Donald s napkin. He got a pretty raw deal, I thought - just the crumbs. "The brownies represent your money," the teacher explained to us. "If you don t give God his share right away, he probably won t get anything at all except maybe crumbs." It s not how much you give that is such a test of faith. The greatest test of faith is how much you think you have to keep in order to survive! Have you ever wondered why God wants you to give to Him? He doesn t need anything so why does He insist on us giving sacrificially to Him? God is interested in your giving because He wants you to become like Him. He wants you to give your very best like He did for you so long ago at Calvary. Ten years ago it was my privilege to preach the funeral of Bob Calvert, who was one of the most generous givers I have ever known. He did more to help this church than any of us know. He told me on several occasions, It is a privilege to give. This widow in Mark 12 understood the privilege of giving. May the day come when we all understand it as deeply as she did. Before we leave this topic of giving I want to mention a fringe benefit of giving. It s in the principle Jesus taught when He said, Give and it will be given to you. Dick Marcear tells about 2 ladies he visited on the same day in a hospital. He went in the first hospital room. There were no flowers, no cards, and no visitors. The lady immediately went on the attack, It s about time you came to see me preacher. I ve been here 3 days and not one member of that church has been here to visit me. Dick asked, Do you visit the sick yourself? She replied, I don t have time. I have to work for a living. He went down the hall to the next room to visit another lady from church. He said, There were flowers everywhere and cards all over the place and signs on the door asking visitors to limit their visits to a few people at a time. When he entered the lady said, Preacher you didn t need to come see me. You ve got a lot to do. I appreciate your coming but it s really not necessary. He asked, Do you visit the sick? She said, Yes. I try to go visit the hospital once a week. He asked, Do you send flowers and cards? She said, I can t afford to buy flowers but I pick the ones I grow in season and take them to sick folks in the hospital. I do try and send a card to everyone I know who is sick.

5 Dick said he left the hospital thinking, There are givers and there are takers and I ve just met one of each. I want to share with you one of the most important truisms I ve ever learned. You will die like you live! If you live complaining, you will die complaining. If you live selfishly, you will die selfishly. If you live for yourself alone, you will die with yourself, alone. On the other hand, if you live with peace, you will die with peace. If you live sharing your life with others, you will die with others sharing your death experience with you. There are givers and there are takers. If you live giving, you will die giving. If you live taking, you will die taking. Here s the question I want you to take with you this week: Do you want to die the way you ve been living?