True Piety Mark 12:38-44 Justin Deeter August 20, 2017

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1 True Piety Mark 12:38-44 Justin Deeter August 20, 2017 Have you ever met someone who is the complete opposite of you in every way? A common literary device used by writers is called a foil. This occurs when the writer gives us two characters that are the complete opposite from one another to help us understand their motivations and character traits. There are many of these in literature and even in popular tv and movies today. There are older examples of foils in Shakespeare s plays such as in Romeo and Juliet with the two characters of Romeo and Paris. Another more modern example from J. K. Rowling s Harry Potter mythology is Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Or, if you are a super hero movie buff, you can see a foil in the Marvel movies with the arrogant Tony Stark as Ironman and the selfless Steve Rogers as Captain America. I think you get the picture, these contrasting characters, called foils, help us understand differences between characters. I believe that Mark has attempted to construct a character foil in Mark 12: In his arrangement of the life of Jesus, he intentionally puts two characters side by side, so that we can understand the sharp differences between them. Jesus, coming off of a series of confrontations with the Religious leaders, describes the hypocrisy of the scribes in verse Then he contrasts the hypocrisy of the scribes with the piety of this poor widow in the giving of her offering. As we study this text this morning, I want to draw out the differences between these two the hypocrisy of the scribes and the piety of the widow. In this, we will what true piety looks like, and its proper motivation. To summarize, true piety is humble, selfless, and sacrificial. However, as we begin working through this text, let s first consider the opposite of true piety, as we look at Jesus warning of the Scribes. 1

2 1. The Hypocrisy of the Scribes After the intense confrontation from the religious leaders, where Jesus gets bombarded with gotcha questions, he gives us all a warning about the hypocrisy of these scribes. In this warning, we receive instruction what not to do concerning our devotion to the Lord. Jesus warns us, because their actions are done with sinful motivations. Throughout the Gospels we see that Jesus teaches us that true religion can t be evaluated merely by the external actions, but by the internal motivations of the heart. So Jesus gives us a few examples of why we should be weary of this showy religion. First, we see that they like to walk around in their long robes, signifying their status as a scribe of Israel. With it brought them prominence and respect from the ordinary people in the marketplace. They delighted in the respectful greetings they received as people sunk in inferiority as they basked in their scholarly might! Second, Jesus tells us that they relished in having the best seat in the synagogues and a place of honor at the feasts. With their status as Scribes earned them prominent seats of authority. By sitting in the best seats, they display their significance over the less respected people assembled. It was a badge of elite honor that they possessed gladly. Third, they devour widows houses. In order for a Scribe to finance his endeavors, he needed financial support. That came from the generosity of the poor, who believed they were serving God by funding these men to do their work. However, they took advantage of the widows and adopted a lavish lifestyle and then lorded over their donors their superior social status. Fourth, they engage in long prayers, not because of their love for God, but to show off their piety before the watching crowds. They prayed not for God but for the praise and admiration of those listening. So what are these scribes like? Well, they are greedy and prideful men who consider themselves better than anyone else, who lived for the fame and praise of other people. Though outwardly they were admired by the people as pious and devout, their motivations reveal their phony hypocrisy. After all, God does not look on the outward appearance, but he examines the heart. Like white-washed tombs, these scribes looked clean and pure on the outside, but inside the had filthy, vile, and rotten hearts. This is a needed caution for us, because Pharisees lurk in the church today. The trouble is that it s difficult to spot them, because by all outward estimation 2

3 they appear to be playing the role of a model church leader. They are held in high regard for their religious practice. They take great delight in the badge of their position, walking into the congregation with their designer suits and slick hair. Their ego inflates when they sit in the prominent position in the congregation up on the stage and platform. They rejoice in the place of honor delighting in the titles and positions given to them. They minister for the celebrity that comes, and the resounding praise and fame from people. They insist on the title Reverend because they believe they are someone to be revered. The go to one of those buy a doctorate degree online programs, so they can be Dr. so-inso, and refuse to respond to you if you don t call them by their proper title. Prosperity Gospel teachers pry money from the hands of the widows and the poor so they can live their lavish lifestyle of opulence and wealth. By outward estimation to the common person, they appear to be blessed by God and righteous before him, yet these hypocrites will be condemned. But you don t have to be a pastor or a ministry leader to fall into this devilish trap. Professed Christians have carefully camouflaged their identity as a Pharisee. They ve turned the Gospel of grace into a Law of works. They become Christian moralists, thinking that God wants them to be a good person and do the right thing. They give their offering, serve their time on a committee, volunteer to serve, and attend consistently. Yet, they are hypocrites. They do not serve the Lord from a heart of humble love for God, but rather attempt to earn God s favor through their religious practice. Whatever title or position they accumulate in Christ s church can never save their soul. When we perform religious duties from obligation, it s sin and does not please God. In fact, as we will see, it actually earns further condemnation. Each of us must carefully examine the motivation of our hearts, and check them regularly! Why do we do what we do? When I pick up my Bible to read it every day, why am I doing it? Am I doing so because I must or because I delight in God s word? When I come to church on Sunday, why do I do that? Is it because I had nothing else going on this weekend, so I might as well come? Is it to see my friends or to catch up with my buddies? Is it complete an obligation you believe God expects of you, like a check-list item you need to complete? Or, do you come because you treasure Christ, longing to worship him in your life, and to receive the richness of his Word, and to serve other believers? 3

4 When I serve as a deacon or on a church committee, why do I do that? Is it simply because no one else would do it? Is it because I m trying to earn God s favor in some way? Is it to gain influence and prominence in the eyes of the congregation? Is it to exert my own will and desires in the church? Is it to lobby for control, power, and authority? Or, is it because you wish to serve, deny yourself and your wants, for the good of others because that s what God in Christ has done for you? When I give my offering, why do I give it? Do I see giving as an obligation, giving God the bare minimum of a tithe, so I can do what I want with my part? Do I give to appease God and to make atonement for my sins? Do I give to draw attention to myself so that others might think more highly of me? Do I give with strings attached in order to coerce the church into doing what I want the church to do? Or, do I give generously and cheerfully, motivated by the radical generosity of God in order to see the Gospel advances in our community and the world? These are just a few examples, but these are hard questions, that we must ask ourselves regularly. Our sinful hearts spew twisted motivations regularly. Hypocrites do their religious duty for position, prestige, power, and pride. If that s you, you need to seriously check your heart, repent of your sin, and give your life to Christ. In his warning of the scribes, Jesus tells us a sobering truth: They will receive the greater condemnation. Jesus tells us that religious hypocrites will receive greater punishment and condemnation for their deception, pride, and greed. Those who superficially attach themselves to Christ s church, and exploit God s people for their own selfish ends will receive the harsh judgment of Christ at the end of the age. 2. The Piety of the Widow In contrast with the hypocrisy of the scribes is the poor widow. Jesus takes a seat discreetly in the crowd in order to do some people watching. Anyone whose taken a seat in a busy airport has experience the joys of watching people go to and fro. So Jesus, sits near the treasury as people put in money into the offering box. 4

5 In the treasure were thirteen brass treasure chests called trumpets. Each were inverted horns. Each chest was designated for a specific purpose. As Jesus watches, many of the rich come with large amounts of money to give. Such gifts attracted attention, as their servants unloaded the money, and dumped the bags of coinage into the trumpets. As they poured the coins, they bounced into the brass and rang out loudly for all to hear. Jesus does not criticize the gifts of the rich, but the rich gave out of their abundance. Though they gave a great deal of money, they still had plenty for themselves. So Jesus watches all of this take place, but then spots an unseemly widow. This poor widow came up to the offering box and had two small copper coins, which together would add up to make a penny. Each coin was a lepta, the smallest denomination of currency. A lepta was 1/64 of a denarius, which was a day s wage. She didn t have much, just these two small coins. No one pays attention to this woman, and no one notices her offering. However, Jesus sees her gift, and pulls his disciples together to set her as an example before them. In contrast to the scribes, here is what true piety and devotion to the Lord looks like! Jesus says, 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. What does this poor widow and her measly gift teach us about following Jesus? I think there are four lessons to learn from her piety. First, she s humble. She wasn t trying to attract to herself. Unlike the Scribes, she isn t giving for the recognition or fame. Rather, she humbly comes up and gives her gift to the Lord. Humility is one of the defining characteristics of true piety. We must all be selfless in our devotion to God, with little thought of ourselves. When we engage in our religious practices, we must avoid the pomp and circumstance of people s praise. The greatest in the kingdom are the humble servants. We must strive to follow in this woman s example. Second, she gives with the right motive. This humble woman does not give for fame, power, or influence, but gives because she loves the Lord. Jesus, who could see the motivation of people s hearts, realizes that this woman loves God. That is why she gives. When it comes to our religious practices, motivation is everything, particularly when it comes to giving. For God loves a cheerful giver. He is not honored by begrudging gifts of obligation. Giving to the Lord is not like paying your taxes. When you go to pay your income taxes each year, the IRS doesn t care if you want to pay your taxes or not. They ll take your money 5

6 whether you want to give it to them or not. In fact, they will insist that you give them your tax money, whether you want to or not! However, this is not the way it works with God and his church. You can be a regular giver to the church, and yet your gift is given in sin, because you have sinful motivations. What compels the Christian to giving is the radical generosity of God s grace. Because God has given us the riches of his Son, and bestowed upon us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, we gladly give up the money he s entrusted to us for his kingdom cause. Generosity is the inevitable result of one whose been transformed by God s generous grace. God is praised when his people give from cheerful and holy motivations. This widowed woman gives in gratefulness and thankfulness to God. The scribes perform their duty in order to gain man s praise. This widow serves as an example to us all. Third, she gave everything. The sacrifice of this woman is astonishing! She had nothing. Being a widows in those days was incredibly difficult. All she had to her name were these two little coins. Yet she gave them both! She could have kept one, and no one would have judged her for it. Yet, she gave everything she had and put those two little coins into the offering box. It s not that Jesus was necessarily displeased with the gifts of the rich, but this woman s incredible generosity is noteworthy. After all, the rich gave out of their abundance. She gave in her poverty, and she gave everything she had. We all most give as the Lord leads, but I have a feeling God is calling all of us to be more generous than we currently are. Our money follows our heart. It chases after that which we most deeply love. A heart that loves the world will invest in the things of this world. A heart that treasures Christ will invest in the kingdom of Christ. We must look at our money the way this widow considers her money. Everything belongs to God. It s been common in recent decades to greatly emphasize the principle of a tithe, giving 10% of your income to the Lord. It s a great starting point, and has thought many Christians to give faithfully to the Lord. However, one of the dangers of emphasizing the tithe so much, is that it can begin to create this mindset within us of God s money versus my money. Like paying our taxes to the IRS, we give to God the bare minimum necessary to get him off our back, so that then we can enjoy our money the way we want to enjoy it. The egregious error there is that mistaken assumption that you believe 90% of your money is yours. No, ALL of it is God s. As Christians, we are stewards of the resources God has given us to maximize them for his glory. This means financial stewardship is a spiritual issues. This doesn t mean that we must give away every penny we own, but it does require us to ask hard questions about how and why we spend our money. We all have God-given obligations 6

7 that we must provide for when it comes to our families. But, the question is not how much does God requires me to give, but how do I have keep? May we give generously and as the Spirit convicts us to give. Fourth, this widows meager gift multiplies into an abundant spiritual legacy. This woman was faithful with what she had, and gave her two coins. Now, compared to the gifts of the rich, her contribution couldn t accomplish anything significant, but God used her as a powerful testimony of true piety and true generosity. Jesus holds this woman as an example to us all, and God has used her to stir many people to true devotion to Jesus and radical generosity. Based off the text, the woman had no idea Jesus was watching her, and there is not indication that Jesus went up to her to praise her. However, the disciples remembered Jesus praise of this woman, and Mark presents this woman as an example to us all of true piety. Those two little coins made more of an impact in the kingdom of God than she thought they would! You might not think that you have much to give God. You might not have the wealth to give a large gift to God. You look at your talents and abilities, and you think I don t have much to offer. However, if you give your life to God and devote your life to him, you will be surprised just what he will accomplish! He takes our measly two fish and five loaves and multiplies them to nourish thousands. It is often those who serve in humility and in secret that make the largest impact. True piety isn t measure by the splash of our impact but by the faithfulness of what we ve been given. God has given you resources, talents, and abilities that he desires for you to use for his glory. When you give God the entirety of your life, you will see him work beyond what you could ever imagine. Final Thoughts The Scribes served for the attention and fame. The widow gave for the joy of the Lord. The Scribes worked for the praise of people. The widow gave for the praise of God. The Scribes loved wealth and money. The widow loved God above money. These two characters the scribe and the widow present us with a difficult question. Which one are you? Are you the scribe who serves for attention and praise? Or are you the widow who gives what she has in love to God? Are you a hypocrite like the scribe, fooling everyone around you with your vain piety? Or are you like the widow, ignored by most, but genuine and humble in your love for God? 7

8 For the hypocrites here, may you realize the severe danger that you are in; you will receive the greater condemnation. Your fake religious practice is actually earning you God s judgment, not God s favor. May you repent of your hypocrisy, and humbly throw yourself at the feet of Jesus for mercy. Confess your sins, and beg for God to give you a heart that loves him. Receive the grace of God in humble faith. For the widows here, who exercise a true and humble piety continue! May your love for the Lord be displayed through humble service to him. Give to God all of your life. Deny yourself for the glory of Christ, knowing that Christ sees your devotion when no one else does. He sees, and will reward accordingly in the last day. God takes great pleasure in the service and sacrifice of his saints. Give to God all that you have, and watch him use you to make an incredible impact, whether you ever witness it or not. 8