They Don't Make Crosses like They Used To

Since we are in the Easter Season let us look at the events that lead up to the last few weeks of Jesus' life on earth.

Jesus is in the temple at Jerusalem and as usual it is a busy place. There is lots of activity and commotion. And even though Jesus and the disciples are at the same location they view the scene through very different eyes. I want to contrast what Jesus notices and what the disciples notice.

1.JESUS SAW THE WIDOW

There were many people that day filing by to put their contributions of money in the chests that the treasury had provided. There were many wealthy people who were putting in large sums of money and there were probably a great number of middle-class folk putting in their respectable middle-class offering. (the middle-class at that time was not nearly as big as it is in our society.)

Finally there were many poor people that put in their meager contributions. (There seemed to be many more poor people at that time than there is in our society, though we seem to have more all the time). Yet out of all these people, Jesus takes notice of one certain woman. She probably was not even noticed by the rest. Very unassuming.

However, she stood out in Jesus' eyes; she stood out in the crowd of rich; . . . amidst the middle-class; . . . she even stood out among the herd of her own kind, the destitute.

So why did she catch Jesus' eye?

She gave two small copper coins called "lepta" . These coins were insignificant in their value that it was hardly worth the effort to stamp them out. So, she certainly did not attract Jesus' attention because of the amount she gave. As pathetically little as her contribution was, it was all she had. And she felt there was no better way to spend it than to give it to God.

That is what caught Jesus' attention.

Well, I can never just let a passage of scripture go by without asking at least a few questions about it.

Such as: How did Jesus know that it was all the money that she had?

Was it because he was Jesus and as such knew all things and therefore that this was all the money that she had; OR was it because he had met this lady several times before or knew her through the stories of others and he had heard about her circumstances.

Perhaps every time he went to the temple she could be seen scurrying around in the background helping out any way she could. Perhaps Jesus knew it was the last of her assets because he knew of her reputation of having such a great devotion to God.

How did He know she was a widow? Again, probably because he had met her or heard of her before.

I wonder how her husband died? Was it in one of the many rebellions against Rome? Maybe, but it is more probable that he simply worked his tired body trying to keep his family clothed and fed until he collapsed.

I wonder how long she had been widowed? REMEMBER, that the people in the bible are REAL people, like you and I, not flat characters lying on a page. They felt things deeply as you and I do.

I can only imagine that the harshness of her life of abject poverty was accentuated all the more by the deep gripping loneliness that was never far from her conscious mind. The plight of a widow was grim.

Knowing all this heightens the impact of what she did to give all she had. Yet she counts it a honor to give all to God.

She is not embarrassed to stand in line behind someone wearing flowing, seamless robes, elaborately embroidered with gold thread.

Those who were wealthy, while they gave larger sums of money by far, gave out of their excess, their extra. In terms of sacrifice, it really cost them nothing. It was easy for them to drop money in the chest. It would have almost no impact on their lives; but not so for her.

This lady speaks volumes to us; she speaks to us about our giving. That our attitude in which we give is far more important than the actual amount of money we give.
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Lets not allow our material possessions lull us into thinking we are secure. Lets not be thinking that our talents and abilities and education and youthful energy is all we need to be successful in life. It is all so fleeting.

She also reminds us in this season of Lent that Jesus, like herself, gave his all. He gave his very life. As the song says, "What more could he give?" He gave all to demonstrate his love for you, if that is not good enough for you to come to Jesus there is nothing left to give.

That is what Jesus saw on this trip to the temple close to end of his life. The disciple saw something completely different.

2.THE DISCIPLES SAW THE TEMPLE BUILDING

What a contrast! It would appear that at the moment that Jesus was observing the devotion of this widow, the disciples were enamored by the grandeur of the Temple building.

Yes, this was the temple King Herod had built and it would have paled in comparison to the first temple built on that site by King Solomon, but still, it was magnificent. Rows and rows of polished pearly white columns, the thick wall which surrounded it enclosed an area the size of many football fields or several city blocks. It was breathtaking in its ornate majesty. It dominated the skyline over the city that hovered below.
This is what the disciples saw on this trip. Surely if ever there was a piece of the Kingdom of God on earth, it was here. After all the temple housed the ark of the covenant in the room called "the holy of holies"; the stone tablets on which were carved the ten commandments; a jar of manna from Israel's dessert wandering days; Aaron's rod which had once turned into a snake. . . if ever God had lowered a chuck of heaven to earth it had to be here, on this hill in the middle of Jerusalem.

But I wonder if Jesus ever became discouraged with the disciples. After all the time they had spent with him, they still did not see the way he saw things. They still did not see things through His eyes. They did not see with spiritual eyes.

How could they have missed it?

Missed what?

The Kingdom of God of course.

Hadn't he just shown it to them in the life of the widow? After all this time, was it possible that they still did not comprehend that the Kingdom of God is a God-directed attitude towards life? That the kingdom of God dawns in the hearts of God fearing people like this widow who give their all to God.

The Kingdom of God is not of material things like buildings or anything else in the material realm.

Like the wealthy who gave out of their plenty the disciples had a false sense of security.

DURING THIS TIME OF LENT, IT IS A GOOD TIME TO EXAMINE OUR LIVES AND DISCOVER IF THERE ARE ANY AREAS WHERE WE HAVE FALSE SECURITIES.