21 

Religion and Its Victims
(Mark 12:38–44) 

In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.” And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.” (12:38–44)

Unlike many in today’s church who promote tolerance of false teachers in the name of love and unity, the Bible writers strongly denounced them and warned of the extreme danger they pose. Scripture does not advocate tolerance for these ever present emissaries from Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44), who disguise themselves as servants of righteousness (2 Cor. 11:13–15). Instead, it denounces false teachers, using striking and graphic expressions. They are described as blind men who know nothing, mute dogs unable to bark, dreamers lying down who love to slumber (Isa. 56:10), demented fools (Hos. 9:7), reckless, treacherous men (Zeph. 3:4), ravenous wolves (Matt. 7:15), blind guides of the blind (Matt. 15:14; cf. 23:16), hypocrites (Matt. 23:13), fools (v. 17), whitewashed tombs full of bones (v. 27), serpents, a brood of vipers (v. 33), thieves and robbers (John 10:8), savage wolves (Acts 20:29), slaves of their own appetites (Rom. 16:18), hucksters peddling the Word of God (2 Cor. 2:17), false apostles, deceitful workers (2 Cor. 11:13), servants of Satan (v. 15), purveyors of a different gospel (Gal. 1:6–8), dogs, evil workers (Phil. 3:2), enemies of the cross of Christ (Phil. 3:18), those who are conceited and understand nothing (1 Tim. 6:4), men of depraved minds deprived of the truth (v. 5), men who have gone astray from the truth (2 Tim. 2:18), captives of the devil (v. 26), deceivers (2 John 7), ungodly persons (Jude 4), and unreasoning animals (v. 10). The Bible also pronounces severe judgment on them (Deut. 13:5; 18:20; Jer. 14:15; Gal. 1:8–9; Rev. 2:20–23).

In sharp contrast to those advocates of tolerance who teach that God accepts people of any religion, the Bible teaches the opposite. For example, in the book of Proverbs alone, the following condemnations of wicked unbelievers appear: “The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord” (Prov. 11:20). “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord” (Prov. 15:8). “The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord” (Prov. 15:9). “He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination” (Prov. 28:9).

The reason for the Bible’s strong, emphatic warnings against false teachers is the extreme disaster they bring to people’s eternal souls. They lead many astray from the truth of God’s Word (Isa. 3:12; 9:16; Jer. 14:13; 23:26–27, 32; 50:6; Matt. 23:13, 15; 24:4–5, 24; Luke 11:46, 52; Rom. 16:17–18; Col. 2:4, 8, 18; 1 Thess. 2:14–16; 2 Tim. 3:13; Titus 1:10; 2 John 7)—especially concerning the need for repentance from sin (Jer. 6:14; 8:11; 23:21–22; Lam. 2:14; Ezek. 13:10, 16, 22). They lure people away from the narrow way of gospel salvation that leads to eternal life in heaven and direct them onto the broad path that leads to eternal damnation in hell (Matt. 7:13–15; cf. 2 Peter 2:1–3; Jude 4–16).

In Israel in the time of Christ, the promoters of satanic falsehoods were the very ones charged with protecting God’s truth and teaching it to the people—the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, and other religious leaders. Though the people perceived them as devout, respected, responsible shepherds of God’s people, they actually were seeking popularity, power, prestige, and above all, money (Mic. 3:5; Luke 16:14; 2 Peter 2:1–3, 14). They claimed to worship and honor God, yet they were intent on murdering the Son of God. That goal united these diverse groups, who frequently differed with each other. Truly their father was the devil (John 8:44).

All day long on that Wednesday of Passion Week, Jesus had taught the people in the temple grounds. During that time the Sanhedrin, as noted in previous chapters, the ruling council of Israel, had made three desperate, last ditch assaults, seeking to bring about His execution (see chapters 17–19 of this volume). The Lord thwarted all three attempts, then confronted them with a question that led to proving His deity from Psalm 110 (see chapter 20 of this volume). No doubt many of the people gathered there in the temple precincts applauded Jesus’ clearing the corrupt businesses out of the temple complex on Tuesday. They were surely impressed with the answers He gave to those who had tried to trap Him and His counterquestion to them.

The teaching in this passage Jesus addressed to His disciples (Luke 20:45). After His last confrontation with the religious leaders (12:35–37), the Lord would say nothing more to them until His trial. And while the crowd was also listening to Him, Christ’s focus in this text was on His disciples.

The passage may be comprehended in four headings: the caution, the characterization, the condemnation, and the case.

THE CAUTION

In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes (12:38a)

In this His final time of public teaching, Jesus was saying to His disciples, “Beware of the scribes.” Fittingly, in keeping with what had been a major theme throughout His ministry (cf. Matt. 7:15–20; 15:14; 16:6), all that remained for this final message was a condemnation of the hypocritical apostates, particularly the scribes, who were the self-proclaimed experts in the law and rabbinic writings (Matt. 22:35; Luke 7:30; 10:25; 11:45–46, 52; 14:3; cf. 5:17). Since most scribes were Pharisees, they are included in this denunciation and warning.

The Lord’s message is a forceful condemnation of all who hold a corrupt view of Scripture, Christ, and the gospel. Unlike many in today’s church, Jesus had zero tolerance for false teachers. (For a further discussion of this issue, see my books The Truth War [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007] and The Jesus You Can’t Ignore [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008].)

To hear Jesus denounce the scribes must have shocked those listening to Him, since they were held in such high esteem. According to Jewish tradition, Moses received the law and gave it to Joshua, who gave it to the elders, who gave it to the prophets, who gave it to the scribes. The Mishnah, the codification of the oral laws, declares, “It is more culpable to transgress the words of the Scribes than those of the Torah [the five books of Moses]” (cited in Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974], 1:625 n. 1). The scribes were revered as the gatekeepers of the law and the protectors of the people. In theory, they defined the law for all and held all to its standards, obedience to which, they promised, brought blessing. In reality they were hypocrites, sons of hell who made their disciples twice as much sons of hell as they were (Matt. 23:15).

THE CHARACTERIZATION

who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; (12:38b–40a)

After warning the disciples and the crowd, Jesus gave five illustrations of their hypocrisy.

First, they made certain to walk around in long robes. These were full length, expensive, ornate outer garments. On their fringes were the required tassels (Num. 15:38–40; cf. Matt. 9:20), which the scribes enlarged in a grandiose display of their supposed piety (Matt. 23:5).

Second, they expected respectful greetings in the market places. Their flamboyant robes marked them as scribes, so everyone knew who they were. To fail to deferentially greet them with honor was considered a very serious affront. They affected dignified titles by which they expected to be addressed, such as: “Rabbi,” signifying that they were the expositors and interpreters of God’s law (Matt. 23:7); “Father” (Matt. 23:9), that is, the source of spiritual life and truth; and “Leader” (Matt. 23:10), as befitted those who determined direction and even destiny.

Third, in their overweening pride and craving for attention and adulation, they eagerly sought the chief seats (i.e., the most prominent and important) in the synagogues (those on the elevated platform at the front) and places of honor at banquets (those closest to the host), which prideful practice the Lord referred to in Luke 14:7–11.

While the first three examples revealed the scribes’ obsessive pride, the next one was far more sinister. Their insatiable greed led them, in flagrant disregard of the repeated teaching of the Old Testament (e.g., Ex. 22:22; Deut. 10:18; 14:29; 24:17–21; 27:19; Pss. 68:5; 146:9; Prov. 15:25; Isa. 1:17; Jer. 22:3; Zech. 7:10), to prey on the most helpless members of society and devour widows’ houses. The scribes consumed the limited resources of those who had the least. They abused their hospitality, defrauded them of their estates, mismanaged their property, and took their houses as pledges for debts that they could never repay (cf. Darrell L. Bock, Luke 9:51–24:53, The Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996], 1643). Like they did with everyone caught up in their false religious system, they also demanded that widows give money to purchase God’s blessings.

Finally, for appearance’s sake they offered long, public prayers to showcase their imagined holiness and devotion to God. “When you pray,” Jesus commanded, “you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full” (Matt. 6:5). He told a parable in which a “Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector’” (Luke 18:11). Yet it was not the arrogant, self-righteous Pharisee but the broken, humbled, repentant tax collector who was justified (v. 14). The scribes’ prayers, like the rest of their religion, was nothing but a pretense; a sham; an outward show; “meaningless repetition” (Matt. 6:7) designed not to honor God but to exalt themselves.

THE CONDEMNATION

these will receive greater condemnation.” (12:40b)

Instead of being rewarded by God for their self-righteous, self-promoting religion as they expected, the scribes would receive the opposite—greater condemnation. It is a sobering reality that those who know the truth and reject it will receive more severe punishment than those who never heard it. “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve,” asked the writer of Hebrews, “who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Heb. 10:29). The judgment on Israel’s religious leaders would be intensified because not only did they knowingly reject the truth but also led others astray. For that and their many other sins, Jesus pronounced judgment on them in Matthew 23:

Then, summing it all up, the Lord declared to them, “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?” (v. 33).

THE CASE

And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.” (12:41–44)

The story takes a seemingly strange turn as Jesus, after a wearying day, sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury. At first glance, the inclusion of this story about a widow and her offering is puzzling. The previous section ended with a warning of judgment (v. 40) and the next section resumes that theme (13:1ff.). Universally, this woman is presented as a model of dutiful, faithful giving over against the ugly backdrop of the corrupt pretense of Israel’s religious leaders.

Not only is such a perspective foreign to the context, but also if the widow is teaching a lesson on giving, what is it? On that crucial point there is no agreement among commentators. Several options are presented. Some argue that the story teaches that giving is not to be measured by the amount that was given but by what the giver kept back. Others insist that giving must be measured by the level of the giver’s self-denial, as reflected by the percentage of the person’s resources that was given. Another view is that a gift’s value is directly related to the attitude with which it is given. Was it given in selfless humility as an expression of love and devotion to God? The widow, having given everything she possessed, had the least amount possible left after her gift. Therefore, she must have had the attitude most pleasing to God. According to that view, it would seem that the gift that most pleases God is everything one possesses.

All of those ideas are imposed on the narrative, however. Jesus drew no principle regarding giving from her behavior. The text does not record that He condemned the rich for their giving, or commended the widow for hers. He offered no comment regarding the true nature of her act, her attitude, or the spirit in which her gift was given. Nor were the disciples instructed to follow her example; in fact, it is not clear from the narrative that she truly knew God or believed in Christ. Since Jesus made no point about giving from her action, this story cannot properly be interpreted as any kind of lesson on stewardship.

What is clear from the passage is that the widow is not the hero of the story but the victim, duped into giving all she had by the false promise of Jewish legalism that doing so would bring blessing. She is a tragic example of how the corrupt religious system mistreated widows, and that is what connects this passage with the judgment passages that precede and follow it.

At the end of a long, wearying day of ministry, Jesus sat down opposite the treasury. The treasury was located in the Court of the Women, which was open to all Jewish people. It consisted of thirteen trumpet-shaped receptacles into which people placed their offerings. As He sat there looking, the Lord began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury. It must have deeply grieved and angered Him to see people sacrificing their money to this wretched, apostate, corrupt system of false religion, under the misguided assumption that doing so would please God and produce divine blessing.

Jesus observed that many rich (the Greek word refers to those who are fully supplied and have enough) people were putting in large sums of money. They had much and were able to give large amounts, and were therefore mistakenly thought to have the inside track to God’s kingdom (see the exposition of 10:25 in chapter 8 of this volume). His attention was especially focused on a poor widow who came and put in two small copper coins (the smallest denomination of Jewish currency), which amount to a cent (one sixty-fourth of a denarius; a denarius was a day’s wage for a common laborer).

Seizing the opportunity to use her plight as an illustration, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.” Proportionally, she put in more than all the contributors to the treasury. The rich gave out of their surplus; she, on the other hand, put in all she owned, all she had to live on. Here was a woman who had been devoured by the false religious system and was left totally destitute, without anything left to live on.

Far from viewing her giving as a model for that of believers, Jesus was angry with the religious system that had literally taken her last cent. In the next section (13:1ff.), Mark records His response—He pronounced judgment on that apostate system.