Mark 12: 35-44
³⁵And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
³⁶David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.”‘
³⁷David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.
³⁸In 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, ³⁹and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, ⁴⁰who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Mite
⁴¹And 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.
⁴²A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.
⁴³Calling 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; ⁴⁴for 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.”
Jesus is the Son of David and our Lord.
He looks for real faith in our life and lives out of that faith.
David is seen in the Bible not only as the king of Israel, whom God was pleased with, but also as a prophet (Cf. Acts 2:30,31).
In the human line of descent from Mary, Jesus is of the line of David, the royal family. But because Jesus came back from the dead, He was appointed “Son of God clothed with power” (Romans 1:3,4).
He now sits at God’s right hand and thus has become our Lord (Philippians 2:9-11). So that David already calls Him Lord in Psalm 110:1 is a prophecy that the Holy Spirit revealed to him at that time (Mark 12:35,36).
Because the Holy Spirit reveals God’s actions to people, Jesus during His life on earth already warns against people who want to show their service to God through appearances (cf. Mark 12:37-40).
This formalistic religion is different from what the Lord reveals.
It is a work of man and not a working of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says … no one knows the Son but the Father, and no one knows the Father but the Son, and to whom the Son wills to reveal Him (Matthew 11:25-27).
That revelation takes place through the working of the Holy Ghost in our spirits. Then, by God’s grace, we come to a childlike surrender to God and to a pure life in our relationship with our neighbor.
Jesus never judged people by appearance.
Because He Himself was clean inwardly, He understood the inward parts of others (Compare John 2:23-25).
When Jesus saw at the entrance of the temple in Jerusalem what gifts were thrown into the sacrificial box, He saw that some were putting a lot into it.
The poor widow put in only two copper coins, almost nothing in value. But it was all she owned at the time. That is why Jesus says that in essence she gave the most. The others always had more than they gave (Mark 12:41-44).
God is concerned with the reality of faith in our everyday lives, not make-belief.
False belief is essentially hypocrisy. We do not serve or glorify the Lord with that. Faith that is what God is all about must be a matter of our heart (Compare Proverbs 23:26; Deuteronomy 30:6)!
Question for self-reflection
▪︎ How does a person get God’s light on his own life? (Compare Psalms 139:23,24.)
Prayer suggestion
▪︎ Ask the Lord to teach you to understand His truth
Twitter: @SchoemakerHarry
Website 1: https://devotionals.harryschoemaker.nl
Website 2: http://bijbelplaatjes.nl
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