The Many Facets of God's Good Gifts

Well, it's good to see those of you who are here. Good job, brave in the snow. It's great to have you here and I trust and be praying that God takes you home safe.

We find ourselves this morning in Luke chapter 20. We're going to be picking this up in verse 41 and it's going to take us to Luke chapter 21 verse 4.

Luke 20 · chapter mention Luke 21:4

Just to set some context for where we are, we've been spending some time kind of looking through this final week of Jesus' life and ministry.

This is the Passion Week. We picked it up on a Friday as Jesus is making his way into Jericho and the interaction that he has with the blind men that are there,

the interaction that he has with Zacchaeus and then that group of individuals are making their way up to Jerusalem on a Saturday.

And then on a Sunday, Jesus is making his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. And then we find ourselves on Monday that Jesus is cleansing the temple.

And then on Tuesday and Wednesday, he's teaching. He's made it a point to address these crowds. He's made it a point to extend to them the grace of God through the Word of God.

But just for a moment, with me marvel at the wonder of God's kindness to continue to make himself accessible to the very people that were going to kill him on Friday.

Here he is extending his very person. He's accessible. He's near. He's available for their questions.

He's fielding the criticism of these religious leaders. He's instructing them from the Scriptures.

He's extending himself an invitation, trying to make the truth of the Word of God clear to them so they will hear it.

They will receive it and they'll know without a shadow of a doubt who he is.

His identity is clear through these final days of his life.

And we find again the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ extending himself again to these individuals again here at the temple.

And we find these many facets this morning of God's grace.

Three little stories, three little pieces, snippets of this day.

And it doesn't seem apparent at first what is really going on and how these pieces connect together.

But that God is extending his goodness, his grace to those who are there.

And that's what I want to just kind of draw your attention to this morning.

The different facets, the different aspects of God's kindness to various individuals that he encounters here on this day here in the temple.

I wonder if maybe you've ever asked yourself the question,

How did I miss that?

You ever ask yourself the question, How did I miss that?

It was so obvious. It was so clear.

And I missed it. How did I miss it?

And maybe you were putting together a piece of furniture.

Or maybe you were trying to fix your car.

Or maybe something that required some instructions and a recipe.

And it just didn't turn out the way it was supposed to turn out.

And you look back at the instructions like, What did I miss?

How did I miss that?

And you look at those instructions and there it was in bold.

And it was numbered. It was clear.

And somehow it escaped your attention.

Well, I had an experience like that several years ago when I was in my first year at seminary.

I was in a hermeneutics class.

And hermeneutics just basically is a study of interpretation.

Interpreting the Bible.

And my professor had kind of built up.

There were two assignments.

Two main papers that were due.

One at the middle and one at the end of the semester.

And he built these papers up to be,

If you don't do well on this paper, you should not be a pastor.

I go, Wow, this is really important.

I got to get this right.

I got to work hard.

I got to follow the instructions.

And so I worked on this for weeks.

I poured my heart and life into this paper.

And there were two sections of instructions on how to do this.

One at the beginning of the syllabus.

And one towards the end of the instructions section.

And so I read those instructions.

I followed them to the T.

I had the right length.

I had the right content.

I had the right number of scholarly sources.

I used the right number of interpretive elements.

I had the right format.

I turned it in on time.

And to my surprise and utter dismay,

I got the paper back, D minus.

D minus!

What in the world was I missing?

So I called the professor.

And we talked it through.

And come to find out there was a formatting issue.

Everything was intact.

All of the things were in place.

It was a formatting issue.

And because of a formatting issue,

I got a D minus.

I'm like, well, where were the instructions for that?

And so going back in the day, the early 2000s,

the syllabuses did not come out electronically.

You got a physical copy of that syllabus.

And it was printed by the library.

And I received my syllabus.

And come to find out, I was missing a page.

A page of my syllabus was missing from the library that printed this for me.

And I could not know because it was at the end of a section that went from myrman numerals to enumeration.

One, two, three, four, five.

Now just because the instructions were not captured for me in my copy of the syllabus,

I was still responsible for the standards, the expectations of the paper.

And so while it may seem to be impossible for me to meet the expectations

because they were hidden from me,

it didn't mean that those expectations were still not in place.

And I was still accountable for them.

And while it seemed unfair because those instructions were hidden,

I was still accountable to meet the expectations that were written.

God, in this final week, is making the instructions clear.

God, by His grace, is extending truth.

And throughout His ministry, He's made it so clear, so evident, so obvious.

And the testimony of Scripture is that it's a testimony of God giving us everything that we need,

as 2 Peter says, for life and godliness.

All the instructions are there.

All the words, all the truths, nothing is hidden from view.

It's all available.

It's all accessible.

The question is, will you read it?

Will you know it?

But we also need to realize that just because the truths are shared,

just like they were from Christ's ministry,

through the teaching of His words and through the evidence of His works,

His miracles,

it was still hidden from view from these religious leaders,

and it was still hidden from view from many of those who were listening and watching Christ as He taught.

You see, even though we have access to truth,

we can still miss it.

We can still miss it because we need the Spirit to help inform our hearts

and to bring the blinders down, as it were,

and to reveal in us the truths that only the Spirit can reveal.

Paul says to the church of Corinth in 1 Corinthians 2, verses 13 and 14,

1 Corinthians 2:13

he's communicating this when he says,

and we impart this in words.

He's speaking about the gospel.

Not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit.

Interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God,

for they are folly to him.

And he is not able to understand them

because they are spiritually discerned.

So even this morning, as we enter our time of looking into the Word of God,

the only way for the Word of God to have its impact in our life

is for the Spirit to do His work.

His truth, however accessible, however clear, however direct,

in order for it to have its way in your heart, you need the Spirit.

I'm just going to pray briefly that God will do this for us.

We're going to invite the Holy Spirit to have His way

as we work through this passage together.

Lord, thank you that you've made your Word clear.

Thank you that it's direct and accessible.

But, oh Lord, we understand that even in what seems a very simple task,

that we need the help of your Holy Spirit,

because natural men cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God,

their foolishness to us,

unless we have the help of your Spirit directing, informing,

convicting, and helping us as we seek to know what you say.

So, Father, I pray that you would graciously meet us,

even in these moments,

as we dive into the Scriptures.

I pray that we would not just be hearers of the Word,

but doers of it.

In Jesus' name, amen.

We're going to see three different aspects of God's grace

through Jesus Christ,

these gifts that He is imparting to those listeners here at the temple.

The first is the gift of God's Word.

The gift of God's Word.

We see that in verses 41 to 44.

Notice with me.

By the way, we're in Luke chapter 20.

Luke 20 · chapter mention

If you're using the Pew Bible,

it's on page 880.

I trust you're following along with us.

It says this.

This is Jesus.

He said to them,

How can they say that the Christ is David's son?

For David himself says in the book of Psalms,

The Lord said to my Lord,

Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.

David thus calls him Lord.

So, how is He his son?

The question may seem a little out of place.

If you're kind of following along with us,

and you've been with us along these several weeks,

you'll realize that Jesus has been answering some questions.

We saw that last week.

He answered some questions of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

To the Pharisees who asked Him about the coin.

Should we pay taxes to Caesar, right?

And in Luke chapter 20 verse 25,

Luke 20:25

He says,

Give to God the things that are God.

Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's.

And then for those Sadducees who asked Him a question about the resurrection,

the thrust or the focus of Jesus' answer is found in verse 38.

He says,

It's a question of belonging.

It's a question of what are you living for?

It's a question of value and treasure.

Where is the direction of your life?

What is the focus of your priorities?

Where is your life driving to in the present moment?

And where will it end up in the future day?

And now this question that Jesus asks about the identity of the Christ,

is He the Son of David?

It almost seems out of place.

But I think this is what's going on here.

Jesus is giving the gift of truth.

Jesus is seeking to help pull down the last two obstacles that the scribes and the Pharisees

and the Sadducees have about the identity of Jesus.

He is speaking to these individuals who are the elite thinkers in Jerusalem.

He's making them really look silly, as it were,

by answering their questions and doing it right in the midst of the people.

So now Jesus is taking the initiative.

He's silenced the chief priests.

He's silenced the Sadducees.

And now He's taking the initiative to ask them a question.

He's speaking to the heart of the issue.

What is the core of their inability in believing in Jesus?

It was His claim to be God.

That's what's at the heart of their problem,

their issue that they're struggling with.

You see, this had been their question throughout His public ministry.

It really came to a head,

and we see it really front and center in John chapter 6, verses 41 and 42.

John 6:41

The Jews grumbled about Him because He said,

I am the bread that came down from heaven.

They said, is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph,

whose father and mother we know?

How does He now say,

I have come down from heaven?

You can appreciate the struggle.

I think all of us who have a theological underpinning,

we can recognize that there are some things that Jesus was saying

that seem so out of place.

God is eternal after all.

God is not born.

God has no beginning or end.

And if Jesus was born,

and Jesus is from Joseph,

then how can He be from heaven?

Add to that the clear teaching of the Old Testament,

that God is one.

And in the Shema,

this part of the Scripture

that was built into the knowledge

and the fabric of Judaism,

in Deuteronomy chapter 6, 4 and 5.

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

Hear, O Israel,

the Lord our God,

the Lord is one.

You shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart,

with all your soul,

with all your might.

And here Jesus is making Himself

to be equal with God.

Jesus is saying He's from heaven.

How can it be that God is one

and that now Jesus claims to be God,

but He's speaking of coming from a Father?

John chapter 10, verses 33,

John 10:33

kind of brings this to the forefront.

The Jews answered Him,

It is not for a good work

that we're going to stone you,

but for blasphemy,

because you being a man,

make yourself God.

That, of course, was the problem.

So we've got to appreciate the struggle

that these religious thinkers were having.

Those who were entrusted

with the doctrines of the people

and seeking to help,

to guide them in correct theology.

And this concept of Jesus coming from heaven,

that He was also born,

and that He was equal with the Father,

it broke every piece of their doctrine.

It made their mind hurt.

They couldn't wrap their heads

around how this was even possible.

So Jesus,

with a desire to overcome this obstacle,

uses the gift of Scripture.

He uses the Word of God.

The very Word, by the way,

that they had attached

to messianic fulfillment,

fulfillment,

Jesus is going to use

that verse,

He's going to apply it

to this situation,

and He's going to make it

so clear to them

that they,

at this point,

never ask Him a question again.

Because they know the answer.

The answer is clear,

and yet it just shatters.

It shatters everything

about their theology.

Jesus pulls from Psalm 110,

and He deals with both

of these theological issues simultaneously.

First, He deals with this issue

of monotheism,

which of course the Lord is one,

and that is not disputed here,

but Jesus is trying to help them

get their heads around the fact

that while God is one,

there is this triune nature of God,

these persons of God,

the Father, the Son,

the Holy Spirit,

that they had no concept of.

And yet here it is,

in Psalm 110.

Here is this truth

that is clear.

It's unmistakable.

And in this Psalm,

it begins with,

the Lord said to my Lord,

sit at my right hand.

And this first word for Lord,

we're not ready for this slide,

by the way.

This first word for Lord

is the word Yahweh.

It's the word that's used

throughout the Old Testament

to speak of God

as the covenant keeper,

the God who's preeminent

over His people.

And then this Lord,

Yahweh,

is speaking to a Lord

who the word is Adonai.

It's the word for master.

And here we find both names

that are present.

Both clearly represent God.

Because God says to the Lord,

sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies

your footstool.

This right hand was a hand of power,

a hand of authority.

I'm going to make your enemies

your footstool,

which means I'm going to give you

this honor.

I'm going to allow you

to exercise power,

which of course is a right

that's only reserved to God

and God alone.

This truth would have dismantled

their conventional thinking

about God.

Yes, God was one.

But He was one God

represented in this way

of Yahweh speaking to the Lord.

Somehow,

the persons of this Trinity

even show up here

in Psalm 110.1.

And so,

because He was this way,

He existed

from before the foundation

of the world.

He possessed the same essence,

the exercise,

the same power.

And we see

at least a glimpse

of this captured for us

in Psalm 110.1.

So,

it deals with their concept

of the oneness of God,

but also deals with

the issue of headship

and authority.

Inherent in the Jewish mind

was that the Father

was the head of the family.

And as the head of the family,

He was preeminent.

He was the ultimate.

He was the most important.

And so,

sons would call

their father Lord.

Fathers would not call

their sons Lord.

And yet,

that is exactly

what is happening

here in our text.

This was an issue

of succession

in the mind

of the Jew.

That those who

came from the head

then served the head.

They were the ones

who carried on

the name of the head

and served the purposes

of the head.

And so,

everything traced back

to that starting point.

We see

in the religious leader's

question

of Jesus

six months earlier,

the same kind

of question

that comes up

in John 8,

John 8:53

verse 53.

Are you greater

than our father Abraham

who died?

Speaking all the way

to the beginning

of the people,

Abraham,

which was kind

of the preeminent figure

of this people,

this nation.

So,

who is this Lord

in Psalm 110?

Well,

of course,

he is the Christ,

the Messiah.

And we see

the traces of that

in the rest of this psalm,

particularly in Psalm 110,

Psalms 110:2

verse 2,

in Psalm 10,

Psalms 10:5

verse 5.

It speaks about

what the Lord will do.

The Lord sends forth

from Zion,

your mighty scepter.

Rule in the midst

of all your enemies.

The Lord is at your right hand.

He will shatter kings

on the day of his wrath.

This was the fulfillment

of the promise

that had been given

to David

about his future son,

this Messiah,

this Christ figure.

And the Pharisees

and scribes

and chief priests

who were all present

understood

this very truth.

So,

they're not providing

any pushback,

any resistance,

because Jesus

is speaking in a way

that they agree.

They know this is speaking

of this messianic figure,

but they had never

conceived of the fact

that David is referring

to him as

my Lord.

He's my Lord

as David is writing

this psalm.

Connection is this,

that while the fulfillment

of this psalm

is messianic,

it speaks here

of Christ,

the Messiah,

who is presented

both as David's son

and as David's Lord.

Thus,

he's fully God

and fully man,

a concept which would

have broken

their theology.

It was mind-blowing.

It broke

the way

they viewed God,

but because

of their hearts

were unwilling

to be teachable,

they could not receive

the truth

that Jesus

was sharing.

Jesus graciously

offers them

the gift of the Scripture,

the very Scriptures

they even knew

and embraced,

and yet they still

could not receive it.

Aren't we so much

like the Pharisees

at times?

That God has graciously

given us his Word,

that his instructions

are clear to us.

They're not hidden,

they're not missing,

they're not too sophisticated,

they're written

in simple language.

He's given us

everything that we need

for life and godliness,

but in order to enjoy

this gift of God's Word,

there are three things

that need to be true.

First, we need to be

those who are in the Word.

We need to be those

who are in the Word,

reading the Word,

listening to the Word,

studying the Word,

meditating on the Word,

as the psalmist says,

day and night.

And then you'll be like

a tree that's planted

by rivers of water.

Be those who see

the Word of God

as David did,

more precious than gold.

The kind of Word

that is sweeter

than honey in the honeycomb.

We need to be those,

first of all,

who are in the Word of God

and receive this gift

of God's grace.

Do you realize

that you can have

as much of God's grace

as you want?

Just open up the book.

Read the Word.

Enjoy the grace

that God has given to you.

He's entrusted to you.

He's dispensed to you

through the Scriptures.

But second,

we need to be those

who ask God for help

in understanding the Word.

Those who ask the Spirit

to do the work

of informing our hearts.

1 John 2, verse 27 says,

1 John 2:27

but the anointing

that you receive from Him,

it abides in you.

And you need,

not that anyone should teach you,

but as His anointing teaches you

about everything

and is true

and is no lie,

just as it has taught you,

you abide in Him.

This is speaking of the Spirit.

The Spirit's work

in the heart

of every true believer

to make His Word clear,

to apply it to your life,

to take those truths

and to sift through them,

to make them available to you

so that you know

what He's saying

and you can apply it

to your life.

And that's the third thing.

Not just reading,

not just asking for help,

but obeying it.

We see that in James,

James 1:22

chapter 1, verse 22.

Be doers of the Word

and not hearers only,

deceiving yourselves.

Allow the Word,

this gift of God's grace,

allow it to not only

inform your heart,

but allow it to change your life.

This gift of God's grace

extended through His Word

and here Jesus is,

a couple of days away

from His crucifixion,

continuing to extend

this gift of grace

through His Word.

And now Jesus

will transition

from this teaching moment

to a warning moment.

And that's where we get

to the next gift,

this gift of God's warning.

Not just of His Word,

but of His warning.

And God throughout

the Scriptures

has graciously warned us

about the things

that He wants to keep us from,

those things that are going

to hurt us,

and He's warned us

to stay away

from those individuals

who will shipwreck our faith.

That's what He's doing here

in verses 20,

or chapter 20,

verses 45 to 47.

It says,

in the hearing of all the people,

He said to His disciples.

So now Jesus is turning

His attention to His disciples.

He wants them to recognize

that the Word that is coming

now is a Word that's going

to help inform their understanding.

He says this,

Beware of the scribes

who like to walk around

in long robes

and love greetings

in the marketplace

and the best seats

in the synagogue

and the places of honor

at the feasts,

who devour widows' houses

and for a pretense

make long prayers.

They will receive

the greater condemnation.

This warning

that God is now giving

to future leaders,

to His apostles,

those who are going

to help lay the foundation

for this church,

this new church age.

And they're going

to take the place

of these religious leaders

who have been entrusted

with that responsibility

here in the first century,

who are unfaithful

with the task.

And now Jesus

is warning His disciples

of the kinds of leaders

they need to be.

Jesus addresses

this telltale sign

of ineffective,

false leaders.

and it narrows in

on one thing,

their pride.

We see their pride

throughout each

of these six characteristics.

They're drawing attention

to themselves.

They love their popularity.

They seek the most

prominent places.

They serve their own purposes

regardless of who

they hurt in the process.

They flaunt their spirituality

through their long prayers.

They, in one word,

are proud.

They only care about themselves.

It's a dangerous trap.

This self-affirming trap

that Jesus identifies

as a clear flag

of false teachers.

We find these six characteristics here.

They walk around

in long robes.

These long, flowing robes

were part of their fancy,

expensive wardrobe.

It was meant to

kind of set them apart

to distinguish themselves.

Kind of like the

coat of many colors

distinguished Joseph

from his brothers.

These long, flowing robes

that they wore

wherever they walked.

They're like,

oh, there's a rabbi.

There's so-and-so.

There's the Pharisee.

There's the religious guy.

And these long, flowing robes

also had tassels

at the bottom.

These tassels

were extra long

to show their own spirituality,

to boast about

their closeness

and proximity to God.

They also love

these greetings

in the marketplace.

They love to be addressed

in public.

They love when people

notice them.

They love to be called

the teacher,

the rabbi.

They also love

the best seats

in the synagogue.

Those seats that were up close.

Those seats that were prominent.

Those seats that

distinguish them

from the rest.

They wanted to be

the center of attention.

This position of distinction.

And then they also love

these places of honor

at the feast.

They wanted to be invited

and they wanted

the best place

at the table,

which was the spot

that was closest

to the host.

They wanted to be honored.

It's the right-hand man.

But then this.

They devour

widows' houses.

This word for devour

is a Greek word.

It's an intense

Greek word that calls

attention to eating

or consuming

or devouring completely.

They're taking advantage

of the weakest

individual among them.

They're going to do

whatever it takes

to line their own pockets

to serve themselves.

The temple authorities

were those who managed

the property of widows.

Those who were

widowed would then

entrust their property

to these managers

and those authorities,

those temple authorities

would then take advantage

by charging exorbitant fees.

Pharisees didn't care.

It was a way for them

to collect on their position.

They felt that they were

worthy of such payment.

And finally,

they make long prayers.

The idea is that the scribes

give the appearance

of piety,

but they're not actually pious.

And you remember

the parable

of the tax collector

and the Pharisee

who's praying in the temple.

And what does he do?

Well, he's praying in public

and he lifts up his arms

and he says,

thank you that I'm not like

that guy over there.

He wants to draw attention

to how prominent

and spiritual he is.

But in all of his efforts

to demonstrate his spirituality,

it's actually having

the opposite effect.

And that's what Jesus

wants to warn

his disciples about.

Humility,

not pride,

needs to be the focus,

the center

of a person

who loves the Lord.

And Jesus has consistently

confronted these religious leaders

for these various issues.

Pride and their self-centeredness

should be the flashing signs

and neon lights

that help us to see

the warning signs

from God stay away.

Do not listen.

These false teachers

are the same in every age.

Always accompanied by

this striving for financial gain

that we see in them.

Like your best life now.

Send in $100

and you'll begin the seed

of having more for yourself.

God will multiply it.

God doesn't work that way.

But you wouldn't know that

from these false teachers

who are just interested

in their own success,

their own prominence.

How do we protect ourselves

from this?

Well, one word.

The word humility.

Paul says in Philippians 2,

Philippians 2:3–7

verses 3 to 7,

he helps those who are

seeking to grow

in Christ's likeness

to wear and to embrace

the identity of Christ

in the example of Christ

in this way.

Do nothing from selfish ambition

or conceit,

but in humility.

Count others more significant

than yourselves.

Let each of you

not look to his own interests,

but also to the interests

of others.

Have this mind among yourselves,

which is in yours

in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was

in the form of God,

did not count equality

with God a thing

to be grasped,

but emptied himself,

taking the form

of a servant,

being born in the likeness

of men.

Embrace the task,

the privilege of humility.

Serve the people

that God has put you

in company with.

Learn to sacrifice

the things that are

important to you

for the sake

of laying it down

and showing

this Christ-like preference

for others.

Work in the way

of growing in humility

because God

opposes the proud,

but gives grace

to the humble.

That picture

of God's acceptance,

that picture

of God's favor,

the humility

that is accompanied

with the presence

of God,

that's really

what we want.

More than anything

is God's presence,

this gift,

this gift of God's presence.

And here,

Christ is giving

this warning,

this warning,

which was a gift

to these disciples.

And finally,

in chapter 21,

verses 1-4,

we see the gift

of God's watchfulness.

The gift

of God's watchfulness.

Chapter 21,

verses 1-4,

it says,

Jesus looked,

he looked up,

he saw the rich men

putting their gifts

into the offering box,

and he saw

a poor widow

put in two small

copper coins.

And he said,

truly I tell you,

this poor widow

has put in more

than all the others,

or all of them,

for they all contributed

out of their abundance,

but she,

out of her poverty,

put in all

she had

to live on.

Notice that Jesus

looked up.

Jesus saw the rich,

Jesus saw the poor

widow.

it doesn't escape

his attention.

He's alert,

he's aware,

he's watchful,

he's attentive,

he sees,

he knows,

he cares.

There is no detail

that's hidden

from the grasp

or the view

of our Savior.

In this moment,

as Jesus is talking

about the activities

and the warnings

of those religious leaders

who devour

widows' houses,

and in that moment,

as Jesus looks up,

he's in the midst

of teaching,

all of a sudden,

this widow woman

walks in.

Do you think

that's a coincidence?

No way.

No way.

Now she becomes

this object lesson

of all that Jesus

has been teaching

up to this point

here in the temple.

This warning

has been given,

and now this object lesson

unfolds

in that very moment.

We find that

they're opposite

the treasury.

We find that

from Mark's account

in Mark 12,

Mark 12:41

verse 41.

It says,

he sat down

opposite the treasury

and watched the people

putting money

into the offering box.

Many rich people

put in large sums.

This treasury

was in the court

of women.

And here in this court,

there were 13

trumpet-shaped

kind of receptacles

where money

would be poured in

and you could hear

this money,

kind of like a big funnel

as it were,

and they would pour

in this money

and you'd hear

the money kind of

clanging in

and based upon

the amount of money

they had,

essentially that trumpet

would sound, right?

And it reminds you

a little bit

of when Jesus

talks about

not letting the trumpet

sound

at what you're doing,

your good works

that you're doing.

And here,

that's exactly

what's taking place here.

These massive gold coins,

this coinage

that's being emptied

into these receptacles

and then this poor widow woman

that's placing

just two tiny

copper coins

into this treasury.

She walks in

and Jesus knows

she's poor.

He says

he saw a poor widow.

This word for poverty

describes someone

who is poor

but not destitute,

at least not yet.

it's probably pretty clear

from her appearance,

from what she's wearing,

from how she looks,

that there's something

about her

is out of sync

with all of the wealthy

parade that's gone before.

And this intensifies,

this poverty

intensifies her condition.

This condition

that's desperate

and it likely showed

on her outward appearance.

But she gives

her last two coins here,

we find.

And these two coins

were the smallest currency

available

in the first century.

It's called a lepta

and it computes

to one one hundredth

of a denarii.

And if you remember,

a denarii

is the wage

for one day.

So she's giving

two of these leptas

which is two one hundredths

of a day's wage.

It's a pittance

to say the least.

It's negligible.

It's next to nothing.

And yet she gives

it all.

And of course

those who are watching

would have thought,

who cares

what she's giving?

It's nothing.

But Jesus

in his watchfulness

notices.

He knows.

It doesn't escape

his attention.

And he draws attention

to it.

This poor widow

has put in

more than all of them.

And now this word

for poverty

is this intensive term,

very poor,

destitute individual.

spiritual.

They all contributed

out of their abundance,

Jesus says.

But she,

out of her poverty,

put in all she had

to live on.

In other words,

literally,

in the Greek,

she gave

her livelihood.

She gave

her life.

She put her life

in the altar,

as it were.

What they gave

cost them little

in comparison.

But the woman

gave,

not from her abundance,

but from her

very life.

And Jesus,

he puts it this way,

she gave

all of her life.

This is what Jesus

commends,

by the way,

to the scribes

and chief priests

who are challenging

him about the,

is it right to pay

taxes to Caesar,

right?

And Jesus will respond,

give to Caesar

the things that are Caesar's

and to God

the things that are God's.

And what is the thing

that belongs to God?

Everything.

Everything belongs to God.

And she does this.

She does this.

She gives it all.

She gives away

her life,

as it were,

her livelihood.

She comes,

she honors God.

And while we don't know

the motivations

of her heart,

if she was obliged

to do this

because of the conditions

and the legalism

that was kind of built

into the structure

of the temple,

and she was being devoured

in this moment,

and that was the object lesson

of widows being devoured

by giving the very end,

or if in devotion

she's giving to the Lord.

We don't know.

But one thing we do know

is throughout the testimony

of Christ's teaching,

it is safe

to give everything to God.

It's safe.

It's safe to entrust

your life to God.

It's safe to trust Him

with your finances.

It's safe to trust Him

with your health.

It's safe to trust Him

with your future.

It's safe to trust Him

with your relationships.

It's safe to trust Him

with that crisis

that's happening

in your life right now.

You can trust God.

It is safe to trust Him.

Luke chapter 12,

Luke 12 · chapter mention

I would just encourage you

if you're in Luke chapter 20,

Luke 20 · chapter mention

turn back just briefly

to Luke chapter 12.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

This is not going to be

a helpful slide for us.

If you can just go back

to the main points, please.

Luke chapter 12.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

Let me just read for you

picking up in verse 22, okay?

It says this,

this is Jesus speaking.

He says to the disciples,

therefore I tell you,

do not be anxious

about your life.

Does that sound familiar?

What you will eat,

nor about your body,

what you will put on.

For life is more than food,

and body more than clothing.

Consider the ravens.

They neither sow nor reap.

They have neither storehouse

nor barn,

and yet your God feeds them.

Of how much more value

are you than the birds?

And which of you,

by being anxious,

can add a single hour

to the span of his life?

If you then

are not able to do

what is small,

why are you so anxious

about the rest?

Consider the lilies,

how they grow.

They neither toil nor spin.

Yet I tell you,

even Solomon,

in all his glory,

was not arrayed

like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass,

which is alive in the field today,

and tomorrow is thrown

into the oven,

how much more

will he clothe you,

O little faith?

It's safe

to trust the Lord.

And it's safe

to trust him

with everything.

And this is an example

we see of this widow woman

entrusting

just a sample

of a glimpse

of her trusting God

with the last two

little coins

that she had.

It is an example

to us

of how safe it is

to trust God.

We can trust him.

How much more

are you

than those things?

I love how

Paul puts it

in Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

He says,

If God is for us,

who can be against us?

He who did not spare

his own son,

but gave him up

for us all,

how shall he not

also with him

freely give us

all things?

There's a watchful God.

We have a God

who gives us

the gift

of care

and watchfulness

and concern.

And the more

we grow

in faith

and the more

we trust him

with the things

that we have,

then the more

we're going to see

the kindness

and the favor

of God

in carrying us,

in helping us,

in strengthening us,

in supporting us.

Even when things

may never change,

he'll use our lives

as a testimony

to his goodness.

Even when we may

feel and look

and seem

very destitute

just like

this poor widow.

Nothing

was going to change

about her circumstances

except

if she was giving

with a heart

of faith,

she was going

to see

the power of God

in meeting her needs

just like

Jesus commands

in Luke chapter 12.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

You can trust

him with

your life.

May God help us

to do that well

and to be a testimony

to those around us

that he is trustworthy

because he's a watchful,

observant,

loving God.

Let's pray.

Father, I pray

that you'd help us

to grow in this.

I pray, Lord,

that we would

embrace the gift

of your word,

that it would be part

of our life

day by day,

that we would not

just be hearers

of the word

but doers of it.

Lord, help us

help us to embrace

the gift

of your warnings,

those warnings

that you put

in the scripture

that help keep us

away from the things

that would hurt us,

harm us.

And Lord,

thank you

that you're watchful.

And Father,

I pray

that our lives

would show

a growing

commitment

and confidence

in your care

and watchfulness.

I pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Have a great week.

Be safe.

for driving home.