Mark 12:43

43 And summoning his disciples, he said to them, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow put in more than all those who put [offerings] into the contribution box.

Mark 12:43 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 12:43

And he called unto him, his disciples
Who were at some little distance from him, he having finished his discourses:

and saith unto them, verily I say unto you:
a way of speaking he often used, when he was about to deliver something of importance, and not so easy of belief, and which required attention, and what he solemnly affirmed:

that this poor widow,
pointing to her,

hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
not that she had cast in more, or so much as any one of them as to value and substance, much less more than them all put together; but that she had cast in more in proportion to what she had, than they had in proportion to their substance; and that hers, though very small in itself, and might be contemptible to others, yet it was more in the account of God and Christ, and more highly valued and esteemed of by them, than all that the rich men put in: since what she gave, she gave in faith, and from a principle of love, and with a view to the glory of God; when theirs was given only in hypocrisy, to make an outward show, and to be seen of men.

Mark 12:43 In-Context

41 And he sat down opposite the contribution box [and] was observing how the crowd was putting coins into the contribution box. And many rich people were putting in many [coins].
42 And one poor widow came [and] put in two small copper coins (that is, a penny).
43 And summoning his disciples, he said to them, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow put in more than all those who put [offerings] into the contribution box.
44 For they all {contributed} out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in everything she had, her whole means of subsistence."

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
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