Mark 12:43

43 He called his disciples together and said to them, "I tell you that this poor widow put more in the offering box than all the others.

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 As Jesus sat near the Temple treasury, he watched the people as they dropped in their money. Many rich men dropped in a lot of money;
42 then a poor widow came along and dropped in two little copper coins, worth about a penny.
43 He called his disciples together and said to them, "I tell you that this poor widow put more in the offering box than all the others.
44 For the others put in what they had to spare of their riches; but she, poor as she is, put in all she had - she gave all she had to live on."
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.