Psalms 8:1, and 20:1-4
My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Luke 21:1-4.
Luke 21:1 ¶ And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.
Luke 21:2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.
Luke 21:3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:
Luke 21:4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.
The Mind of the Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind on a question I’ve asked almost every time I’ve looked at this passage: Why would the Spirit bring attention to Jesus looking at the “offerings of God” as a preface to His introductory lesson on His Second Coming?
The story of the widow’s mites does follow what comes before: His warning to “Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts; which devour widow’s houses, and for a shew make long prayers” warming that “the same shall receive greater condemnation” (Luke 20:45-47). He said this to His disciples “in the audience of all the people” (Luke 20:45). But it does not seem to serve as an appropriate preface to His sermon on the Second Coming (See Malachi 3:1-12).
Notice that Malachi 3:1-5 speaks of Jesus’ first coming, and in this prophecy, He speaks of coming to the Temple “suddenly” to judge righteously (Malachi 3:1-3), and He says, “Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years” (Malachi 3:3-4). In connection with this judgment at His Temple, He warns that He will judge, among other things, “the widow, and the fatherless” (Malachi 3:5). And I shouted, GLORY! Jesus was looking at the “offerings of God” to enquire whether the offerings were “pleasant” as in the early days of Israel. It was a signal of whether they were ready for the “restoration” they sought (Acts 1:6; see Acts 3:19—the phrase “times of refreshing” is equivalent to the restoration of the kingdom).
Consider the significance of this widow dropping all her living into the “offerings of God” in the context of Jesus fulfilling Malachi 3, coming to the Temple, and judging the widow’s faith abused by these scribes casting in unto the “offerings of God.” Wow!
It suddenly occurred to me that the Old Testament concludes with the Spirit’s attention on God’s offerings and presents a prophecy concerning His first coming. He was examining the offerings to determine whether the people were ready for their kingdom to be restored to them. He remarked on the widow who gave all as the scribes passed by, casting in their offerings for show, while indifferent to her.
Along the still waters, I realized that, once again, the Spirit is dealing with the issue of hypocrisy. And I finally got my answer: from this point forward, the narrative concentrates on His crucifixion. He came suddenly to His temple, found it lacking, failing the test connected with His first coming, then prophesied the destruction of the Temple, and of Jerusalem, and the withdrawal of the kingdom from Israel.
In the valley, I knelt in gratefulness to my Lord for this insight, begged Him to search His Temple today (my body—1 Corinthians 6:19) and to judge whether there is any hypocrisy there, or any indifference to His widows. The Spirit reminded me of my duty: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). I obeyed and followed Him to His table.
At the table, he anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. Goodness and mercy followed us into His harvest.
Praying for revival! 🙏
Going live asap.
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