The Beginning:
During Jesus’ teaching in Jerusalem, He sat near the temple treasury and watched people place money into the offering boxes. Many who were wealthy contributed large amounts that were noticeable to onlookers.
The Middle:
A poor widow approached and put in two small copper coins—together worth very little. Jesus called His disciples to focus their attention on what had just happened. He explained that, in God’s evaluation, her offering was greater than all the others.
The End:
Jesus clarified the reason: others gave out of their abundance, but the widow gave out of her poverty. Her gift represented total dependence, because she gave “all she had to live on.” The scene ends with Jesus’ public teaching shaping how His followers are to understand true devotion.
This account reveals that God’s assessment of worship is not based on visible scale but on the heart and the costliness of devotion. Jesus affirms the widow’s offering as a genuine act of trust, contrasting sacrificial dependence with giving that does not require surrender. Within the larger temple context, the story highlights that covenant faithfulness is measured by integrity before God rather than public appearance, and it anticipates Jesus’ broader critique of religious practices that can overlook the vulnerable.
In the Jerusalem temple, offerings were deposited in designated receptacles often associated with the “treasury” area. Mark identifies the widow’s gift as two lepta (Greek: λεπτά), very small copper coins; together they equaled a quadrans, a minor Roman coin. The detail underscores how economically insignificant the amount was—making Jesus’ judgment about its spiritual weight all the more striking.
“This poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.” — Mark 12:43
Answer the questions below. When you choose an option, you will see the result and an explanation.
1. Where was Jesus sitting when He watched people put money into the offering boxes?
2. What did Jesus say made the widow’s offering greater than the others in God’s evaluation?