The people are coming to the Treasury to offer their
monetary gifts by depositing them in the trumpet-shaped collection boxes. There
are 13 in all, 11 of them are here; two are elsewhere in the Temple compound.
Each box has a designated purpose; each purpose has a designated amount. As a
result, you can hear whether a certain person has deposited the correct amount or
has put in more (or less) than is required.
The poor widow’s tiny coppers make hardly any sound at all,
which leads Jesus to comment that she has given everything she had to live on.
It’s a lesson for us in that she had nothing to spare and yet she gave it all.
She understood that the only way she could maintain right standing with God was
to sacrifice it all and rely on Him to provide for all her needs. Though Jesus doesn't say it, we know her name: it is “Faith.”
Jesus speaks elsewhere about the rich hypocrites who,
putting in more than is required (was it all in pennies?), do so with a flourish
and a loud, long prolonged clatter of falling coins. Thus, they “sound the
trumpet” in an
effort to obtain the glory of men.
All this abundance – the offering boxes, the rich temple
decorations, the exotic, sumptuously dressed crowds – starts to turn the heads
of our country bumpkin disciples (“Gaw-aw-lee!” says Thomas, “Shazam!”), so
Jesus takes a few moments to warn them that everything they see will go up in
flames very soon now.
This is not a new warning. Jesus has been hinting at this –
and His death – for some time. It is, however, a more detailed warning; and
yet for all its ominous details, Jesus tells the disciples not to worry – they can
escape what is coming in both the short-term and the long.
This is one of those passages we read with too much
hindsight. We gloss over what Jesus has to say because we know it as historical
fact. It must have been completely bewildering to the disciples. Up until this
point, they have been convinced that they have been going to Jerusalem to usher
in the Kingdom of God in triumph. Now Jesus is telling them that the Temple –
and the city and the nation – will be destroyed.
“But you’re not talking about now, right? When is all this
supposed to happen? How will we know?”
We don’t know if Jesus is disappointed that they have asked
for signs, but He freely gives them. More importantly, Jesus tells them how to
respond to the signs: do not be deceived, do not follow the doomsayers, do not
be afraid, do not obsess over how you will respond to persecution.
Yes, Jesus says, bad times are coming. But bad times come
and go. You know this. There’s no need to let this fact bother you nor should
you use it as an excuse to distract yourself with sex, drugs, alcohol, drama – all
the cares of this life. The same end is coming for everyone so watch and pray that
you will be counted worthy to escape the final destruction.
Trust Me, He adds. It’s all going to be okay – I have a plan. Any day now, it will be put into action.
Trust Me, He adds. It’s all going to be okay – I have a plan. Any day now, it will be put into action.
Jesus has only been in town a few days, but He already has a set routine: teach
in the Temple during the day, sleep on the Mount of Olives at night. He has become a regular attraction; the people
are drawn to Him, and they eagerly await Him early each morning when the Temple
opens. For a brief shining moment they are open to His message. For a little while, they love to
hear Him for He alone has the words of life.
