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The Widow’s Two Mites

The Widow’s Two Mites: God’s True Measure of Value 💰

A Deep Dive into the Temple Treasury from Mark 12:41-44 (KJV)

The story of the poor widow is one of Jesus’s most powerful lessons on stewardship and sacrificial giving. It is recorded as Jesus sat near the Temple treasury, observing the offerings. The focus is not simply on the size of the gift, but on the true value of the offering as measured by God, not man.

The Return Question: What Was a “Mite”?

The profound impact of the widow’s gift is only understood by knowing the actual value of the coins she gave:

“And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.” (Mark 12:42, KJV)

  • The Coin: The Greek coin translated as “mite” is the lepton (plural: lepta), meaning “a thin, small thing.” It was the smallest copper coin in circulation in Jerusalem, so small that it could not be legally given as alms, as most Jewish charity required a minimum donation of two prutah (or one quadrans).
  • The Value: The KJV notes that two mites make a “farthing,” which is the quadrans (a Roman coin). A quadrans was equivalent to about 1/64 of a denarius, which was a common day’s wage for a laborer.
    • In Context: The two lepta the widow gave were the absolute minimum amount she could give to the Temple treasury and represented only a tiny fraction of a single day’s wage.

The Contrast: Man’s Standard vs. God’s Standard

Jesus contrasted the wealthy donors with the poor widow, creating a moment of essential judgment:

“And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites…” (Mark 12:41-42, KJV)

The rich gave “much,” but their offerings were only surplus—a partial amount taken from their abundance. The widow’s gift was her entire provision.

The Prophetic Hotspot: God’s Standard of Measure

Jesus’s commentary establishes a Kingdom principle: The value of an offering is measured by the proportion of sacrifice, not the numerical size of the gift.

“And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” (Mark 12:43-44, KJV)

  1. “All her living”: The original Greek word for “living” is bios, which means her means of survival, sustenance, or life. She gave away her entire ability to buy food for the day.
  2. Total Commitment: Her act was one of total, unconditional reliance on God for her immediate future. While the rich gave out of security, she gave out of desperate, sacrificial faith.
  3. Judgment on the Treasury: This observation follows closely after Jesus’s condemnation of the scribes who “devour widows’ houses” (Mark 12:40, KJV). By highlighting the true piety of a widow who was likely being exploited or ignored by the religious system, Jesus silently condemned the system itself, which valued large, self-serving gifts over genuine devotion.

Conclusion: The Widow’s Mites teaches that God’s economy is opposite to man’s. He values the sacrificial heart that gives its “all” over the numerical size of any gift, making her two small, almost worthless copper coins the greatest offering of that day.