Gospel of Mark Study #41

“Whose Son’s Son?”

Mark 12:35-44

Study #41 in Mark Series

INTRODUCTION:

One of Ramel’s many hobbies is working on her family’s genealogy. She is like a detective, poking around in the past to learn everything she can about those relatives who have gone before. She and her sister, Deirdre, have been doing this together for quite a few years now, in part, as a follow-up to the work their mother did on their family tree. In fact, Ramel’s mom even co-authored a book on the history of the Powell family line, Powell being her mother’s maiden name.

Sometimes Ramel will be combing over old pictures and letters trying to figure out who is who. I will be looking over her shoulder saying, “Is that your mom in that picture?” and she will say, “No, that’s my mother’s aunt’s grandmother,” or “That’s my uncle’s mother’s sister.” I get totally lost in her explanations.

To me, anything past a first cousin is just “kinfolk” and I do not give a flying hoot about the ancient history of my family. I do not care to know the gory details of how we are all related. However, Ramel thoroughly enjoys figuring out all those family tree schematics. 

TRANSITION:

As we continue in our study of the Gospel of Mark, in our passage for today we are going to look at three separate little mini stories. In the first one, Jesus posed a theological conundrum to the scribes and Pharisees about how Messiah was related to King David (vs. 35-37). In the second one, He attacked the scribes with a scathing denunciation (vs. 38-40). Then thirdly, in a familiar story He taught about sacrifice and generosity, using the example of a poor widow’s contribution (vs. 41-44).

As I mentioned, the first of these three subjects involved a question that Jesus posed to the crowd that had gathered around Him. It involved a family tree and who was related to whom, and how. Let’s see if we can sort it out.

But first, let’s review for a moment. When we last looked at this passage we eavesdropped on a conversation between Jesus and a scribe who came to the Master with a sincere question about which is the most important of all the scriptural commandments. Jesus told him in Mark 12:29-31, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The LORD our God is one LORD; ³⁰ and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’  ³¹ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” This conversation between Jesus and the scribe probably took place somewhere in the courtyard in front of the Temple. It occurred on Tuesday of Passion Week, just three days before Jesus’ crucifixion. 

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 35: And Jesus answering began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?”

• This is the first mini story that I mentioned. Matthew’s Gospel in 22:41 records that Jesus was still surrounded by Pharisees when He posed this question. They had finished quizzing Him and had given up the idea of trying to trick Him into saying something incriminating. However, they were still there gathered around Him. And Jesus was not ready to let them off easily, although they had just taken a verbal trouncing. So, before they could wander off, Jesus posed a question to them, and I am sure that He said it loud enough for everyone around Him to hear it. “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?” All of them knew the answer to that one. The Jews all believed that the Messiah would come from the royal line of King David. On that point they all agreed, because it was part of the promise that God had made to David many years previously. But Jesus did not leave it there.

Verse 36: David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put Thine enemies beneath Thy feet.”’

• Here Jesus quoted from Psalm 110, a passage well known to all in His audience. In doing so He affirmed two important truths: (1) King David was indeed the author of the psalm; and (2) The psalm was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, and therefore authoritative and trustworthy. Again, these were facts accepted by all those present. Moreover, this psalm was universally accepted by the Jews to be messianic in nature. By that I mean, they believed that David was referring in the psalm to the One who was to come, Ha Mashiach, the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed King.
• Turn back to that passage and let’s look at it in its original context. Psalm 110:1. “The LORD [i.e., Yahweh] says to my Lord [i.e., Adonai]: ‘Sit at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.’” David was the great hero of Jewish history, and their most beloved King. He was THE MAN! Yet here in his psalm David refers to the Messiah as “my Lord.”

Verse 37: “David himself calls Him [i.e., the Messiah] ‘Lord’; and so, in what sense is He his [i.e., David’s] son?” And the great crowd enjoyed listening to Him.

• This is the big question! In other words, “How can the Messiah be David’s son and his Lord at the same time?”
• This boggled the minds of the Jews who were there listening to Him, but the answer was standing right before their eyes! Jesus was a direct blood descendent of David through His mother, Mary, as well as a legal descendent of David through His father, Joseph. Moreover, He was the God/Man, God Incarnate who came to earth to die for our sins. He was Israel’s Messiah that David wrote about, and as such, was David’s LORD.
• This was yet another attempt on Jesus’ part to open the blind eyes of the Jews to see Him for who He really was. As Christians we understand this dual role. And the apostle Paul explains it beautifully in Romans 1:3-4. Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the Gospel of God, ² which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, ⁴ who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord…” You see, Paul was talking about this very fact, that Jesus was both fully man and fully God, the Son of David, and the Son of God. To truly accept Christ, we must believe in Him as both.

Verses 38-40: And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and chief seats in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets.  ⁴⁰ They are the ones who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”

• This is where we take up the second mini story in this passage. Notice that the scribes and Pharisees were still there in the crowd listening to Him. That is important when you realize that Jesus confronted their sins in person. He did not wait for them to leave to begin talking about them. He denounced their sinful attitudes and behaviors while they were standing there. He told the people to “BEWARE” of the scribes. It shows that He was not a bit afraid of them, like most people were.
• When I read this passage, I see a downward progression in the accusations that Jesus makes against the scribes and Pharisees:

1.       “They like to walk around in long robes” (vs. 38) – The “long robes” that Jesus mentioned were the long flowing robes that wealthy people and dignitaries wore. They were designed to draw attention and garner respect and awe.

2.      “They like respectful greetings in the marketplaces” (vs. 38) – Matthew adds that the scribes and Pharisees liked to be addressed in public as, “Rabbi.” It made them feel good—stroked their egos to receive the respect and adulation of men. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word that means “great.” Literally meaning “great one,” the title of Rabbi carried the idea of, “revered.” As in our day being called “Reverend” appealed to the pride of the scribes.

3.      “They like the chief seats in the synagogue” (vs. 39) – Those were the seats up on the raised dais in the front of the meeting room, close to the cabinet where the ancient scrolls were kept. From there they would sit facing the congregation where everyone in the room could see them clearly. In our modern church context, it means that they wanted to sit up front on the stage in the big chairs between the pulpit and the choir.

4.      “They like the places of honor at banquets” (vs. 39) – The same attitude held true even when they went to social functions. They wanted the seats of honor, of prominence, where they would be admired and idolized by people.

5.      “They devour widows’ houses” (vs. 40) – Jesus accused them of going into widows’ homes under false pretenses to win the confidence of the old ladies, manipulating them for the purpose of cheating them out of their very homes and incomes. This was a most despicable kind of dishonesty practiced against the most vulnerable people. This practice reminds me of Catholic priests going door to door in the parish collecting money and scaring people half to death.

6.      “They offer long prayers only for appearance’s sake” (vs. 40) – Jesus said that their piety was a sham, just a cover-up for their thievery. Just because a person can pray long, beautiful, flowery prayers does not mean that they are spiritual and truly in touch with God.

• Now look at the last phrase of verse 40: “These will receive greater condemnation.” This goes along with the biblical principle that says, “To whom much in given, much will be required.” These religious people who claimed to speak for God and to have a deep understanding of His Word, would suffer greater scrutiny and greater punishment on Judgment Day.

Verse 41: And He sat down opposite the treasury and began observing how the multitude were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.

• This is the third mini story in this text. Apparently, after a long period of talking and teaching the crowd finally dispersed. Jesus finally got a few minutes to Himself to sit down and rest. Inside the Temple area known as “the Court of the Women” there were thirteen metal-covered wooden chests called, in Hebrew, shopheroth (“trumpets”) that served as collection sites for the alms that people would give to help take care of the poor. They were nicknamed “trumpets” because of the top part where you would drop in your money. It was trumpet-shaped and made of metal and mounted on top of the chest. It was designed to make it easy to put money in but nearly impossible to steal it back out—a crooked trumpet-shaped pipe going from larger at the top to smaller at the bottom. A pretentious, self-righteous man, who wanted to attract the notice of those around him, would throw in a handful of coins with some force into these trumpet-resembling receptacles. The coins rattled and clanged as they passed down through the metal tube. People referred to the practice as, “sounding the trumpet.” This is what Jesus was talking about back in Matthew 6:1-2 where He said: “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise, you have no reward with your Father who is in Heaven. When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.” The Pharisees who were still standing there listening, no doubt felt the full weight of Jesus’ reproof.

Verse 42: A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.

• As Jesus was sitting there just “people-watching” a poor widow woman came up to the box and dropped in her offering. She put in two tiny little copper coins called “lepta” (singular is lepton). The word itself means thin or skinny. The lepton, also known as a mite, was a small, thin Roman coin, the smallest and least valuable of Roman coins. Two lepta equaled a quadron, and there were 64 quadrons to a denarius (Augustan Values). So, 2 mites were equal to approximately 1/64^th of a day’s wage for a working man doing hard labor. In that day you could buy one small bread roll with that much money.

Verses 43-44: And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

• Jesus found the woman’s sacrificial gift to be amazing, so much so that He called His disciples to share the news with them. What was startling was not the size of her gift, but the fact that she gave all she had. She held nothing back for herself. She was a poor person, but in her gift for the support of the poor she gave her last two coins. Most of us would perhaps have saved one and given one, thinking to ourselves, “But I am poor too, and I cannot afford to give it all away.” However, this lady gave all she had.
• Jesus said that she had given more than all the other contributors because while their gifts were larger, they gave out of their wealth, their surplus. She, on the other hand, gave out of her deep poverty. In that act she showed her faith in God, believing that He would meet her needs.
• In 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 the apostle Paul writes about the Christians of Macedonia and their amazing generosity in contributing to the needs of their fellow Christians living in famine-stricken Judea. He writes: “Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in His kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia.  ² They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.  ³ For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will.  ⁴ They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.  ⁵ They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.” (NLT) 

CONCLUSION:

From the first mini story I conclude that a person cannot be saved unless he understands who Jesus really is. A defective view of the character of Christ will keep a person from having saving faith in Him. Jesus is God in the flesh, and thus able to be our sinless Savior. 

From the second mini story I conclude that looking good to people and being deeply religious does not cut any ice with God. He is not the least bit impressed with people who profess to know Him but who do not bear His image. Religion will not get anyone to Heaven, ever.          

From the third mini story, the story of the “Widow’s Mite,” I conclude that God measures our gifts to Him not based on how much we give, but on how much we hold back for ourselves. God does not need our money, but He wants our hearts, our faith in Him, and our willingness to put Him to the test. The Widow’s Mite was worth more than all the other gifts put together.