The poor widow who donated two small copper coins is often considered an exemplar of giving. Traditionally, the words of Jesus in Luke 21:1-4 are seen as a commendation for this widow. However, Addison G. Wright (1982) interpreted the story as revealing the unfortunate fate of a poor woman who was exploited. According to Wright, Jesus’ words expressed lament for this woman’s misery, which was caused by the Jewish religious leaders, rather than praise for her behavior. Many scholars have developed this perspective and offered new insights into this Scripture. This article aims to re-examine the message of the Scripture, based on existing academic studies.

Photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash

Both the Book of Mark and the Book of Luke mention this woman (Luke 21:1-4; Mark 12:41-44). The author of Luke drew from the Book of Mark, leading to similarities in their contexts. Through these similarities, both books convey multiple layers of information.

Commendation

The Book of Luke records that Jesus saw “many” donating large amounts of money, while He sat opposite the treasury. Then, a poor widow who put in two very small copper coins caught His attention, so He said: “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more money than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of poverty, put in everything -- all she had to live on.” The author (of this essay) suggests that Jesus intended to encourage the disciples to take the poor woman as a role model and to emulate her unwavering spirit of service, even in a state of destitution.

The Scripture has many connections with the preceding passage (Luke 20:45-47). There are several contrasts between the two sections: the teachers of the law who loved attention and the widow who was often overlooked; the teachers who devoured widows’ houses and the poor widow whose property was taken; the rich men who contributed large sums of money and the widow who gave two small coins; many men and one widow; large donations and two small coins, abundance and insufficiency.

A vivid image of the widow stands out through these striking comparisons. According to Arthur A. Just Jr., the widow embodies a role model of faith in God -- despite living a difficult life under the oppression of the teachers, this woman humbly listened to their teachings, genuinely responds to God’s words, and willingly dedicated all she had to serve God. Given that widows were a group in need, a portion of the donations was intended to help orphans and widows (Sun, 2005, p. 318). 

Nevertheless, this woman, though living in a needy situation, still offered two small coins she lived on as her contribution to God’s service. Even though the woman was afflicted by injustice from religious leaders, such as the teachers of the law, she remained steadfast in her service to God. Here, the words of Jesus seem to be a commendation of the woman, presenting her as a good example for the disciples. In fact, the self-dedication of this poor woman, who offered all she had to live on to God, seemingly resonates with the characteristics of the ministry of Jesus and His progressive teaching (Luke 12:22-34, 18:29-30). According to this, the author believes that Jesus’ conversation with the disciples was meant to commend the giving of the poor widow, rather than lament her unfortunate destiny.

Robert H. Stein also argues that Jesus commended this woman rather than lament her situation. Other passages in Luke also present women as the exemplary figures of faith and service. Notable examples include Mary, who obediently accepted God’s commission and later gave birth to Jesus (Luke 1:38); the prophet Anna, who never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying (Luke 2:36-38); the woman, whose sins were forgiven because of her loving anointment of Jesus (Luke 7:37-50); and the women who financially supported the ministry of Jesus (Luke 8:2-3).

Jesus rebuked those who stored up treasures for themselves (Luke 12:13-21) and affirmed those who sincerely sought the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Luke 12:22-34). This poor woman exemplifies the discipleship of those who sold all they had to follow Jesus (Luke 5:11, 28; 18:28). She serves as a model of discipleship service.

The story of the widow’s offering took place in the last days of Jesus’ life. He knew that these disciples would face dilemmas similar to those of this poor woman. Therefore, a spirit of service, characterized by the faith and courage to rise from desperate situations, was necessary for them to fulfill the commission given by Jesus. In this context, Jesus used this inspiring example of the widow’s offering to remind the disciples that no dilemma should serve as an excuse for forgetting their mission.

Reprimand

The words of Jesus also can be seen as a reprimand to the teachers of the law.

These Jewish religious leaders misused their power and provided misleading teachings to collect donations for their own enrichment and to increase their power. Jesus harshly reprimanded them for these actions. The story of the widow’s offering serves as an extension of Jesus’ reprimand (Luke 20:47) and as evidence of the scribes’ exploitation of widows (Bao, 2009, p. 322).

The holy temple in Jerusalem was not merely a religious site but also a place for gathering wealth. According to the Torah, the Israelites were required to offer a tithe of all that their fields produce to God/the temple (Numbers 18:28; Deuteronomy 14:22-26). Every year, Jewish males over the age of 20 were required to give a half shekel as a temple tax (Exodus 30:13). Outside the temple, there were 13 horn-shaped offering boxes for collecting donations for various temple ministries (Zhang, 2017, p. 322; Sun, p. 318).

The temple also functioned as a bank, as Jews often deposited their money there. Additionally, the temple leaders profited through activities such as money exchange and the sale of sacrificial animals (Luke 19: 45-46). The prophet once condemned the exploitation of the temple for personal gain (Micah 3:11). Jesus sat opposite the temple treasury, condemning the teachers of the law and religious leaders, who were culpable for the corruption in the temple system.

The Scripture about the widow’s offering serves not only as evidence of Jesus rebuking the teachers of the law but also as a vivid example to warn the disciples. After Jesus entered Jerusalem, the disciples were always in the Lord’s accompany. When Jesus argued with or warned “the chief priests, the teachers of the law, the elders” (Luke 20:1), “the people”, (Luke 20:9), and “the Sadducees” (Luke 20:27), He was also warning the disciples, whom were chosen to shoulder the mission of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus and bearing witness to the truth. Following the condemnation of the Jewish leaders, Jesus turned to the disciples, “Be aware of the teachers of the law” (Luke 20:45), outlining their deeds of hypocrisy to remind the disciples not to disappoint the selection and commission of Jesus, not to forget their identity and mission, to avoid self-centeredness, and never to violate the will of God by pursuing self-interest. Afterwards, Jesus intensified the themes of condemnation and warning through the example of the widow’s offering.

The disciples were chosen by Jesus to be the representatives of the new Israelites, becoming leaders who would shepherd the people of God. In fulfilling their God-entrusted mission to care and guide the people, the poor widow’s offering serves as an exemplary model, whereas the condemned scribes who would face judgment, provide a cautionary lesson for the disciples.

Judgment

Jesus saw the poor widow as worthy of praise, while simultaneously reprimanding the scribes, warning the disciples, and announcing the judgment on the unfaithful, as well as on the unjust city and temple.

Judgment is an important theme in Jesus’ teachings after His entry into the holy city, and the narrative of Luke highlights this theme. For example, Jesus wept for Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44), cleansed the temple (Luke 19: 45-46), told the parable of the wicked tenants (Luke 20:9-18), condemned the teachers of the law (Luke 20:45-47), and foretold the destruction of the temple (Luke 21:5-6) and Jerusalem (Luke 21:20-24). The story of the widow’s offering serves as the climax and the conclusion of the discussions between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders (Otten, 2023, p. 30). This poor woman became evidence of the temple facing the judgment.

Following the remarks on the poor widow, who was considered to have given more than the others, Jesus announced the destruction of the temple. Ironically, as the temple was destined for destruction, the poor widow gave all she had to live on. Her two small copper coins became evidence of the temple’s impending judgment. The destruction of the temple was linked to the corruption of the scribes and other religious leaders.

During Jesus’ last entry into the Holy City, He cleansed the temple as a way of announcing judgment on the upper echelons of the religious hierarchy and the temple itself. The donation of the two small coins took place in the temple treasury, where offering boxes was intended to support those unable to sustain themselves. However, the widow’s two mites ended up in the pockets of the temple’s leaders, who, despite holding power, were indifferent to the vulnerable. Justice was not practiced, as they oppressed widows, leaving them in poverty and vulnerability.

The existence of poor widow convicted the injustice of the temple leaders. The fact that the two mites were all the poor woman had to live on clearly exemplifies the injustice of the temple’s upper leaders (Zeng, 2011, p. 237). Through this poor woman’s story, Jesus declared the judgment on the temple and the religious leaders.

Author: Yang Liantao

Translator: Bei Feng