The Divine Audit: Two Copper Coins Text: Luke 21:1-4
Introduction: The Temple's Closing Arguments
We are standing in the Temple, but we are standing on the edge of a precipice. The air is thick with confrontation. Jesus has just finished His public ministry. He has silenced the Sadducees, confounded the scribes, and denounced the Pharisees in the hearing of the people, exposing them as ravenous wolves who devour widows' houses while making a show of long prayers. And immediately after that blistering condemnation, He sits down opposite the treasury. This is not a coincidence. God's timing is always perfect, and His lessons are always layered. The events of this chapter, culminating in the prophecy of the Temple's utter destruction, are not disconnected episodes. They are the final courtroom arguments before judgment is rendered on first-century Jerusalem.
The disciples were marveling at the grandeur of the Temple, its massive stones and magnificent gifts. It was the center of their world, the symbol of God's presence. But Jesus is about to tell them that not one of those stones will be left upon another. That entire system, which had become a den of robbers, was slated for demolition. Before He pronounces that sentence, He directs their attention, and ours, to a small, seemingly insignificant event. It is a quiet drama unfolding at the collection plates. The rich are making a show of their giving, and a poor widow gives next to nothing. But in this one scene, Jesus provides the ultimate diagnostic. He shows us the spiritual bankruptcy of the old order and the nature of true, living faith that would characterize the new covenant kingdom.
We live in an age that measures everything by spreadsheets and statistics. We count nickels and noses. We are impressed by big budgets, big buildings, and big names. But God's accounting is entirely different. He is not impressed by the size of the gift, but by the size of the sacrifice. He does not measure what is given, but what is left over. This passage is a divine audit of the heart. It is a lesson in spiritual economics, where the last shall be first, and the poor are declared rich. Jesus is teaching us to see as God sees, to value as God values, and to give as God gives. This is not just a sentimental story about a sweet old lady. It is a radical reordering of our entire value system.
The Text
And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.
And He saw a poor widow putting in two lepta.
And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them.
For they all put in their gifts out of their abundance; but she, out of what she lacked, put in all that she had for living.”
(Luke 21:1-4 LSB)
The Public Display and the Private Glance (v. 1-2)
The scene opens with a contrast between two kinds of givers.
"And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two lepta." (Luke 21:1-2)
Jesus is watching. We must never forget this. All our worship, all our service, all our giving is done in His presence. He is not a detached observer; He is the judge. He "looked up and saw." The word for "saw" implies more than a casual glance; He was observing, taking note. He sees the external action, but He also sees the internal motive. He sees the hand that gives, and He sees the heart that holds back.
First, He sees "the rich putting their gifts into the treasury." The treasury had thirteen trumpet-shaped chests for receiving offerings. The giving of the rich was a public, audible affair. You can imagine the clatter of the gold and silver coins echoing in the court. Their giving was conspicuous. It was meant to be seen. And while giving from wealth is not inherently sinful, Abraham was wealthy, David was wealthy, the context here is crucial. Jesus has just condemned the scribes who "devour widows' houses." It is highly likely that some of this very wealth being so ostentatiously given was ill-gotten, the fruit of the very exploitation He had just denounced. They were giving God a tip from the profits of their injustice. This is the kind of religion that God despises, a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal.
Then, Jesus "saw a poor widow." She is defined by her station: poor, and a widow. In that culture, this was the lowest rung of the social and economic ladder. She was utterly dependent, vulnerable, and invisible to the men of power and prestige. But she was not invisible to Jesus. He sees her. Her gift is two "lepta." A lepton was the smallest Jewish coin in circulation, a tiny copper piece. It was worth less than a penny. It was pocket lint. Her offering would have made no sound at all. In the world's economy, her gift was worthless. It would not fund a building project or pay a priest's salary. It was, by all human standards, utterly insignificant.
The contrast is deliberately stark. It is the visible versus the invisible, the loud versus the silent, the abundance of the oppressor versus the poverty of the oppressed. The rich gave what they would never miss; she gave what she could not afford to lose.
The Divine Reversal (v. 3)
Jesus now provides the divine commentary, turning the world's value system completely upside down.
"And He said, 'Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them.'" (Luke 21:3 LSB)
Jesus calls His disciples over to make a formal pronouncement. "Truly I say to you" is a marker of solemn, authoritative truth. He is about to reveal a principle of the kingdom. And the principle is this: God's mathematics are not our mathematics. In the divine economy, her two copper coins outweighed all their bags of gold. She "put in more than all of them."
This is not hyperbole. It is a statement of fact according to the calculus of heaven. Why? Because God does not measure the gift by its market value, but by the cost to the giver. The thermometer doesn't have the temperature; it only reveals the temperature. Money is just the thermometer. It reveals the temperature of the heart. The rich men were giving from a place of cool, calculated self-sufficiency. Their gift cost them nothing. It was a religious transaction that left their lifestyle, their comfort, and their security entirely untouched. It was a gift to God that required zero faith.
The widow's gift, however, was white-hot with faith. It was an act of total, desperate dependence on God. It was not a transaction; it was an act of worship. She was not trying to impress men; she was trusting God. And in God's sight, that little act of faith-filled sacrifice was of infinite worth.
The Logic of Abundance and Lack (v. 4)
Jesus explains the logic behind His astonishing declaration.
"For they all put in their gifts out of their abundance; but she, out of what she lacked, put in all that she had for living." (Luke 21:4 LSB)
Here is the central distinction. The rich gave "out of their abundance." The Greek is literally "out of their surplus." They gave off the top. It was their disposable income. After they had secured their comfort, their future, their reputation, they gave God the leftovers. Their giving was an afterthought, a religious duty to be checked off a list. It did not touch their real treasure, which was their self-sufficiency.
But the widow gave "out of what she lacked," or her poverty. And she gave it all. "All that she had for living." This was not her tithe. This was her life. This was her next meal. She was not giving from her surplus; she was giving her substance. She was casting herself entirely on the providence of God. Her gift was not a testament to her great wealth, but to her great God. She believed that the God of Israel, the one who fed Elijah by the brook Cherith, was able to care for her. Her two coins were an act of radical trust.
This is the heart of the matter. God doesn't need our money. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. What He desires is our heart. He desires our trust, our dependence, our faith. Giving is designed by God to be an instrument that cultivates this. When we give sacrificially, we are declaring that God, not our bank account, is our true security. We are sowing to the Spirit, not to the flesh. The rich were sowing to the flesh, using their giving to enhance their reputation and soothe their conscience. The widow was sowing to the Spirit, and she will reap eternal life.
Conclusion: Where Is Your Living?
This scene is a piercing question to every one of us. Jesus is still sitting opposite the treasury. He is still watching. And He is not counting the coins. He is weighing the hearts.
It is easy to sentimentalize this story and miss the sharp edge. We can praise the widow's piety while continuing to live like the rich men. The question for us is not, "How much should I give?" but rather, "Where is my trust?" Is my giving a matter of comfortable surplus, a calculated percentage that never makes me sweat, that never requires me to trust God in a tangible way? Or is my giving an act of faith, a joyful sacrifice that declares my dependence on Him?
Notice the ultimate parallel. This widow, in her poverty, gave her whole living. Just a short time after this, Jesus Christ, who though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, would give His whole living. He would pour out His entire life on the cross. He did not give from His surplus. He gave Himself. He is the ultimate fulfillment of this principle. True giving, true worship, is sacrificial. It costs us something.
The Macedonians understood this. Paul boasts about them, saying that "in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality" (2 Cor. 8:2). Affliction, joy, and deep poverty produced lavish generosity. How? Because "they first gave themselves to the Lord" (2 Cor. 8:5). That is the secret. When you have given God your heart, giving Him your wallet is a small thing.
So let us not be deceived by the standards of the world. Let us not be impressed by the clatter of wealth in the offering plate. God is looking for the quiet trust of a heart that gives everything, because it knows that in Him, it possesses everything. He is looking for those who are rich toward God. And the great irony is that when you give it all away in faith, like this widow, you find that you have gained everything. For our God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.