for us to be having, it is. All right, I read an article, it was last month, it was in December, by Bree Lamb, and it comes from Christian News Now, I get, it's a daily news service I get, five days a week, and it was commending Derek Carr for his giving. How many of us know or don't know who Derek Carr is? How many of us do not know? or he plays football, you see that up there. He's an NFL star, although he plays for Oakland and they're looking, I think, to maybe trade him. But he's a football player and a few years back he signed this huge contract, the highest in the NFL. And so Lamb is commending Derek Carr and it reads, Derek Carr, outspoken Christian NFL star, commits to tithing on enormous contract. In this subtitle, when he signed the largest NFL contract in history back in 2017, Derek Carr committed to tithing, giving 10%. In the article we read, the Oakland Raiders star quarterback spoke up about his faith once again after signing the richest contract in NFL history. The contract, which was $125 million over five years, was unheard of at that time in the National Football League. After committing to the Raiders for the next half decade at an annual salary of $25 million, reporters bombarded Carr at a press conference with inquiries about what plans he had to do with the money, to which he humbly responded The first thing I'll do is pay my tithes, like I have since I was in college, Gar told CBS Sports. Giving $700 on a scholarship check, that won't change, I'll do that. And so evidently, when he was in college and was receiving scholarship monies, he would tithe on the monies he received and he's saying, in fact, I think it's really made a serious commitment to follow Christ in college. And here he says, I'm going to tithe on these monies. I'm getting this huge salary, $25 million. And so a couple of questions as we move towards our passage this morning in Matthew chapter 12. Would you consider Derek Carr's giving generous? Do you consider it generous? Would you consider his giving sacrificial? Would you consider his giving exemplary? Now, $2.5 million would be a lot to give. And if you want to see me afterwards and write me the check, I'd be happy to receive it. But on the other hand, a salary of $25 million is a lot to make, isn't it? Open your Bibles to Mark chapter 12. We're only gonna be looking at four verses. And my message is titled Giving That Impressed Jesus. Our passage, as I've studied it and worked with why is Mark giving us this, I believe is about giving that took place at the temple that impressed Jesus. and it's going to challenge us as to our giving, and I would want it to challenge us as to our giving. How much we give, why we give, those kind of issues. I'm convinced of this, that our passage is relevant. Because I'm convinced of this, when I start talking about our monies, I have our attention. Oh, what is Pastor Joel going to say? about money and giving. Actually we want to ask what is Jesus going to teach us about money and giving. Let's talk about context. We've been away from Mark for a while and I want to thank Danny and Jack for preaching for a couple of those Sundays. But so it's like, all right, let's establish again the context. We're in the last major section of Mark's gospel. I hope you realize we've been studying through Mark and now we find ourselves in this last major section, about one third of his book, it's Passion Week, really goes from triumphal entry to resurrection. And so that's how it starts out on that Sunday with a triumphal entry. We've already looked at that. and the next day he comes into the city and he cleanses the temple. Now that upset a lot of people. Who is this guy? What does he think he's doing? What gives him the right? As he came in and as he stopped people going through the court of the Gentiles, as he overturned the tables of the money changers, he upset a lot of people, especially the religious establishment. And so the religious leaders come at Jesus with their questions. There were three in particular that we looked at. And their intent was to trip him up. If we can get him to say something that will turn the people against him. Or better than that, if we can get him to say something that will get him in trouble with the Romans, maybe get him arrested. Oh, that would be wonderful. Problem solved. Or even get him to the place where he's executed. That would do away with this troublemaker. So he's creating quite a stir in Jerusalem, Passover week. And then Jesus turns the tables. They had been questioning him, so he questions them. And then he ends that section, the section just before we're at this morning, warning the people of the religious leaders, warning them of the scribes. Our passage today takes place in the court of the women, the women's court. It's called the women's court because the women could go that far and no further. They couldn't go into these further precincts of the temple. It was where the people gave their offerings, their contributions. And there were 13, I don't know how they came up with 13, but there were 13 collection boxes in the court of the women. They were shaped like trumpets and each one was labeled for the different offerings that were to be placed into it. And so you could give an offering for incense. You could give an offering for wood. You could give an offering, or it wouldn't be an offering, it'd be acquired temple tax. Offerings for pigeons. And so that's where our story takes place. After all of this has already happened on Passion Week, we're in the temple, in the court of the women, and let's notice what Jesus does. Notice verse 41. And he sat down opposite the treasury and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury, and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent." You find this fascinating? Bothersome? You find Jesus bothersome? Imagine if when we just took the offering, I walked along with the guys as they went and watched what you put in. You would find that bothersome. You really would. You'd really be bothered. Well, who does Pastor Joel think he is? What is he watching? How much I put in. Jesus watching how the people gave and what the people gave. And the rich putting in large sums and a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. The actual word for these two small copper coins is lepta. You've heard of the story of the widow's mites? Well, that's the English King James translation of lepta. It actually means the thin one, the thin one, and it was the smallest currency then in circulation in Palestine. And so our equivalent value today would be probably a couple of dollars. So the idea is if we took our offering and Jonathan and Kerry put in a check for $1,000, And then somebody over here just threw in a couple of dollars. That's kind of the comparison, okay? You see the comparison? And so Jesus observes this widow's actions and he calls the disciples over. Notice verse 43. Calling his disciples to him, he said to them, Truly I say to you, guys, look at this. This poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury, for they, Paul, put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on. Now as we get started in wanting to understand what's going on here, what are we to make of this? John MacArthur says that this is really, on Jesus' part, a condemnation of the religious leaders and the scribes. And he says that because earlier, just the section before, Jesus warned of the scribes who were what? Devouring widows' houses. And so John wants to say that Jesus is pointing out this poor widow because she was a victim of the scribes teaching as one whose house had been devoured. That's what he sees going on here. And so he writes about her having given all she had to live on. You see it here. This meant she would not be able to eat until she earned more. The religious system at the temple was thoroughly corrupt. It was literally devouring widows' houses. I'm giving you John MacArthur's views because number one, I have such respect for him as an expositor. And reason number two is because I find it interesting and he's working with context. And I always talk about let's work with context. But if I can humbly say it this morning, I disagree with John MacArthur. Looking for lightning to knock me dead. It's like saying that R.C. Sproul, I disagree with R.C. Sproul. I disagree with him in his take on this and actually most other commentators disagree with John MacArthur. They fall out where I do. I don't see Jesus condemning the scribes. No, I see him commending the widow. Jesus contrasts the widow giving with that of the rich. They put in out of their surplus, but she put in out of all she owned, all she had to live on. And Jesus is impressed. I think Jesus is so impressed. I think that's why Mark gives us this pericope, this story. Because it's not that often that Jesus is impressed, right? You read through the gospel accounts, how often is he impressed? I think he's impressed with this poor widow and her devotion and her sacrifice. Notice verse 44. They, that is the rich, all put in out of their surplus. You remember this story where Jesus fed 5,000 men, we're told, so probably a multitude of 20,000 people with a couple of small fish and I think it was five loaves. And when it's all done, we read, and they all ate and were satisfied. And the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up 12 baskets full. You see, I underline the idea had left over. That's the same term in our story in Mark 12, their surplus. The giving done at the temple by the rich was out of their, we could say, leftovers. Out of what remained after having their needs met and probably their wants met. They gave only after that had happened, but in contrast to them. We have this widow, this poor widow who we're told, and Jesus tells us, gave out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on. And I think Jesus is oh so impressed. Oh so impressed. And so we want to ask the question. And we don't have a lot we're working with here. But what would impress him so? Doesn't that end the question our passage begs? Why is he so impressed? And William Barclay, and I believe I have this in your notes, states this. Two things determine the value of any gift. There is the sacrifice which it involves, and there is the spirit in which it is given. The sacrifice involved, the spirit in which it is given. And I would submit to you that one reason the widow's offering so impressed Jesus was because of the sacrifice involved. As we're told, right? Here, she put in all she owned, all she had to live on. Turn to 2 Corinthians 8. If there's a passage that a preacher should preach on when it comes to giving, it's 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, the most extensive treatment on giving. And what we find in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 is Paul writing to the church in Corinth, wanting to motivate them to give to a relief offering that was being taken up for the church in Jerusalem. There was famine in the land, in Palestine, and so they're collecting monies for the church in Jerusalem And the church in Corinth had started their collection but it stalled out. And so Paul is writing them to motivate them to get on with what they had committed to and make good on these gifts, this offering that was being collected. So when we think of giving, if you want motivation for giving, if you're kind of, whatever, read 2 Corinthians chapters eight and nine, because Paul gives us one after another, after another, after another, after another. There's some six to eight ways he attempts to motivate those in Corinth to give and to give generously. Paul starts out this whole section motivating him to give by holding up the example of the churches in Macedonia where he had been. That would be Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea. So he's holding up the churches in Macedonia whose giving demanded great sacrifice. And his point is as he holds them up, look at how these folks gave so sacrificially. That's his point. Isn't this impressive? That's what he's wanting to do. He's holding up these churches who gave so sacrificially and he's saying those to those in Corinth. Look at what they did. Doesn't that motivate you? Doesn't their example stir your mind and your heart and open up your pocketbook to give? That's what he's doing. Sacrificial giving is impressive. And so notice what Paul says. And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, even beyond their ability, entirely on their own. They urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord's people, and they exceeded our expectations. They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. And so we urge Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning to this offering, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. So notice, as we look at the churches in Macedonia, that they gave out of a very severe trial. Evidently, they were experiencing persecution and they were facing an uncertain future. And when we face an uncertain future, we tend to tighten the purse strings, don't we? Don't we? Sure, that's what's happening in our economy now. As things get tighter, people will tend to spend a little bit less, not be as generous. And then the churches in Macedonia, Paul says, gave out of their extreme poverty. Many of them were needy themselves. That's the idea. They were poor. And if they were going to give, it was going to require sacrifice. And yet notice what Paul says in light of their circumstances, their own financial position. And yet they gave with overflowing joy, in rich generosity, beyond their ability, pleading for the privilege. Doesn't that blow your mind? With overflowing joy and rich generosity beyond their ability, pleading for the privileges. It's almost as if Paul was trying to talk them out of their generosity. You guys have it pretty rough on your own. I'm not sure you should be giving to this. Think with me on a Sunday morning, we're gonna take our offering and some folks in the back say, hey, Pastor Joel, or who's ever up here, can we start in the back? You always start in the front when you take the offering. And I'm so excited about my giving. Could we start in the back? And in fact, Pastor Joe, could we pass the plate twice today? Make my day. I count it such a privilege to be giving. Could we do that? To which I say, amen. We sure can. Right? Sacrificial giving is impressive. It just is. And Paul says look at the churches in Macedonia. They sacrifice greatly in their giving and doesn't their example motivate you to give. That's what he's saying. And that's Jesus in our passage. He's watching this woman give sacrificially out of her own poverty all she had to live on. And Jesus is impressed with her. Amazing. We're talking about we want to see Jesus. Do you want Jesus to be impressed with your life and your giving? Just a hint here. This impressed him. There was a bad famine in the land. This may be one of Asap's fables. I don't know. And the farm animals were talking about how they could help. And so they're talking, and the hen said this, as they're talking about, how can we help with this famine that's come into the land? And the hen said, we could provide ham and eggs. We can provide ham and eggs. And the pig spoke up, as you can imagine. And he said, now wait a minute, for you, that's a contribution, but for me, that's total sacrifice. Some of you get it, some of you don't. If he was gonna offer the ham, he was gonna have to lay down his life. There's a big difference between making a contribution and making a sacrifice. And sacrificial giving is impressive. And I think Jesus here marvels at this poor widow and her giving because she is giving sacrificially to that level, out of her poverty, out of what she had to live on. And brothers and sisters, I'd submit to you that sacrificial giving is impressive. And I'm going to step on some toes here. I don't think that most of us maybe ever arrive at that in our lives. Oh, do I dare even say that? And we'll talk about that in a little bit here, kind of stages we go through in our giving. Back to Barclay's statement, what determines the value of what we give? Well, he says, number one, the sacrifice that involves and then number two, the spirit in which it is given. The spirit in which it's given. So let's talk about that with this poor widow. I think Jesus is impressed with her and her giving these two small coins because of the spirit within which they are given. And I think we lost our, Nate, can you check that? All right, they're back there, I guess, working on it. But I think Jesus is impressed with the heart or the devotion that we see. And I don't know how long should we expect for it to come back up. I don't hear any communication back there. That's not a good sign when they go silent. Anyways, this is in your notes, so we don't need that as we put it back up. But Billy Friel and his manna from Mark, is this in your notes? All right, he writes about the heart within which she gives, the devotion. And he writes why she gave. So he's addressing that the widow would tell people who question her giving, I give because I love the Lord. He has done so much for me, I cannot thank and praise him enough for putting me into his family. How do you measure the gift of salvation and heaven? You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. And so as far as devotion and heart attitude, she says, I give because I love the Lord. That's Billy Friles take on it. And then he says this, I give because I trust the Lord. And that's an interesting perspective. Because think with me, if she were to give basically all she had, she would be left in a position where she would have to trust God for what she needed the next day, wouldn't she? This is a demonstration, not just of love, but of faith. And he continues, I do not walk by sight, but by faith. He will supply my need according to his riches in glory. If God can supply food for the birds, which are constantly in search of a meal, he can supply my needs. And so the spirit within which she gave is so impressive, the devotion, the faith. And so I want to conclude asking the question, what would motivate that? Here we're looking at this widow and her giving, and we want to ask the question, that's pretty impressive. What would motivate that? Isn't that a good question? It's a good question. So turn to Luke 7. We may not be able to get it up here on the screen. So turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 7. And in Luke 7, Jesus is at the home of a Pharisee. Simon is his name. He had asked him to dine with him. And this sinful woman comes in. She is a prostitute. And so she anoints Jesus' feet, she anoints it with this perfume, costly perfume. And let's start reading in Luke 7 with verse 36. Now one of the Pharisees was questioning Jesus, requesting Jesus to dine with him. And he entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table and there was a woman in the city who was a sinner And when she learned that he was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing his feet, and anointing them with the perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, he's talking to himself here, mumbling, if this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching him, that she is a sinner. She is a prostitute. And Jesus answered him, Simon, I have something to say to you. And he replied, say it teacher. A money lender had two debtors who one owed 500 denarii and the other 50. And when they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them loved him more? And Simon answered and says, I suppose the one whom he forgave more. And he said to her, you have judged correctly. Turning towards the woman, he said to Simon, do you see this woman? Now watch this. I entered your house and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much, but he who is forgiven loves little. And he said to her, your sins have been forgiven. And those who were reclining at the table with him began to say to themselves, who is this man that even forgives sins? And he said to the woman, your faith has saved you, go in peace. And so this woman, realizing her sinfulness, that indeed she was a sinful person, was overwhelmed by Jesus' love and His mercy being extended towards her. That's what's taking place. And what we see, and this is what we need to catch, she couldn't adequately express her gratitude. That's what we need to take away from this, as she is this sinful person experiencing the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, is overwhelmed. She can't adequately express her gratitude. Contrary to Simon, who felt maybe he had very little to forgive in his life, but she realized, boy, I am a sinner saved by grace, amazing grace. And so she is giving this costly perfume, pouring it out on his feet, weeping, drying his feet with her hair. It's not a complete answer, but it's a big part of the answer. What will motivate us to give sacrificially and with the right heart? It's beginning to grasp all that God has done for us in Jesus Christ. And in fact, that's how Paul in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, he talks about thanksgiving to God for his unbelievable gift, the gift of Jesus Christ. That ultimately is what should motivate us to be generous givers, to be even sacrificial givers. She was forgiven much. She understood in a very real way her sin. And so she loved much and could hardly express the gratitude that she felt. So we're going to turn our attention to the communion table. And what I would want us to take away from it is a sense it encouraged us to be sacrificial givers. We don't tend to think of it that way, but that's a very correct way to think of it. Looking at the communion table, thinking of Christ and his sacrifice and all that he did. In fact, Paul holds him up in 2 Corinthians after the Macedonian churches and said, look what Christ did, this sacrifice. Doesn't it motivate you to give? Doesn't it motivate you to give? Doesn't it stir your heart? That great old hymn, I hope I can come up with it here. When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of Glory died. My riches gain I count but lost, and poor contempt on all my pride." And then that last verse, look at that, and you've sung this. Were the whole realm of nature mine? That were a present far too small? Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all? Do we really live there? And do we live there to the extent that it affects our pocketbook? That's what it says. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. I think the challenge of our passage The challenge for us comes from comparing our giving to the giving of others. And in particular this morning, a poor widow who gave her all. Jesus is really impressed. And so I think the idea is, let's throw her up on the screen and take a look at our giving and ask, where do I fall out in all of this? Right? That's a new year. And you may think, well, Pastor Joe planned it this way. He's going to talk about money and giving on a new year. I didn't plan it this way at all. We're just moving through Mark's gospel, and it happens to be on giving. Well, let me help solidify this a little bit, and then we're going to go to the communion table. But I've been thinking a lot about this, giving and that. And I think there are different stages in our life when it comes to giving. And that's what I attempted to put up on the screen. I think there's giving that's spontaneous. And that can be good and bad. Spontaneous giving may be the fact that, hey, Ron needs some monies for the church in Cuba. He's leaving this afternoon. Could you give to that? That's spontaneous giving. Oh, then I'll help. But there is a spontaneous giving that I think is rather, do I dare say it, poor. It's somebody who shows up on a Sunday morning and realizes, oh, they're taking the offering now, what should I give? They just kind of spontaneously, there's no real thought to it, open up their billfold and say, well, there's a 10 and there's a 20 and there's a 100. I ain't giving a 100. I'll give the 20, I'll compromise. That's spontaneous giving. It can be good, it can be bad. Then there is what I understand to be systematic giving, and that's the most of what our Bibles speak to. Systematic giving. That's the Old Testament. That's the tithe. It was very systematic, very regulated. And it's the same way much of it in the New Testament, except in the New Testament it's under the rubric of stewardship. We're supposed to be good stewards. We're supposed to give systematically. We're supposed to give thought to it, because I'm a steward of the resources God has given to me, and I want to be a good steward, so I'm going to give a lot of thought to this as far as what I give. So that's systematic. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 16, Paul talks about this offering, which I've continued to talk about being collected. And he said, on the first day of the week, on Sunday, put aside monies. So let's get systematic. There's some thought to this. There's some prayer to this. Boy, we're moving in the right direction. Can you see that? And then on the far side is sacrificial. But I think there is another place here for what I would call generous giving. All right, it's somebody who moves beyond just the systematic, but you find that they are a very generous person. They give to all kinds of needs. They're very generous with their resources. That's generous giving. That's been my desire as a person. I wanna be a generous person. But then I think there's a step beyond all of this, and it's sacrificial giving. which demands we give even out of our own needs, our own wants. And in a sense, it takes it all to a whole new level. Because you see, you can give systematically and you give generously, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's sacrificial, right? It doesn't necessarily mean that it's sacrificial. And that's good to move from spontaneous, the systematic, to generous, but then that elevated place. And let's just be honest here. Can I just be honest? I don't think that most of us really hardly ever get to the point of giving sacrificially. Out of our own needs. Right? The fact that I'm going to do without because I'm giving this. I don't know that we oftentimes get there. I'm just being honest with you. I'm speaking to myself. I'm preaching to myself because I'm grappling with all of this. Where do I fall out of this? I want to use my money wisely. I want to be systematic. I would like to be seen as sacrificial. But honestly, Diane and I have our needs met, you know, and we want to be generous, but, oh, to come to that place of sacrificial giving, that is impressive. And I think that's Jesus in our story. He's impressed. These rich people, yeah, oh, isn't it? He's saying that's bad. But they gave out of their surplus. She gave out of her own need what she had to live on. That, brothers and sisters, is impressive.