It was going to be a long day at the temple. Jesus had just arrived and was met by the priests, teachers and elders. They challenged his authority and he gave them a question they dodged with a ‘We don’t know’. He then told them the parable of the man who planted the vineyard. This served to offend them even further.
On this same occasion the priests and elders sent some Pharisees and Herodians to trip him up. It was the story about paying taxes to Caesar. The response was to give Caesar his and give to God what is His. This was the important part which is all tied in later.
Next up was the Sadducees who came in with the story of the woman who had been a wife to seven brothers. Jesus gave them a short course on who God was. A teacher of the law had overheard the goings on and asked a question of his own. This teacher was wiser than the others and Jesus said so. His only failing was that he thought of Jesus only as a ‘teacher’. Shortly after this, Jesus began teaching the crowd and warning them about the scribes (Matthew 23 gives the full text).
Toward the end of the day at the temple Jesus sat down and watched the people put their money in the place where offerings were given. This is the important part mentioned above. Remember? Give God what is His. It wasn’t so much the money that Jesus was looking at but the sacrifice that was made to give it. The affluent people gave little because their sacrifice was little. The widow gave much because her sacrifice was great. It’s all there in Mark 12:41-44. It’s a measuring stick that all Christians need to be reminded of.
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