32 · Words and actions of Jesus

The Widow's Two Coins

Mark 12:41–44

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A poor adult widow places two small copper coins into the temple treasury while Jesus and his disciples observe from a distance.

A poor widow gives all she has, but the context makes the scene more complex.

Does Jesus praise her or criticize the system?

Choose a perspective

There is no score – choose the perspective you find closest and discuss why.

Discuss: Can an admirable act also expose injustice?

After your discussion: compare with our assessment

Our assessment

A follows Jesus' explicit comparison. He says the widow gave more because the others gave from their abundance while she gave everything she had to live on. Her gift is therefore presented as extraordinary relative to her resources. C is a serious contextual interpretation. Mark 12:40 immediately precedes the scene with people who “devour widows' houses,” and Mark 13:1–2 immediately follows with Jesus' prediction of the temple's fall. The passage therefore need not be forced into a choice where the widow is either admirable or her situation tragic. Both dimensions may be present at once.

32 · Mark 12:41–44

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Text & context

Full translation

41 Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and watched how the crowd was putting copper coins into it. Many rich people put in much. 42 Then a poor widow came and put in two lepta, which is a quadrans. 43 He called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all the others who put into the treasury. 44 For they all gave from their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had, her whole livelihood.”

Translated from the Greek text – SBLGNT

What is happening here?
Jesus sits opposite the temple treasury and observes how people give. Many wealthy people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow comes and contributes two very small copper coins. Jesus calls his disciples and says that the widow has given more than all the others. His comparison is not based on the absolute size of the gifts but on the relationship between the gift and the giver's resources. The others give from their abundance. The widow gives from her poverty “everything she had, her whole livelihood.” But the story does not stand in isolation. Immediately beforehand Jesus condemns scribes who “devour widows' houses,” and immediately afterward begins the scene in which Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple. This makes it reasonable to ask whether Mark also allows the widow's situation to function as a critique of the religious system around her.
Notice this

Read the three scenes together: Immediately before: Jesus condemns people who “devour widows' houses.” Mark 12:40 Then: A poor widow gives her whole livelihood. Mark 12:41–44 Immediately after: Jesus predicts that the temple buildings will be torn down. Mark 13:1–2 Mark does not explicitly say: “Therefore the widow's story is a critique of the temple system.” But the placement makes that interpretation serious and worth discussing. At the same time, Jesus explicitly says that she has given more than all the others. That positive evaluation of her action should not be ignored either.

Language & translation

From the Greek

ἐθεώρει πῶς – etheōrei pōs

he watched how Theōreō can mean to observe or watch attentively. Pōs means “how.” Mark thus portrays Jesus as attentive to how people give.

δύο λεπτά – dyo lepta

two lepta A lepton was a very small copper coin. Mark specifies two of them.

ὅ ἐστιν κοδράντης – ho estin kodrantēs

which is a quadrans Mark explains the amount using a Roman coin denomination, likely for readers who would understand that comparison more readily.

πλεῖον πάντων – pleion pantōn

more than all Jesus' valuation differs from simply totaling the face value of the coins.

ἐκ τοῦ περισσεύοντος – ek tou perisseuontos

from their abundance The wealthy give from what they have in excess.

ἐκ τῆς ὑστερήσεως αὐτῆς – ek tēs hysterēseōs autēs

out of her poverty / lack The widow gives from her lack rather than from surplus.

ὅλον τὸν βίον αὐτῆς – holon ton bion autēs

her whole livelihood Bios can refer to life but also to the means of living or livelihood. In this context, “her whole livelihood” is a natural rendering.

Translation note

Independent English translation from the Greek text, using SBLGNT as the primary Greek edition.

Compare for yourself

Read Mark 12:38–13:2 as one continuous sequence. Pay particular attention to:

  • “devour widows' houses”
  • etheōrei pōs
  • lepton
  • kodrantēs
  • perisseuō
  • hysterēsis
  • bios
  • Jesus' prediction concerning the temple

Also compare Luke 21:1–4, which presents the widow's gift in a very similar context.

Continue the conversation

Discuss further
  1. What is Jesus measuring when he says the widow gave “more”?
  2. Is Jesus praising the widow's action, describing her tragic situation – or can he be doing both?
  3. How does the story change when Mark 12:40 and 13:1–2 are read alongside it?
  4. When can a religious call to generosity become unhealthy or exploitative?
Parallel passages
  • Luke 21:1–4
  • Mark 12:38–40
  • Mark 13:1–2
Sources
  • The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (SBLGNT), Michael W. Holmes, ed.
  • Mark 12:38–44
  • Mark 13:1–2
  • Luke 21:1–4
  • Standard Greek lexical resources for theōreō, pōs, lepton, perisseuō, hysterēsis, and bios