>> FACTS...
The widow wasn't included in the Bible to tell believers to give their last cent to a corrupt religious system.
THE WIDOW'S MITE...
Melissa says...
"And according to you [Anthony], Jesus did not commend the widow who gave two mites for giving all she had to live on, for she gave it grudgingly."
Melissa claims that Jesus "commended" the widow for her giving.
>>> Answer...
No, He didn't "commend her;" Jesus said ONE THING ABOUT HER; "For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury (extreme poverty; destitution) hath cast in all the living that she had."
The widow is NOT an example of "giving to be followed," Jesus did NOT "commend her." You are claiming the Jesus "commended her" in a false attempt to say that we as Christians should give as she did. Your claim in nonsense.
Jesus said NOTHING about her that was "commending her" AS YOU FALSELY CLAIM. God does NOT tell us to give everything we have to live on and then go and die; LIARS AND THIEVES TELL PEOPLE THAT.
Show me chapter and verse were IN FACT Jesus was commending her?? YOU CAN'T, BECAUSE JESUS DIDN'T!
Her story is a story of a poor widow women being ROBBED AND ABUSED by people LIKE YOU!
Jesus DID SAY...
"43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."
>> YES, SHE GAVE MORE, and was being ROBBED by doing so!
Jesus DID NOT "commend her for giving," rather Jesus CONDEMNED the Scribes for stealing from her. READ THE CONTEXT...
>> THIS IS THE CONTEXT...
Mark 12;
"38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,
39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts:
40 Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation."
AND, JESUS SAID THIS IN THE CONTEXT OF CONDEMNING THE SCRIBES...
Mark 12;
"41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."
RE: "the widow who gave two mites for giving all she had to live on, for she gave it grudgingly. "
>> NOTICE THE GREEK WORD IN THIS VERSE TRANSLATED "threw"...
Mark 12;
"42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing."
>> LOOK CLOSELY...
Greek: ßa´???
Transliteration: ballo
Pronunciation: bal'-lo
Definition: A primary verb; to throw (in various applications more or less violent or intense): - arise cast (out) X dung lay lie pour put (up) send strike throw (down) thrust. Compare G4496 .
KJV Usage: cast (86x), put (13x), thrust (5x), cast out (4x), lay (3x), lie (2x), misc (12x).
Occurs: 128
In verses: 107
>> LOOK CLOSELY...
"in various applications more or less VIOLENT or INTENSE"
>> How many people do you know who are "giving cheerfully to be commended" and because they are doing so, giving freely, throw money in the collection plate VIOLENTLY AND INTENSELY? Also, see words as "strike" "throw" "cast (out)" "throw (down)", these words are descriptive of "ballo." There is nothing positive about the word "ballo" as used in the context of the widow's mite.
The widow gave her last two mites and then WENT HOME TO DIE; God does NOT calls us to give our last penny and then go home and of suffer in starvation and want.
The story of the widow women is a story of thievery, legalistic works and a corrupt religious institution and system stealing from deceived gullible people.
>> The Widow's mite; a story of giving or a scene of robbery?
The account is not one that is promoting generous giving...it's a demonstration of a robbery in progress much the same as you see today by false prosperity ministers and greedy ministries.
Look at the context; it was the day before Jesus was at the Temple chastising the scribes and Pharisees. In Mark 11:17 He says they had made the House of Prayer a den of thieves.
He leaves that day and comes back the next. This time, He is warning the crowd to beware of those corrupt leaders. He ends His warning telling the crowd that the scribes and Pharisees rob widow's houses.
Then, He sits against the wall facing the Treasury Boxes. The widow being mentioned next is no coincidence. She is there as a demonstration of how widow's houses are being forcibly taken from them.
Notice her actions. She casts the mites in the Treasury. She does not drop them...she throws them in. The Greek word that the word "cast" was translated from is the word "ballo". It is defined as an action of throwing with some degree of force and disgust. The Lexicons compare it to casting away the contents of a chamber pot (a small toilet used in a bedroom).
This widow was obviously not pleased that all she had to live on was going to the Temple...more than likely by demand, as the context seems to imply.
Jesus statement was not a statement of gladness. It was a statement of sorrow. He was still angry when He left the Temple, telling the Apostles that the Temple, though beautiful on the inside, would one day be destroyed.
It really makes no sense to say Jesus was praising the Widow for generous giving...she was giving into a corrupt Temple system governed by thieves. It was a scene of robbery, not holy giving.