How Do You Define Great?
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus
said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more
into the treasury than all the others.” – Mark 12:43
How do you define great? We hear a lot about it these days. That’s
something our pastor pointed out yesterday. But, he also noted, great means
different things to different people.
The dictionary says great is above average or normal.
It can refer to a distinguished person. For example, you might think of someone
as a great singer or a great writer.
So, let me ask you again: How do you define great? Is
someone great if he has a lot of money? Is someone great if she is beautiful?
Is someone great if they have power, prestige, an expensive car? Or is someone
great who volunteers to help feed the poor? Is someone great who is kind to their
neighbors or runs an outreach ministry?
Jesus came and turned the world upset down because He
didn’t define great the way the world did back then. Jesus doesn’t define great
the way most of us define great today.
Do you remember the scribes? They thought they were
something else. Others did too, I suppose. Our pastor explained that they were
like the college professors of the Bible. They were known for their
intelligence. They had lots of invitations to dinner. People wanted to
associate with them.
But intelligence can be one of those tricky
characteristics. It can make you think you’re better than anyone else, Pastor
Ryan Martin said. It’s also possible to be really, really smart when it comes
to books and things and be really, really dumb when it comes to life and common
sense. That’s from me, not the pastor.
In Mark 12, a scribe came over and asked Jesus a
question. Jesus readily answered as to which of the commandments is the
greatest. And the scribe? Well, he praised Jesus for giving the right answer. In
my mind, I see a condescending scholar looking down on a student who answered
correctly. Except this was the Messiah and the scribe was so wise that he
missed Him.
Think too of the widow’s offering later in this
chapter. Mark notes that many rich people threw in large amounts of money. How
did that sound? Can you imagine the coins clinking as they were tossed in? Do
you think people were impressed with the sound? With the amounts? Were they
great because they were giving so much to the temple treasury?
Then came the poor widow. She put in two small coins.
Contrast that with those who threw in large amounts. We did that yesterday in
church. We listened as our pastor poured in a few large coins. Then each of us
walked to the front and tossed in two pennies. It sure didn’t sound impressive when
compared to the larger coins that had been tossed in.
But you know what? In Jesus’ world, that poor widow
was the great one. It wasn’t the scribe who was known for being so smart. It
wasn’t the rich folks who gave from their abundance. It was the widow who gave all
that she had.
How do you define great? Think about it.
