Jesus and His Anger at the Robbing of the Poor by the Elitists Part 1 In Luke 21:1-4 it says, ‘[Jesus] looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury [Corban]. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in there two mites (small coins). And he said, Amen I say unto you, that this poor widow has cast in more than they all: for all these have cast of their abundance in to the offerings of God: but she of her extreme poverty has cast in all the living that she had.’ The story of the Widow and her Two Coins is almost universally seen, and used in countless churches, as an illustration of how we should give of our own wealth and possessions; that is, to give to the uttermost and hold nothing back. However, an examination of the context of the passage and an understanding of Jewish religious culture of the day reveals that the widow was being exploited by the religious system, to get her (and others like her) to part with everything she had to the elitists who ran the religious organization from Jerusalem. The Message. The typical interpretation of this passage is that what this widow did should be an example to us all; that she gave to the utmost of her ability and we should therefore do likewise. In fact, so firmly is this interpretation believed that this text is often used in sermons in many churches about charitable giving, and to encourage church goers to give what they have to the church. The Problem. The problem with this traditional interpretation is that it isn’t found within the text itself: it can only exist by it being imposed by the reader (or the preacher). It is also commonly assumed that Jesus was pleased by the widow giving her last two coins as an act of self sacrifice, but a careful examination of the Scripture doesnt reveal directly what Jesus felt about what he saw. Indeed, there is considerable contextual evidence to support a conclusion that Jesus was actually very displeased, even angry, about what he saw as an exploitation of the most vulnerable and hopeless type of person. The Programming. In fact, many Christians are so accustomed to this passage being presented to them as a lesson about how we should give from what we own that it can be difficult to see it as saying anything other than what we have been taught to see. But to understand what this really means one must be willing to see beyond what we have too often been taught, to see to what the writing is really about. But an examination of the context of the passages both before and after these verses shows a very different picture (especially in the much longer account found in Matthew 23:1-39 and 24:1-25:46. The reader is encouraged to read these passages to become familiar with what is said there, which is too long to include here). In fact, though Luke’s account is shorter than Matthews, it includes the story of the widow, whereas Matthew’s account does not. A very good case can be made that Luke inserted this story where he did so as to make a significant point in his gospel that Matthew wasnt making; its inclusion wasn’t an isolated, peculiar and irrelevant interlude exhorting spiritual giving set between pronouncements of Judgment (as some Bible commentators have maintained), but it should be interpreted by the surrounding context of the Judgment of God on unregenerate religionists who use religion to exploit the poor. In short, Luke is drawing a major confirmation of why the religious leaders have earned the damnation that Jesus has passed on them. (To be continued in Part 2.)
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 13:57:09 +0000