How To Spot a Spiritual Fraud (Mark 12:38-44)

In Mark 12:38-44 Jesus raises negative and positive examples that illustrate the nature of genuine, life-transforming faith. Religious leaders demonstrated a surface religion that failed to honor God. A poor widow showed a deep, authentic faith that sacrificed to honor God.

1. How do you measure whether faith in God is authentic?

• Every religious culture creates a way to answer that question.
  • Here’s one I heard many years ago
    • “You don’t smoke or swear or chew….  Or go with girls who do.”
  • But what standards do you use?
    • A real Christian → shows up at church on Sunday / prays aloud in public / gives money to the church / has a certain look
  • I know a church where they might answer like this…
    • A mature Christian →  homeschools their kids / wife doesn’t work outside the home 
  • I raise this question bc that’s the issue Jesus addresses in Mark 12 
• (35): Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple
  • This teaching consisted of 3 things
    • Saw one of them last week (35-37)
      • How the Messiah can be both “son of David” and David’s Lord
    • Two more teaching moments are recorded in rest of ch 12
      • Before Jesus leaves the Temple (13:1)
    • Then, in ch 13, Jesus gave an extended teaching, not for “the people” (35), but for his disciples (13:3)
  • In the two teachings Jesus gives us today, we see negative & positive examples
    • That illustrate the nature of genuine, life-transforming faith
    • The negative example comes from the religious leaders
      • They practice a surface religion that fails to honor God
    • The positive example from a poor widow
      • Her deep, authentic faith sacrificed something to honor God

Faith or Fame?

When religious leaders and teachers gain fame because of their religion, Jesus warns us to make sure that we don’t love fame (or famous people) more than we love God.

Mark 12:38-40 (NLT) Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.”

COMMENTARY

• “There is no evidence that all the theologians of Jesus’ day were frauds, using their position merely as a cloak for cruelty and greed…. But the most influential of them seemed to have conceived a bitter hatred of Jesus, and one can only guess that this was because they were indeed using their powers selfishly and irresponsibly and detested his exposure of their real motives.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 739)
• “Teachers of the law wore long white linen robes that were fringed and reached almost to the ground. They were also shown special respect by the majority of the people, being addressed by the honorific titles, ‘Rabbi,’ ‘Father,’ and ‘Master.’ In the synagogue they occupied the bench in front of the ark that contained the sacred scrolls of the Law and the Prophets. There the teachers could be seen by all the worshipers in the synagogue. They were often invited to banquets because of their prestige and were given special places of honor. What Jesus condemns is their seeking such honor for themselves instead of for God whom they professed to serve.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 739)
• “First, [Jesus] chastens them for their desire to wear distinctive dress…, which expresses pride that hungers for honors and distinction and arrogance that flaunts its learning and position…. Jesus also condemns the longing of these teachers of the law for human adulation…. Jesus demanded the opposite attitude in his disciples when they showed signs of the same egocentrism (9:35; 10:31, 43-44). The longing of the teachers of the law for prestige, however, is coupled with a calloused disregard for the poor…. Jesus accuses the teachers of the law of devouring widow’s houses. Widows traditionally symbolized the helpless in the Old Testament, and abusing them was strictly denounced (in Isaiah 10:1-4). (Footnote: The situation may have to do with the dishonest management of the estates of widows, who did not manage their own affairs. Or it may refer to their sponging off the hospitality of widows.)…. Finally, Jesus castigates the prayers of these teachers of the law…. Prayers supposedly addressed to God are spoken to win accolades from human eavesdroppers.” (The NIV Application Commentary, 179-180).

EXPOSITION

• Jesus warns: “Beware of these teachers of religious law!”
  • He’s at the temple: there are plenty of religious officials walking around
  • “teachers of religious law” in 1st century Judaism
    • They were learned men responsible for preserving, studying, and interpreting the Law of Moses, and for teaching it to the next generation. 
    • They were highly respected members of society and held in a position of great authority, because of their knowledge, dedication, and outward appearance of keeping God’s law.
• Why does Jesus warn about these people? 2 reasons…
  • 1: they are official representatives of respectable religion
    • This gives them status; puts them beyond scrutiny or question bc of official position → they have the right title
  • 2: they pretend to be pious = by making long prayers in public
    • IOW: visible expressions designed to make people think of them a certain way; to give them more respect
    • They like to parade around in flowing robes
      • Their clothing set them apart as unique / special
  • These 2 factors set them up to be honored in the religious system / culture
    • The flowing robes: possibly a sign of wealth, which translates into respect / honor in most social settings
    • They receive respectful greetings as they walk about in public places
    • They are offered the seats of honor at banquets and in synagogues
  • SO: beware! Because they may look pious / respectable
    • But there is something else going on beneath the surface
    • Jesus points out two specific issues
• The first issue: how much they love the honor / adulation
  • They love the respectful greetings they get
    • They love being offered the prime seats in the room
  • Jesus’ warning is about religious leaders and teachers who love fame
    • Is he saying they can’t be trusted? They should not be listened to?
    • We live in a celebrity culture. We assume that famous = better. Famous = more believable. We’re all tempted to love & follow famous religious leaders. The warning is about ourselves as much as about them: we are prone to be swept up with external fame.
• Here’s another warning about US: beware when YOU start to love fame
  • That may be why we gravitate toward famous leaders
    • We feel like some of their fame overflows to us
  • But some of us might also have a bit of fame
    • Get well known in the church for having a certain gifting, etc.
  • There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with fame / being well-known or respected
    • The issue is: how you respond to fame. Whether or not you WANT fame; pursue fame; do whatever it takes to experience fame
  • Bottom line: do we love FAME more than we love GOD? Are we pursuing fame or pursuing God? 
    • And what about the faith leaders who are influencing us?

But there is also a second level of concern in Jesus’ warning. Way more serious…

Character Chasm

Another warning about prominent religious people (or anyone who claims to follow God) is how easily a gap develops between our outward religious activity and our actual obedience to God.

COMMENTARY

• “Since the teachers of the law were not allowed to be paid for their services, they were dependent on the gifts of patrons for their livelihood. Such a system was vulnerable to abuses. Wealthy widows especially were preyed on by the greedy and unscrupulous among these men. Jesus particularly condemns the hypocrisy of their long prayers that were used as a mask for their greed. ‘For a show’ is a translation of the Greek word prophasis. It is difficult to know whether it should be taken with what precedes and be translated ‘and to cover it up” (i.e. to cover up their devouring of widow’s houses) or with what follows (the long prayers) and translate it, as does NIV, “and for a show.” In either case there is a connection between their long prayers and their greed.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 740)

EXPOSITION

• Second level of concern addressed in Jesus’ statement = 
  • Major gap between the outward show of religion / the religious position versus any real practice righteousness
  • “Shamelessly cheat widows out of their property” → religious con men
  • Isaiah 10:1-2 What sorrow awaits the unjust judges and those who issue unfair laws. They deprive the poor of justice and deny the rights of the needy among my people. They prey on widows and take advantage of orphans.
• Again: Jesus’ warning seems to be about trusting these leaders
  • Don’t trust a religious leader / teacher just because of position / fame
    • Don’t trust me just because I have published books / etc.
  • Get to know their character
• This applies to every one of us
  • Anyone can fall prey to a gap between religious expression on Sunday
    • Versus what they do in everyday life
• Life is not about your reputation; it’s about your character
  • Reputation is what people think of you
  • Character is what you really are
  • Jesus had a terrible reputation → but a perfect character
  • By contrast, many Jewish religious leaders had a great reputation
    • But here their true character is revealed
      • Acting greedily / exploiting people
    • Getting fat & happy on religion, as if representing God
      • But zero conviction about what really matters to God

Genuine Generosity

One way to see authentic faith is generosity toward God, as long as we remember that generosity is not measured by the size of the gift, but by the size of the sacrifice.

Mark 12:41-44 (NLT) Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

COMMENTARY

• “The placement of this story here may be to contrast the greed of the teachers of the law with the liberality of the widow. Or it may be that…it sums up what has gone before in the Gospel and makes a superb transition to the story of how Jesus ‘gave everything’ for men. The setting is the court of the women, into which both men and women were allowed to come, and where the temple treasury was located. Jesus sat down on a bench where he could watch the people bring their offerings and put them in one of the thirteen trumpet shaped boxes that were used for that purpose….. The poor widow placed in the box two copper coins (lepta), the smallest coins in circulation in Palestine. Their value was, as NIV puts it, “only a fraction of a penny.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 740)
• “The resounding of the collection box when the rich toss in their silver dwarfs the tinkling of the widow’s two coins. But her sacrificial devotion eclipses their perfunctory donations. The rich give from their abundance, but they do not sacrifice their abundance. This poor widow gives all that she has to live on, which is next to nothing. Her unassuming piety sharply contrasts with the conspicuous impiety of the scribes in the preceding denunciation. She shows radical trust in God to provide for her and give what is surplus for this day to God.” (The NIV Application Commentary, 181).

EXPOSITION

• The OT law called for the people of Israel to pay tithes
  • For the support of the priestly class / operation of temple
    • As well as for the poor
  • These were originally offered as produce
  • But over time currency was often used, as many people no longer lived in agricultural settings
• Thirteen wooden boxes with trumpet-shaped bronze funnels to guide the coins into the box trumpet shaped boxes that were used for collecting offers
  • Made of metal → resound when money dropped in
    • The more and larger coins → make a lot more noise
    • Many rich people were putting in large amounts
• “Two small coins” → a noteworthy contrast to rich people
  • One “lepta” = 1/64th of a denarius, the daily wage of a laborer.
  • “She has given more than all the others…”
    • Clearly “more” does not refer to raw numbers
    • Her “more” was a far higher proportion
      • Not her surplus, but her need
• Why does Jesus commend sacrificial giving?
  • It expresses God’s worth: God is more important than money
  • It expresses God’s faithfulness: it requires authentic trust in God