When he looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury 2 and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. 3 He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; 4 for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.” 5 While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, he said, 6 “All that you see here—the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” 7 Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” 8 He answered, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them! 9 When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” 10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.
Luke contrasted the offerings of the wealthy who were giving out of their surplus with the poor widow who was giving out of her poverty (v. 4). The poor widow’s contribution was more valuable in the eyes of God because of her relative generosity to the poor. The early Christian community would have been familiar with the Beatitudes (Lk. 6:20,24) and Jesus' teaching about the rich and the poor and the sacrifice required to follow him. Following Jesus means giving up every possession one has (Lk. 18:22). Taking care of widows and orphans was important in the Old Testament as well as in the early Christian church.
Luke’s Gospel was written around 85 C.E. so when Luke wrote about the destruction of the Temple (vv. 5-6) it had already been destroyed. Jesus warned the disciples not to be deceived by those who claimed that the destruction of the Temple was a sign of the second coming of Christ, the Son of Man (v. 8). Jesus told them that there would be many more frightening signs before the end comes (vv. 8-10).
Almighty God, we seek you everywhere with the hope that we
will find you and you will come and be with us.
In your mercy grant us the understanding to direct our prayers inwards, for
you reside in our souls lovingly calling to us to turn and come to you. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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