Mark 12:38-40
The Last Two Examples
It is still the Passion Week \\#Mark 11:1\\ and still Tuesday of that
week \\#Mark 11:20\\. If I am correct, Jesus would be crucified
Thursday so, as Jesus spoke, it was likely that there were less than
48 hours until He would be hanging on the cross; yet, there He was.
In the temple \\#Mark 12:35, 13:1\\, spending the day being tempted by
the religious leaders and teaching.
In my mind, Jesus was probably sitting and probably surrounded by a
large crowd. He would soon leave the temple \\#Mark 13:1\\, probably
about to leave Jerusalem for the night; but before He left, He gave
two examples, one bad and one good.
Let’s look at them this evening.
I. \\#38-40\\ The example of what NOT to be. Don’t be like the
scribes.
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.
A. \\#38\\ It is interesting that Jesus named only the scribes
here.
1. The gospel writers make it clear that at least four groups
banded together to tempt and to kill Jesus.
a. \\#Mark 12:12\\ It was the Pharisees and Herodians
that asked the political question about taxes.
b. \\#Mark 12:18\\ It was the Sadducees that asked the
Biblical question about marriage.
c. \\#Mark 12:28\\ It was the scribes that asked the
question about the most important command in the
Bible.
d. All four of those groups had the same purpose, "to
catch him in his words," \\#Mark 12:13\\.
2. To be honest, in some ways the scribes seem to be the more
righteous of the religious groups.
a. The scribes purpose was not to study or to preach the
Word, but to copy it.
b. The first reference in the Bible I find to them is
\\#2Sam 8:17\\.
(1) That would be in the days of King David, over
1,000 years prior to Jesus being on the earth.
(2) And they had done a meticulous job at copying the
Scriptures, so much so that there is no doubt
God used them to preserve His Word.
(3) Handling the Word daily had garnered them respect.
(4) I suppose it was just assumed that spending
hours every day copying something as precious
and powerful as the Word of God would give you
wisdom.
c. That very day, it was a scribe who agreed with Jesus’
answer about the greatest of all commands and to
whom Jesus said, "Thou are not far from the kingdom
of God," \\#Mark 12:34\\.
3. Yet there is no doubt that the scribes had purposed and
worked to entrap and kill the Savior.
a. They are mentioned 66 times in the New Testament, alone
or with other groups and most of those times, they are
plotting evil against Jesus.
b. They are mentioned with the Pharisees 24 times.
(1) Except for two times, when the scribes are
mentioned first, perhaps implying they were
leading the Pharisees instead of the Pharisees
leading them.
(2) And perhaps they were the ringleaders.
B. One thing is certain of the scribes.
1. They were spiritually lost. Anytime people are
2. I hope we all understand the difference in being saved and
being "religious."
3. We know that there is nothing wrong with being Biblically
religious AFTER we are saved, but most of the religious
people of the world are and always have been like those
of Jesus’ day.
4. The religious of this world are…
a. …some of the most ignorant…
b. …some of the most arrogant…
c. …some of the most carnal…
d. …some of the most pushy…
e. …and some of the most cruel.
5. Without any doubt in my mind, the religious…
a. …have driven more people away from Jesus…
b. …started more wars…
c. …and killed more people than any other group of
people in the world.
d. And they are just getting started.
e. It was the religious who nailed Jesus to the cross;
and it will be the religious that will welcome in the
anti-Christ, persecute the saved, and do all they can
to magnify and glorify Satan.
6. No, people.
a. We may be saved AND religious, but we do not want to
be like the scribes.
b. We want to be the saved, the surrendered, and the
serving.
C. Jesus gave some characteristics of the scribes.
1. The first four describe their need for recognition.
a. \\#38\\ They "love" unusual clothes.
(1) Notice that Jesus used the word "love" there.
(a) That is a strong word to use in this context.
(b) It means to desire, to prefer, to be inclined
to, to love.
(2) "long clothing"
(a) The word actually means a stole or a wrap,
an article of clothing that drapes over the
shoulders, typically marked with symbols by
colors to show their level of education.
(b) This is very much like the clothing worn by
the college professors during graduation
services, except "the" religious wore them
everyday.
(c) Jesus spoke of them being "in the
marketplace." That would be in Foodland,
Publix, or Walmart.
b. They love salutations.
(1) I think that refers to long, detailed
introductions.
(2) It definitely means more they like people to tell
them hello.
c. \\#39\\ They like the best seats.
(1) Both at church (synagogues) and at parties
(feasts).
(2) The scribes didn’t want the seat so they could
see well but so that they could be seen well.
d. \\#40\\ They make long prayers.
(1) Praying for long periods is not bad when it is
just you and God; but when it is in public, long
prayers can easily turn into performances.
(2) That is not good.
2. They also like money and apparently had few morals on how
to get it.
Mark 12:40 Which devour widows’ houses…
a. It would appear that people came to ask favors of the
scribes in ways like they might ask a pastor today.
b. Apparently, the scribes were happy to oblige—for a
fee.
c. The implication is the scribes would bleed a widow
until she had nothing left, not even her house.
D. Jesus described what would happen to the scribes.
Mark 12:40 …prayers: these shall receive
greater damnation.
1. The scribes, and people like them, will not just receive
damnation but "greater" damnation.
a. That means there is "greater" damnation in hell for
some.
(1) Jesus was saying that there are degrees of
torment in hell.
(2) If you are going to hell, take no comfort in the
fact some may have a worse torment in hell than
others.
(3) I don’t believe there is any good real estate in
hell.
b. As far as we know, Jesus was only describing the
"better" parts of hell:
(1) …when He said hell was a "fire that never shall
be quenched " \\#Mark 9:43, 44, 45, 46, 48\\.
(2) …when He said "their worm dieth not"
\\#Mark 9:44,46, 48\\.
(a) Notice it is not "the" worm but "THEIR"
worm.
(b) By the way, the word for "worm" means worm
or maggot.
(c) It would appear that souls in hell have
their own eternal worms to eat at them.
(3) …when He said you would be better off to…
(a) …have a millstone hung about your neck and
to be cast into the sea \\#Mark 9:42\\.
(b) …to have a foot or hand cut off or an eye
plucked out than to go there.
c. If these are the "better" parts of hell, what must
greater damnation be like?
(1) \\#Rev 21:8\\ called damnation a "lake which
burneth with fire and brimstone."
(2) \\#Matt 13:50\\ called it "the furnace of fire."
(3) \\#Matt 25:46\ called it "everlasting
punishment."
d. Friend, just because hell will be worse for some than
others doesn’t really make hell better for some than
for others.
e. Hell is hell.
f. Yet, there is something called "greater damnation" for
the lost scribes and those like them.
2. Why will God sentence them to greater damnation?
a. The Bible does not say, but my guess is because they
they had greater knowledge which gave them the
greater privilege which caused greater
responsibility.
b. I don’t think you have to be a scribe to receive
greater damnation.
c. Just know the truth, inside and out, and do nothing
with it.
II. \\#41-44\\ The example of what TO be.
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.
A. Be like the widow
B. It is always interesting to me what is not important to God.
1. What is not important to God tell us as much about God as
what is important to Him.
(a) Who the woman was, was not important.
(b) What tribe she came from, was not important.
(c) How she came to be where she was, was not important.
2. These things were not what brought this woman to God’s
attention.
C. To be honest, even what she gave was not important.
1. The Bible tells us that she gave two mites.
(a) A mite was the smallest form of currency in the New
Testament.
(b) In physical size, it is less than 1/2 the size of a
penny.
(c) In 2005, it was said to be worth about 1/8 of a U.S.
penny.
https://library.samford.edu/special/treasures/2005/mite.html#:~:text=
The%20Widow’s%20Mite&text=Mark%2012%3A42%20And%20there,
1%2F64%20of%20a%20denarius.
2. What was important was what she had left after giving it.
Mark 12:44 …but she of her want did cast in
all that she had, even all her living.
(a) She gave it all.
(b) She did not have to do that.
i. She did not have to cast in anything.
ii. She had TWO mites so she could have given half
of what she had and kept the other half.
(c) Honestly, I do not know what she could have purchased
with two mites, let alone one.
D. She gave all that she had, and in doing so, Jesus said she
gave more than anyone else.
Mark 12:43 …Verily I say unto you, That this
poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which
have cast into the treasury:
1. What kind of math is that? New math?
Mark 12:41 …and many that were rich cast in
much.
2. How can two mites be more than the riches cast in by the
wealthy?
a. It is not new math but old math.
b. Jesus was not counting what was cast in but what was
kept back.
If anyone ever had a right to hold a grudge, Jesus did. Not only does
Jesus have the right to hold a grudge for what the people DID to Him,
Jesus actually had a right to hold a grudge for what they were GOING
to do to Him. How would you feel looking into the faces, the very
eyes, of people who you knew were going to laugh at you, mock you,
beat you, and crucify you in just a few hours? That is exactly what
Jesus was doing. And in His finally hours, He taught them and us.
Glory. What a God. Glory. What a Savior.
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