He Knows My Worship
Scripture Reading: Mark 12:38-44
Meditation
Soon Jesus will offer himself up as the once and for all sacrifice for sin. As he prepares to take the final steps to the cross, he goes to the temple courts and finds a quiet place to sit. He positions himself so that his eyes can see and his ears can hear the sights and sounds of worship. From his vantage point, he notices everything.
He hears the bleating of lambs. A sacrifice is about to be offered. Blood will be shed. Sin will be atoned for. With every lamb’s cry, the Lamb of God winces.
The prophetic words of Isaiah cut deep.
“We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on him, on him.
He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn’t say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence.”1
Returning his attention to the activity in the temple courts, Jesus takes note of the Pharisees. As the ‘set apart ones’, they believe that their lives revolve around rigid and complete obedience to the Law of Moses. In addition to the Old Testament Law, the Pharisees have added their own interpretations and traditions—613 clear statutes in the Law—365 prohibitions and 248 exhortations.
For the Pharisee, worship has evolved into a complex list of prescribed rules and rituals. Intimacy with the Almighty has been replaced with religious activity.
Again, Jesus hears the prophets speak.
“I’m after love that lasts, not more religion. I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings.”2
Jesus glares at the Pharisees. In a crowd, these spiritual peacocks aren’t hard to find. They’re the ones dressed in long, white, linen robes, looking and playing the part of religious leaders. As they strut through the temple grounds, they bellow long-winded prayers, looking for and loving the attention.
This isn’t worship; it’s a religious show. But it’s not anything new. What the prophets had talked about centuries earlier, Jesus sees played out in real time.
“Do you think all God wants are sacrifices—empty rituals just for show?
He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production.”3
The Pharisees are the main players in this lavish production. As they strut around the temple courts in their flowing robes, they steal center stage from the very God they claim to worship. They’re only acting pious and play-acting at worship. All of their preening behavior boils down to ecclesiastical spectacle. It’s hypocrisy dressed in pretentious clothing.
Jesus calls his disciples over and warns them to keep an eye out for such spiritual over acting.
“Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preening in the radiance of public flattery, basking in prominent positions, sitting at the head table at every church function. And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they’ll pay for it in the end.”4
Once more Jesus turns his attention to the sights and sounds of worship. He listens as the wealthy throw handfuls of copper coins into one of the thirteen trumpet-shaped receptacles placed in the courtyard. Their offering for the temple treasury sounds impressive as it rattles around in the containers. When totaled, however, it’s just a lot of loose pocket change thrown in to make a lot of noise.
As Jesus reflects on the state of worship in the temple courts, his heart is grieved. Outward signs of worship abound, but when he looks beneath the surface, he sees only hollow ritualistic shells: no heart. All the proper forms of worship are there—sacrifices, prayers, and offerings—but none of its substance. There is no spirit or truth. No giving of all to the Father. There may be plenty of sacrificial lambs and copper coins, but there aren’t any living sacrifices of praise.
Just when the temple courts seem to be void of true worship, Jesus finds a picture of intimacy with the Almighty in the most unlikely place. In the midst of all of the religious noise, a poor widow walks up to one of the receptacles and drops in two small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a cent. As the coins tumble into the temple treasury, they barely make a sound. But Jesus hears her act of worship. It isn’t the sound of her offering that catches his attention; it’s the thunderous beat of her heart.
Seeing her sacrifice, Jesus says to his disciples,
“The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.”5
Compared to the gifts of the rich, her offering barely made a noise. But her act of worship was so valuable that the angels trumpeted its worth throughout heaven. It was given out of poverty. It was true sacrifice: all of her for all of her God.
As Jesus looks at the widow’s sacrifice, he smiles.
Soon, at the cross, he’ll do the same.
Reflection
If Christ were to sit in the sanctuary and watch your worship, what would he see?
In what ways are you like the poor widow? What are the two small coins that you can place in the temple treasury as your act of worship?
Have you made lots of noise with your worship, only later to admit that it was void of substance?
What is your sacrifice of praise?
Prayer
Father,
I confess that my worship is often full of empty rituals. I haven’t worshiped you with all my passion, intelligence, and energy and I certainly haven’t loved others as myself. My sacrifice of praise has made a lot of noise but it’s void of substance.
It draws more attention to me than adoration toward you.
During this day, give me the heart of the poor widow. Humble me. Show me that my only wealth is in your Son, Jesus the Christ. Open my heart and release my hands in worship to give all that I have for all that you are. May I do all of this in secret, not for public show.
And remind me that the smallest act of worship done with the right heart is far greater than all of the offerings and sacrifices of men. Remind me that, though no one else is aware of my actions, Christ is. And when he sees such faith, he directs all of heaven’s attention toward me.
It’s in your Son’s name that I pray. Amen.
1Isaiah 53:6-7 2Hosea 6:6 31 Samuel 15:22 4Mark 12:38-40
5Mark 12:43-44
All Scripture references in the meditation are marked by italics and are taken from the Gospel reading for the day. Those verses quoted outside of the chosen reading for the day are noted. All Scripture quoted in this post is taken from THE MESSAGE: Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001 & 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.