Mark 12 · a question people ask
Is Jesus telling his disciples to give all they have, as the widow did?
In this chapter he tells no one to do anything about it. He "sat down opposite the treasury and saw how the multitude cast money into the treasury" (12:41). Then "He called his disciples to himself" (12:43) and told them what she had done: "this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury" (12:43), "for they all gave out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on" (12:44) (tap poverty). That is the whole of what he says. The chapter applies her gift to no one else, and these notes don't either.
The verses
“Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and saw how the multitude cast money into the treasury. Many who were rich cast in much. A poor widow came and she cast in two small brass coins, which equal a quadrans coin. He called his disciples to himself and said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury, for they all gave out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on.””