Pastor Babij examines Jesus’ question: “How is it the scribes say the Christ is the Son of David…if David himself calls Him ‘Lord’?” Pastor Babij teaches that knowing Jesus scripturally places three demands upon Christian discipleship:
- Greater submission to Scripture to better understand who Jesus is
- Greater scriptural shrewdness to identify and avoid false teachers
- Greater sacrifice, as demonstrated by the widow’s giving of the two mites
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okay let’s take our Bibles this morning turn to the gospel of Mark and we will be looking at chapter the end of chapter 12 today verse 35 through verse 44 and let’s pray together Lord I do thank you this morning for your Grace to us I thank you Lord again for the word of God I pray Lord this morning that you will teach us by your spirit the important lesson you want to portray here before us you want to give us today so we can take it home with us so we can ponder it its riches so we can bring it to our mind when is needed and so Lord we would be a better also witness of the word uh of the gospel and also have a better understanding of what scripture teaches Lord make us people of the word help us to be um just filled with scripture and we know Lord The Filling of the spirit and the filling of scripture are similar well we know the Holy Spirit doesn’t teach us anything apart from his word so I pray Lord today you would lead us into truth and I pray it in Christ’s name amen okay in Mark chapter 12 and we are looking at this morning the demands I’m calling it the demands of True Discipleship and uh again as we look at this passage it’s been a long long exhausting Tuesday for our Lord in the passion week and we have been there with him um through all the controversies through all the questions uh through all those who were coming against him and through every single one of them Jesus has displayed a humble character he has displayed his wisdom he has dis displayed his knowledge he has displayed his authority authority being greater than the scribes and the Pharisees and none of the religious groups that were against him no matter how skilled they were in their understanding of religious systems and even portions of scripture they could not stop the Lord in fact the Bible clearly states to us that all these opposition parties were stopped by the Lord because his answers to their questions were so skillful and things that they should have known about scripture they missed that he silenced them they didn’t even know what to ask him anymore they didn’t dare ask him another question so again Jesus in this latter part of uh the gospel of Mark right before just a few days before his crucifixion um this last section of scripture is brought to us now remember the Jewish leadership failed to acknowledge the nature of jesus’ mission and jesus’ true identity uh so in other words they couldn’t really do anything else they really believed Jesus was a false teacher they believed that he got his energy from Satan himself and so they had a skewed view of who Jesus was so therefore when it came to the meaning of his crucifixion or what Jesus would actually do for Sinners on the cross they were not didn’t have a clue what was going to take place now if you remember when we first started the gospel of Mark Mark pushed us to answer two vital questions the first question is who do you perceive yourself to be because Christ calls for a radical assessment of self-perception and the second question is who do you perceive God to be because Jesus calls for a radical assessment of a god perception and for what reason in order to reconcile Sinners into a relationship with him so they can worship the true and living God so the question who he is has verber throughout Mark’s account like such passages in Mark 4:41 where he became very it says they became very much afraid and said to another one another who then is this even the wind and the Sea obey him and then in Mark 8 again Jesus went out along with his disciples into the Villages of cesaria Philippi and on the way he questioned his disciples saying to them who do people say that I am and they told him saying John the Baptist others say Elijah others one of the prophets and then he continued questioning them and he says but who do you say that I am and Peter answered and said to him him Thou Art the Christ you are the Messiah in other words he said to them see Jesus has been asking relevant truth questions to his disciples in order for them to in order to move his disciples Beyond preconceived notions or even personal Notions of who he’s supposed to be toward who he really is and that’s the question that’s always the question question who is Jesus when it comes to the Cults the first thing they go wrong with is who is Jesus they get him wrong and if you get Jesus wrong you get it all wrong and so Jesus is always putting that particular question to us do you know who Jesus really is and do you know what he really came to do not what you think he came to do or what you hope he came to do or what somebody said about who he was and what he came to do but who is he according to scripture and what did he come to do according to scripture see Jesus does not want his disciples to come under a the danger of misrepresenting the truth about who he is and the essence of what real Biblical faith is so now we come to Mark 12 now look at verse number 35 and it says this and Jesus began to say as he taught in the temple now let me just stop there for a minute Jesus is actually teaching in the temple remember after clearing the Gentile Court of all the business of all the noise of all the distraction he’s actually doing in the temple what you ought to be doing in the temple and what is that teaching the temple remember is also the central let’s say uh Office of the ruling body of Israel that’s Center to everything and remember it’s still Tuesday there’s a loud a a a very large crowd of pilgrims gathered around and eagerly listening to everything now Jesus is is saying they they don’t even want one word to drop to the ground so today in our passage Jesus turns the tables on his opponents and he asks not just any question Jesus asks the most essential question he asked the question concerning yes the identity of Messiah the identity of Christ the savior of the world the gospel of Matthew tells us the Pharisees were before him when he asked this question so Jesus in his closing hours before the long Tuesday ends he makes a contrast between himself and the religious body of Israel and of course he’s helping us to see that discipleship that Jesus calls us to is much different and has much greater demands than the religious body of Israel ever grasp so notice this morning in our text a three-fold demand of True Discipleship a three-fold demand of True Discipleship in other words real disciples have certain demands upon them that can never be pushed aside if one is going to call themsel a true follower of Christ and here’s the first demand the first demand is this that true discipleship demands Dems greater submission to scripture it demands greater submission to scripture now why do I say that because True Discipleship with scripture as its guide reveals Jesus to be both human and also to be divine scripture reveals that in in fact I want you to notice in verse number 35 it says this that Jesus began to say as he taught in the temple here’s his question how is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David that’s the first part of his question so what what is that part getting at well Jesus now at the end of his ministry mentions For the First Time The Very word Messiah because of course Greek uh in the Greek Messiah is Christ in uh Hebrew it’s Messiah Shia right here is Christ it means the same thing so he says here how is it that the scribes say that Messiah or Christ is the son of David now of course he has done this after entering Jerusalem and the Temple area on writing on a cult Jesus giving the picture to those watching him that he definitely is David’s son Israel’s king and the Messiah so how did they miss that in fact that the Communist title for messiah or for Christ is the son of David it’s all over the place bardus already in the gospel of Mark calls Jesus by his title Jesus Son of David which links him to King David and also links him to the Royal Line Of Kings which refers to Jesus as a king and connects him to the Messianic line so the Jews always looked forward to a godsent deliverer who would be of course in the line of David the scribes actually regularly taught that the Messiah would be the son of David the king Messiah would come from the lineage of David from David’s Royal line now to kind of Flesh this out a little bit uh I want you to take your Bibles and I want let’s turn to a few Old Testament passage script scriptures and then we’ll look at a few New Testament passages of scripture about this very thing let’s look first of all at Isaiah chapter9 verse 2 and verse 6 and 7 because of course in this passage of scripture what we see is when the davidic line cease to rule toward the end of The Divided monarchy remember the monarchy divided into two a north and a South because of of of course uh the sin of Israel uh the Covenant promise centered on a coming one who would fulfill Pro prophecy as a Messianic ruler as someone coming to deliver the people and unite the people now if you notice in Isaiah chapter 9 verse number two when that Messiah would come it would be he would come in a day of spiritual Darkness now look what it says in verse two of Isaiah 9 it says the people who walk in darkness will see a great light those who live in a dark land the light will shine on them let me stop right there see when Jesus came it was it was dark spiritually they were steeped in hypocrisy they were steeped in religious formalism even up to this point in this chapter they’re still in that they haven’t moved from that position they have not received what the prophet said about who Messiah would be and then notice in verse number six of Isaiah chapter 9 it says this now this is a very familiar passage of scripture to us it says for a child will be born to us and a son will be given to us and then in verse number seven of course verse number six says and the government will rest on his shoulders and his name will be called wonderful counselor mighty God Eternal Father Prince of Peace verse 7 and there will be no end to the increase of his government or of Peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and hold it with Justice and righteousness in other words now if you’ll also notice that don’t forget the prophets didn’t make a distinction between the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ they matter of fact with a comma just in the sentence they would include both together this would be the mission of the Messiah but what they and and sometimes that’s what happened with the Jews is they thought secondly he would come to be that Mighty counselor and to be that Prince of Peace right away so they were looking for a political Messiah who was going to take over who was going to topple over their adversaries and the government but remember they did not see the first first part of it that a child would be born unto us all right and of course he would become come during a time of spiritual darkness and then turn of course over to Isaiah chapter 11 uh because in chapter 11 verse 1-4 we see that uh it’s messiah’s pictured as uh actually a tree cut down and from its St they would spring up a righteous branch and that righteous Branch would be the Messiah would be the one who would come to deliver so see from the stump of Jesse remember Jesse was the father of David right so from that line would come a shoot no no notice verse number one of Isaiah 11 then a chute will spring from the stem of Jesse and a branch from his Ro Roots will bear fruit the spirit of the Lord will rest on him the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counsel and strength the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord and then in verse number four it says but with righteousness he will judge the poor and decide with fairness for The Afflicted of the earth and he will strike the Earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked again mixing the first and second coming together right in the same passage of scripture and then again it tells us without turning there in Jeremiah it says when I will raise up for David A righteous branch and then Jeremiah again in chapter 33 it says in verse number 15 I will cause a righteous friend of David to Spring forth so all over the scripture we see this sense that listen the Messiah is there and he would come from the line of King David but there would be something quite different about the Messiah and that’s some of the things that are going to be brought out in Mark so again in Ezekiel it tells us and I will said over them one Shepherd my servant David my servant David will be Prince of amongst them and then Hosea tells us after the sons of Israel will come will return and seek their lord and David their King and they will come trembling to the Lord and to his goodness in the last days so the scripture has an abundant amount of scripture that tells us that number one the Messiah would be human and number two the Messiah would be a a king and would come from the line of David all right now let’s turn back to the New Testament and just a few passages of scripture in Romans 1:3 it says there it kind of bears this out also where Paul the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans chap 1:3 it says concerning his son who was born of the descendant of David and then says according to the Flesh and then without turning there in second Timothy chapter 2 verse number8 says a same thing it says remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead descendant of David according to my gospel and then of course Christmas is right around the corner and you’re going to be reading uh either the beginning of Matthew or the beginning of L in possibly your morning uh time with your family and uh you’re going to find out that in Matthew which the theme of Matthew is Jesus Christ as King right so what does Matthew do he gives us the legal sunship from David’s line to establish all right established by the Gen genealogical table that it’s given there in Matthew chapter one he’s going to give us the legal line or this is the kingly line this is how he descended through the years right up until the time he was born and then if you turn to Luke you’ll find that Luke teaches us Jesus as a man right so what is Luke going to do he’s going to give us the natural sunship the human sunship from David’s line is established by Luke all right so those are all there and it’s all pointing to show us this that Jesus the Messiah will be a human descendant of King David but to say Messiah would just be a human being from the kingling line of David for Jesus is not enough because that’s not all who he is and so but he is establishing before those who are listening before the Pharisees and before the scribes that they have taught this this is something that nobody disputed in that day matter of fact it’s it’s very much not disputed in the Orthodox circles today but the only thing is is that they’re still waiting for him because Jesus Christ has already been rejected see there must be something more about the Messiah so this becomes evident now turn back to Mark chapter 12 it becomes evident in the next part of Jesus question to the to Israel’s leaders into the crowd so n the first thing is this that true discipleship demands greater submission to scripture because it will lead one to understand that Christ is David’s son and therefore human and then secondly it will lead one to this conclusion that Christ is David’s exalted Lord and therefore Divine where look what it says in verse 36 it says this David himself said in the Holy Spirit the Lord and that’s Yahweh the god Covenant keeping God said to my Lord the Messiah the one who is to come sit at my right hand until I put your enemies Beneath Your Feet verse 37 David himself calls him Lord so in what sense is he his son that’s the question they could not answer that it says the large crowd enjoyed listening to him how asks Jesus if he be his son can David address him by the title of Lord there there’s a conundrum there because of the conundrum with time David died right how can David say that the son who is to come is also his Lord see that’s very very problematic to the people listening to him Jesus is actually quoting from a very very well-known Messianic Psalm Psalm 110 in verse number three 1 through3 it says the same thing it says there the Lord says to my Lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a foot stol for your feet the Lord will stretch forth your strong scepter from Zion saying rule in the midst of your enemies your people will volunteer freely in the day of your power and hoier array from the the womb of the Dawn your youth are to you as the d That’s all in that Psalm of course the first verse is what is being brought to our attention here the Revelation from David’s Psalm is clear and every Jew believed the scriptures really they must accept it at once there there is really no one who rejected that the Jewish interpretation of the psalm has always been Messianic the Jews Jewish teachers understood it to mean God’s anointed king the great one who is to come from God is to save his people that’s what he used to do so what Jesus is saying by these questions is that he is the son of David and much more and that’s the point he is much more than the son of David not only son David’s son but David’s Lord according to Psalm 110:3 It also says this sit at my right hand until I put your enemies beneath your feet now what is that how could that be in that passage of scripture well what it’s saying there is this this is the Divine exaltation of the Messiah that the Messiah will be at the right hand of God the father in other words this Christ this messiah in his human nature will be seated be will be in the seat of Power Glory and Majesty see the one enthroned at the hand of Yahweh must be David’s Lord only the God man can put all his enemies underneath his feet and declare Victory and of course the picture is when a king had victory over his enemies he would at the end of the battle put his foot on his neck and declare Victory he won he was the one who had the upper hand man he took it with him and so it’s saying there that listen this Jesus is not only the son but is also the Lord of David in the line of David but David’s God In fact when the apostles began to preach this particular message this was an important ingredient in their message if you’d like to turn there Acts chapter 2 verse 34-36 brings both of them together when it says this Acts chapter 2 verse 34 says it pretty clearly it says for it was not David who ascended into heaven but he himself says the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a foot stol for your feet verse 36 therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified now we know that when that was preached to Israel what happened to them they were pierced in their heart and they asked what must we do to be sa right that’s what happened to them because they they for the first time that group saw that what this passage actually meant that Jesus Christ is not only from the line of David as a human as a king but he is the Lord of David so in other words it’s not talking about the King David who died in the Old Testament it’s talking about Jesus Christ who would fulfill all the Prophecies of David and of course he starts out by fulfilling those prophecies by dying on the cross and that’s what they did not see they did not capture that so Jesus the Messiah came not to deliver men from political oppression and establish an Earthly Kingdom the first time Jesus the Messiah came to deliver men from sin’s bondage and bring them to God and that’s what the cross all about so this information and this truth became very clear after Jesus died and rose again to his own disciples it all came together then because they saw what Jesus was talking about literally before their eyes so see in other words scripture alone revealed the truth of God in Jesus Jesus is more than a man he is more than than a king he is God and Jesus had established that before those people who were listening to him because Jesus true nature as Lord exposes at that particular point the depravity and the scriptural shallowness of Israel’s leadership in fact that’s turn back to Mark and you’ll see that’s exactly what happens see when you put that up against what they were teaching and how they were living then you find out they were not true Disciples of Jesus Christ they were not teaching the scripture like they ought to they were actually exposed by what Jesus just told them and notice what it says back in chapter 12 of Mark and this brings me to my second demand that true disciples to True Discipleship demands greater shrewdness now I say it like that for this reason according to the dictionary a shrewd person is a person who displays sharp or keing powers of judgment in other words when a Believer when a disciple understands the word of God studies the word of God thinks through the word of God they will become shrew and they will have the ability and the King powers of discernment or judgment so true discipleship with Jesus at the center as not only man King and God exposes false teachers for who they are a true disciple of Jesus need to develop a keen sense of identifying and then avoiding false teachers that is their teachings and their practice now look at verse number 38 of our text this is what Jesus tells his disciples after he just said that he says this in verse number 38 in his teaching he was saying Beware of the scribes in other words he’s saying beware of their teaching how does he do it by looking at their life look at where their teaching brought them and that’s when many times what we have to examine in we can we can’t judge people’s Scruples they’re hard but we sure can judge their conduct we can judge what they do right and usually they have a certain conduct we can also judge that they’re believing something wrong something false if their conduct does not line up with what they say they believe all right so look at what it says in our text he’s telling his disciples Beware of the scribes and how does he tell them he says that they’re to beware of three things about the scribes number one beware of men who have beware of amb icious showy men look at it it says in verse 38 the scribes who like to walk around in Long robes right now these flowing robes were usually decorated in order to display their importance in the community and to set them apart from other people wow look at that scribe coming oh look at he’s a religious person he teaches the law and then also verse 38 scribes who like respectful greetings in the marketplace in other words that these greetings were given in order to acknowledge that the religious leaders position in society was higher than the commoner see they loved to be considered distinguished men they Lov that and the next they love to attract attention to themselves it says in verse 39 it says beware of of course ungodly prideful men who demand attention it says the and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at Banquets see they were of course the front seats they were the best seats they were the seats that only the distinguished people sat and of course in the ancient world where you sat at someone’s home reflected a social status the first place was to the right of the host the second place was to the left of the host if you sat in any one of those positions then you were definitely an important person so in the temple the most important seats were the benches up in front near the Torah Scrolls and also those who were the speakers that day those who were reading the scripture and and making comments about the scripture that day and so that’s where they wanted to sit they wanted to sit where everybody could see them and then he says beware of greedy men who take advantage of others and then cover it up by hypocritical piety in verse number 40 it says and this is this is probably reveals the cruel evil characters that have violated the two greatest Commandments that Jesus just taught on and what did they do look at verse 40 those who devour widows houses now you know a widow was the most vulnerable person in society at those days she had to be taken care of she has she had to be watched out for so see the these religious charlatans with defiled religion would get those who were the most vulnerable in society and get them to support them now it’s hard to know exactly how they carried out their wicked scheme but several ways have been suggested concerning how they took advantage of these widows one would be that the scribes had had administrated were assigned to administrate the widows estate and then charged her legal fees and of course they charged also for counseling they were builing widows out of their Estate another way would be they defrauded her of funds entrusted to them that a widow would have to have somebody look over watch out for her finances if she didn’t have a husband in this case she didn’t then she would have to have some other male look out for her estate and of course who were there to do that the scribes and of course they in looking out for her estate actually defrauded her of St and then of course another way was that they would seize her home if she could not pay her debts and then probably the last one uh would be one that comes closest to the passage that we look at and that’s they would charge her for offering prayers on her behalf so the last one may fit the way they were cheating widows because the scribes could display their piety before others by offering lengthy public prayers on behalf of the widows look what it says in verse 40 it says these and for appearance sake offer long prayers so actually these were sham prayers offered up to show how Pious they were however in reality it shows their pretense in hypocrisy they were breaking the second of the two greatest Commandments which you shall love your neighbor as yourself but in fact the scribes did not carry out the second because they were not carrying out the first which is of course to love the Lord with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind and with all your strength they were not doing that in fact instruction in the gospel of Matthew is quite fitting where it says to us in Matthew chapter 6 When you pray you are not to be like the Hypocrites for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men truly I say to you they have their reward in full in full but you when you pray go into your inner room close your door and pray to your father who is in secret and your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you that’s the way you ought to do it not like them so they just wanted to please people and keep their finger held up in the Winds of the changing culture and give those itching ears whatever the itching ears wanted just like today these narcissistic religious leaders conducted themselves only to be admired only to be exalted only to be the ones who were the center of attention they weren’t concerned about pleasing God and genuinely serving people they were not religious pride and injury of others in the name of religion will be assessed by God in fact if you know notice at the end of verse number 40 it says that they will receive abundant judgment it says these will receive greater condemnation of course remember James tells us that if you want to be a teacher you’re more responsible than other people and of course specifically you’re more responsible on how you handle scripture how you interpret the word of God and not only how you interpret it how you live what you’re learning is your conduct is your conversation matching what the scriptures actually say that’s the test for all of us that’s always the test is that is our lifestyle matching up with the principles of real disciples not only do I study the word of God to understand who Jesus really really is but I study the word of God to make sure that I am not being duped by false teachers because I’m screwed and I make sure that even in my own life that what I’m supposed to be learning I am learning and it is being reflected in my speech in my thinking in my conduct in how I treat other people all that is reflected in that by what I believe script because the scriptures are Transforming Our Minds so we can live in a way that honors God that pleases the lord it’s always the Lord that comes first and you know today we have an abundant amount of charlatans a false teachers both men and women who are preaching false gospels I mentioned them not too many sermons ago uh and they’re out there we should know that they are not teaching the truth we should know their Nam to well we are to discern who are Christ’s real disciples and accept them but we are never relieved of our responsibility to discern the spirits to discern what’s being taught the tears and the wheat are going to grow side by side in the age of Grace of this church age Believers are to remain compassionate yet they are to be soberly alert about what they ought to know and do and how they are supposed to act see true disciples are to be aware that they are to develop sharp powers of judgment in regard to false religious teachers they must do this by growing in their knowledge of scripture that’s how they do that now saying all that Jesus actually ends and this is an amazing ending I tell you why it’s amazing we would never have ended it like this remember there’s been a contrast between who Christ is and who the religious leaders are now Jesus is going to take a personal human example and say to all of us live like that person be that look at how he does it in verse number 41- 44 here is the last demand of True Discipleship True Discipleship demands greater sacrifice it says in verse 41 and he sat down opposite the treasury and began observing how people were putting money into the treasury and many rich people were putting in large sums verse 42 a poor Widow came and put in two small copper coins which amounted to a scent these coins were called liptons they were actually meant a thin a thin coin meaning it didn’t have a lot of metal in it that means it wasn’t worth very much in fact it was only in our money it was only worth a quarter of a cent see did you ever ask why did Mark give this story and Jesus tell this story as the last one before he began to teach on end times and just a few days before his crucifixion why did he end here well the reason why he ended ended here is for this that Jesus chose this story and this poor Widow to contrast the phony Bel lony righteousness of the religious establishment with what real true Devotion to God is that’s what in fact he would he thought it so important in verse number 43 says this calling his disciples to him said to them truly I say to you this poor Widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury verse 44 for they all put in out of their Surplus but she out of her poverty put in all she owed owned all she had to live on so Jesus of course is saying to his disciples listen see all these rich contributors and of course these uh the picture is that in the in the temple area there was a place where you there were containers and the containers were were shaped like a a trumpet and the people would come and remember there’s no paper money there they would come and pour their coins in so if a wealthy person came for for their coins then what would you hear a lot of coins right but the Widow comes she puts her coin in you didn’t hear very much but Jesus noticed way more than just what she put in see all the rich contributors after they gave they had plenty left the poor Widow after she gave she had nothing left and notice what it says there she had two copper coins now logic would say hey I got two copper coins I need to buy some food for the day so I’ll put one in and give it to the Lord and I’ll keep the other ones and provide my needs she doesn’t do that she gives both the coins to the Lord so see the poor Widow she didn’t hold back she put everything at the Lord’s disposal she did it humbly she came to please the Lord that day she was carrying out the shama loving God with all she had there it is here’s the example on that Passover she was s ently saying to God as she put in everything she had I love you and all I have is yours see that’s what God wants he doesn’t want a quter of you he doesn’t want half of you he doesn’t want out three quarters of you he wants all of the only way to worship God is with all you have you can’t be divided in cannot be divided in your soul when it comes to worship God see the demands for True Discipleship are are way way too high so see what we can learn from this important event is what real Devotion to God is when it comes to giving the posture of our hearts makes all the difference God knows how you give he knows what we can give to him and I’m not just talking about the money part of it I’m talking about your time and your talents and your opportunities talking about all of your whole life what are you giving to God what portion do you give to him see the value also of the gift is not the amount given but the cost of The Giver what does it cost for me to live for God because giving is always sacrificial that is real giving also the mark of a real disciple is giving all one has in the service of the Lord that’s really the mark of it it was arent H who said giving is not a mo motor problem it’s a heart problem it’s not that we don’t give it’s that what kind of heart do we give with he also said that many today have what they have a disease called sorosis of The Giver they don’t give their time and their talents and their money to the Lord they hold back a lot for themselves and they give God Chum change give God our promise which left over our exhausted hours of the day we don’t give God all we have so in some sense we’re more like stri and we are like this poor Widow we want to be the center of the tension we want to be the American Idol we want to be famous well you know what what if you want to be famous this woman was famous she’s in scripture for all the world who’s ever preaching the word of God they’re going to mention her sometime or another she’s famous God made her famous why did she become famous because she gave it all to God she held nothing back money does speak tells us where our hearts are the disciples give all all they have to God because they love him that’s the way we of to do it but which is better sacrifice or plenty to give all of the little we have to God or a little of all we have to God see the lesson of this poor Widow is this that she is an example of True Discipleship she is an example of true devotion to God she is exam an example of what it means to fulfill the two great Commandments to love God and then to love your neighbor as yourself see she is an example of True Discipleship characterized by the sacrificial surrender of all she has to Christ it can’t be anything less see this is why Jesus said that unless you unless you leave these things you can’t be my disciple unless you leave everything and follow me you can’t be my disciple he was really saying to us there’s a cost to being a Believer there’s a sacrifice to being a Believer not a cost for your to save yourself God already saved you a cost to live for him a cost to give all you have for Christ and you know when you do and when you don’t you know that why why why all this because I tell you this because Jesus did this very thing he laid down his whole life on the cross of Calvary it tells us in Romans that God will not hold back anything for his elect for his children it won’t hold back anything see in other words God gives it all he gives all of it and so the purpose of the Lord’s life in coming into the world the first time was to give and not to receive was to give and not to take and I said before that Jesus was the greatest Minister who who ever walked the face of the planet he expects his disciples to be very serious about being a servant like him and being someone who is like this poor Widow that’s who he wants us to and if you can’t be her you can’t be a Christian if you can’t be her you can’t follow Christ if you can’t be heard getting in the line behind the scribes and the Pharisees because that’s the line you’re in ready that’s what it takes to be a Christian for a young person for a middle-aged person for an older person that’s what God’s calling us to so it took all 12 chapters for the Lord to end his teaching of ministry to others on this note before he talked about end times and two days later he’s going to be crucified this is where he ends on this note that’s very significant you can’t miss that because True Discipleship demands greater submission to script scripture that leads us to understanding who Jesus really is it leads True Discipleship demands a greater tress that we can discern between what is true and what is false what is God’s way and what is every other way and True Discipleship demands greater sacrifice and the sacrifice is this give it all to God now my prayer today should be I guess our prayer today should be Lord Jesus make me like this poor Widow make me like her so I understand true Devotion to God make me the person that doesn’t hold back but puts everything at your disposal make me the person who is humble in order to please you by my conduct and my character make me the person who can genuinely say to God I love you and all I have is yours see that is where the Lord brings us to at this point let’s PR Lord I Thank you that scripture does not pull any punches Lord scripture help hits us shoots from the hip is directed at our conscience and exposes us Lord for who we really are Lord either we’re going to be Hypocrites and say we believe and do everything we want to do and don’t really serve God don’t really give to God don’t really change anything in our life that God asks us to change don’t really give don’t make any sacrifices we either are going to be that person or we’re going to be the person like this PO Widow who is written in scripture because of her what Christ observed of her Devotion to you oh Lord if we could only love you like this if we can only be sacrificial in our life like this if we can only put you first like we ought to love our neighbors like you want us to and Lord we know that that would honor you and that would be what pleases you so Lord bring us to the place that we can evaluate our own lives that we may live this way so Lord help us to throw selfishness out the window help us to throw any worldly thoughts we have about what our life should be like and I pray Lord Jesus help our thoughts and our goals and our plans for life line up with the word of God so we don’t waste time lord so we don’t go down the road we ought not to be but Lord we would stay on the road of simple faithful Devotion to Christ whatever you want from us Lord you want to you want to do that and I pray Lord that we would give you this very day our very heart we would give you Lord our soul we would give you Lord Jesus our strength we would give you our understanding and I pray that you would use that Lord to bring glory to your great thank you again Lord please do what you must do today to accomplish your will in our lives and I pray this in Christ’s name amen