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.”
Jesus is teaching in the temple near the end of his public ministry. Just before this scene, he warns the disciples about religious leaders who “devour the houses of widows” while putting on a show of piety (Lk. 20:47). Against that background, Luke shows Jesus looking up and quietly watching people place their offerings into the temple treasury. In the middle of the flow of worshipers, Jesus notices two kinds of givers: some wealthy people putting in generous sums, and a poor widow who drops in two very small coins.
The “treasury” likely refers to the collection chests in the temple courts, where worshipers placed offerings that supported the temple’s service, the priests and Levites who carried out that service, and the needs of the wider community. The wealthy put in what would have seemed impressive to anyone watching. Their gifts were real and substantial, and Luke does not say that Jesus rejects them. Yet what draws his attention is not the largest visible amount but the smallest one, given by someone society would easily overlook. A widow in the ancient world was usually financially vulnerable, often without a husband to protect or provide for her, and Scripture repeatedly commands God’s people to care for widows, orphans, and strangers (Ex. 22:21-23; Deut. 24:17-22).
Luke tells us that this widow put in “two small coins,” the kind of coins that had very little purchasing power. By ordinary standards, her offering would not have changed the temple’s finances at all. But Jesus interprets what he sees from God’s perspective. He says that “this poor widow put in more than all the rest” (v. 3). The comparison is not about the total amount in the collection box but about the relationship between the gift and the giver’s life. Those who were wealthy gave “from their surplus wealth” (v. 4). They did not feel their offerings; they gave what they could spare without real loss. In contrast, the widow gave from “her poverty,” and Jesus says that she “has offered her whole livelihood.”
The phrase “her whole livelihood” points to something deeper than a financial action. It means that she gave all she had to live on that day. Her gift is small in quantity but great in cost. In terms of outcome, nothing in the temple system changes because two small coins are added. In terms of faith, everything is revealed. The widow entrusts her life to God in a concrete, risky way. Her offering comes not from a safe surplus but from a place where giving actually hurts, where she must rely on God to sustain her tomorrow. In that sense, she lives the Old Testament pattern of those who trust God when they have little, like the widow of Zarephath who shared her last bit of flour with Elijah and found that God provided for her household (1 Kgs. 17:8-16).
This scene also answers the critique Jesus has just made about leaders who exploit the vulnerable. He has condemned those who “devour widows’ houses” while seeking honor in public (Lk. 20:46-47). Immediately afterward, Luke shows him honoring a widow whom others would not notice. The contrast is deliberate. The scribes in the previous passage are admired for their learning and status, yet they misuse their position. The widow, by contrast, has no status, no human power, and almost no money. But in her, Jesus finds the kind of heart that God values. God’s kingdom often reveals its citizens among those who appear least significant in human eyes.
Luke frequently highlights widows as examples of faith and perseverance, from the persistent widow who prays without losing heart to the widow of Nain who moves Jesus to compassion (Lk. 7:11-15; 18:1-8). Here, this poor widow becomes a pattern of generous trust: she does not speak, explain her motive, or even know she is being observed, yet Jesus sees her and preserves her example for the Church. Those who give only from surplus may never touch what they truly rely on, but this woman offers from her “want,” giving what she could have used for her own security and thereby showing that God himself is her security. In this way, her two small coins point beyond money to a way of belonging to God that does not keep back a safe reserve and, in a hidden way, reflect Jesus himself, who will soon offer not what is left over but his whole life on the cross.
In the end, this short passage is not mainly about calculating what percentage of our income to give. It is about the kind of relationship God desires with his people. He invites a trust that reaches into the places where we feel our dependence most sharply. The poor widow shows that such trust is possible even when resources are small. She offers to God not merely something she can spare, but something that touches her very life. For those who hear this story today, the invitation is not to copy her exact act, but to let the same spirit of trust and self-gift shape the way we offer ourselves—our time, our resources, and our hearts—to the God who already knows our needs and sustains our lives.
Lord Jesus, you praised the poor widow who gave all she had to live on. Teach us to trust the Father as she did, and to offer ourselves to you not only from what we can spare, but from the places where we are tempted to hold back. May our gifts, however small, be joined to your perfect self-offering and become pleasing to God. Amen.
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Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- Bernard Orchard et al., A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (1953).
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: Luke (Four Courts/Scepter).
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (2018).
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990).
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