Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."
Mark 12:41–44
This passage begins "Jesus sat down." When a rabbi sat down in the temple, it meant he was getting ready to teach. In the passages just preceding this one, Jesus had already been teaching. Now he moves over near the place where the offerings were collected.
I wonder what the crowd expected to hear from Jesus. Perhaps they thought he would praise the wealthy people. Maybe the wealthy people came up just at that time to showily drop their sacks of money into the collection ...
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