Return on Investment

Mark 12:41-44
Gregory Broderick | Sunday, May 23, 2021
Copyright © 2021, Gregory Broderick

Having eviscerated the pretentious and image-conscious teachers of the law in Mark 12:38–40, Jesus turns His attention to their antithesis:  a poor but faith-filled widow.  While they sought glory and did everything for show, she quietly demonstrated her true faith by her anonymous offering of two mites, also called two lepta.

Her two lepta, less than two dollars today, were not worth much on this earth.  But the faith behind her generous and trust-filled act was worth more than all the gold of all the kingdoms of all the world.  She put in a very small amount—about 1/64^th of a laborer’s daily wage—but she reaped a great reward.  God saw.  God was watching.  And He commended her act of faith.  This is a better return on investment than you could ever hope for.  Not seven percent or twelve percent or even five hundred percent.  It was infinity-percent.  She glorified God with her offering.  That is our highest purpose in life, and she surely went to be in His presence for all eternity.  That is joy unspeakable and full of glory.  That is pretty good value for two lepta.

Let us remember that God does not need our money.  God does not need our anything.  Therefore, we do not help Him any more or less by how much we give.  In fact, it is all two lepta to God.  No, God is not interested in our money.  He is interested in our all.  We give all, and He gives us all.

1. God Sees

The first thing we are struck by in this passage is that God sees.  Remember, this is Passion Week.  This is the week Jesus is going to prepare to suffer God’s wrath on the cross and to die.  It is a serious time.  Yet He takes time out to sit down opposite the place where the offerings were made and to watch (v. 41).

This is a reminder to us that God is always watching.  He knows all and He sees all.  He is always watching, and He cares what we do.  He is pleased when we trust in Him and obey Him, and He blesses us.  Likewise, He is displeased when we rebel and disobey Him, and He curses us.  He is not a detached God.  He is not an aloof God.

This is taught throughout the Bible.  Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.”  Psalm 33:13–15 says, “From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth—He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.”  In Genesis 16:13 He is called “the God who sees me.”  Not just “He is the God who sees,” but “He is the God who sees me.’  He sees all that I do.

a. God Sees Unbelievers

If you have not confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, this should shake you to your very core.  God sees.  God sees you and God sees your sin.  And He deals with sin.  Remember in Genesis 6, God looked down upon the earth and saw how great man’s sin had become, and He wiped out man in a great flood, saving only the remnant of Noah’s family.  Or in Deuteronomy 9, God explains that He sent the Israelites to wipe out the Canaanites on account of the wickedness of these nations.  They were not paying any attention to God, but God saw them.  Leviticus 18:24–25 says that the Canaanites became defiled due to their wickedness and the land vomited them out.  What sins, what wickedness were these Canaanites engaged in?  Sexual immorality, idolatry—all the garden-variety sins of that time, all the garden-variety sins of our time, all the garden-variety sins of every time.  But God saw, God was displeased, and God brought judgment on them.

My point, unbeliever, is that God sees you too.  He cares what you do too.  It is not only sinning Christians He deals with.  No, He deals with you too.  He deals with you in wrath, for He detests sin and rebellion.  You see, it is all His kingdom.  There is not a kingdom of God and a something else.  It is all God’s kingdom.  He created all and He rules all, and you cannot opt out of His rule by pretending that He does not exist or by denouncing Him.  He does not require your consent for His jurisdiction.

One day you will stand before God seated on His judgment throne, and books will opened, recording your sins (Rev. 20:12).  On that day, you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and you will bow your knee to that Lord Jesus (Phil. 2:10–11).  But it won’t be savingly.  It will be too late on that day.  You will be cast into judgment, into eternal hell with no way out for all eternity.  Don’t wait until then to confess Him as Lord and Savior.  You can confess Him as Lord and Savior today.  You can put your trust in Him today.  And you can be saved today.  Repent of your sins, cry out for mercy, be saved, and live a life for Him.

Even if you confess Him as Lord and claim Him as your Savior, you are still going to stand before that judgment seat, and the books will still be opened.  But next to all your sin it will be written, “Paid in full”—paid by the precious blood of the Savior, Jesus Christ.  On that day when He sees you, He will not look upon your sin.  He will have blotted it out.  He will have cast it behind His back.  He will have buried it in the depths of the sea (Isa. 38:17; Micah 7:19).  Yes, He will see you.  But He will see all of Christ’s righteousness put upon you.  And then He will say, not, “Go to hell.”  No, then He will say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.  Enter your Master’s happiness.”

b. God Sees Sinning Christians

The fact that God sees us is not just scary for the unbeliever, however.  It is also scary for those who have confessed Christ as Lord and Savior.  He sees our sins too.  Our secret sins.  Our forgotten sins from long ago—forgotten to us but not to God.  Nothing can be hidden from His sight (Heb. 4:13).  He knew all about Achan’s secret sin.  No one else knew, but God knew.  It was done secretly.  It was done very carefully.  It was taken in secret.  It was hidden beneath the tent.  No one else saw.  But God saw.

In Acts 5, God knew about Ananias and Sapphira’s sin as well.  They lied.  No one else knew.  They kept it quiet.  No one else understood.  But God saw, and God dealt with them.  Likewise, He knew the sins of Gehazi and David and many others.  In Jeremiah 16:17–18 God says, “My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.  I will repay them double for their wickedness and their sin.”  Psalm 139 says that He knows our thoughts from afar, He knows our actions, and He knows our words before we even say them.

Christian, do you have secret sin?  Know that it is not secret where it matters:  in the sight of God.  If you have secret sin, repent today.  Confess your sin today.  Renounce it today.  For God knows your secret sin and He will discipline you severely (Prov. 3:12).  The longer you go on sinning and the longer you cover it up, the worse it will go for you.  Your secret sin will result in trouble for you and trouble for your children to the third and fourth generation (Exod. 20:5).  So I say, don’t do it.  Don’t engage in secret sin.  Don’t keep engaging in secret sin.  Don’t conceal your sin.  Instead, confess your sin, repent of your sin, and take the discipline, but also be forgiven of your sin.  Be forgiven by a merciful God.  All you must do is confess it and renounce it and He will forgive it.  Yes, there may be consequences, but He will forgive your sin.  Better to take the consequences now in this life than to suffer them forever in eternity.

You may be tempted to go on sinning, to enjoy the pleasure of sin for season.  Or you may look for a middle ground—to stop sinning but tempted not to confess your sin due to the shame.  That is all pride.  I counsel you, “Don’t do it.”  Confess and repent fully of all your sin.  That is what God says to do.  Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who attempts to conceal His sin shall never prosper, but He who confesses and renounces those sins finds mercy.”  So get it out. Get that sin out.  Confess it and renounce it.  God sees it and God will deal with it in His time.  One way or another, God is going to deal with your secret sin, Christian.  Why suffer more than you need to?  Confess your sins to God and to God’s delegated authorities, and find mercy.  That is what all of us need, isn’t it?  We all need mercy—mercy, not money; mercy, not power; mercy, not fame; mercy, not reputation.

c. God Sees Faithful Believers

I want to say to faithful Christians that God sees you too.  You are not anonymous in the sight of God.  You are fully known by God.  From your heart to your motives to your thoughts to your words and to your deeds, to your very future, God sees you too.  He knows that you are not perfect, but He sees your God-given good.  The good deed you did in secret—He sees that (Matt.  6:1).  Your genuine trust, your internal humility, your heart-love for God and for His people—He sees that too.  That cup of cold water you gave to that thirsty brother or sister in need—He sees.  Those family devotions you taught morning and evening anonymously in your house—God sees.  That gospel that we shared but which was rejected—God saw that good deed too, and God was glorified by it, God was pleased with it.

As our Pastor told us in his sermon, “Believers’ Final Judgment,” we are going to be judged according to the deeds in His book, whether good or bad.  He sees our deeds, good or bad.  Malachi 3:16 says, “Those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard.”  He heard the good words.  The Bible promises us, “Where two or three are gathered together in His name, there He is in the midst of us.”  We don’t see Him, but He sees us, and He is pleased with our genuine faith.

Our little lives are not insignificant.  We could say Our Lives Matter.  They matter to God.  Our deeds, our good deeds, are not insignificant, because they matter to God.  They are storing up treasure in heaven ahead of us.  Indeed, our good deeds, just like our sins, are recorded in heaven’s archives.

From this text, it is clear that it is not just Paul’s good deeds or Calvin’s good deeds or Pastor Mathew’s good deeds that are significant in God’s sight.  Your good deeds are significant in God’s sight too.  God is pleased with you too when you obey Him and when you trust in Him.  If you are a poor but faith-filled widow, God sees, and He commends your good deeds.  If you are a little kid confessing Jesus Christ as Lord, God sees.  In fact, it says all heaven sees and rejoices at the repentance of one sinner.  Are you that teacher or aide toiling away at Grace Valley Christian Academy, that person cleaning the church on a Saturday, or that person quietly visiting the sick and tending to those in need?  God sees.  God sees, and God is pleased.  It may seem like two lepta to you, but it is of infinite worth in God’s sight.

He is not so much interested in the scope of your act but in the heart behind the act; in the heart that motivates that act.  Two lepta, as I said, is not much money.  It is worth 1/64^th of a day-laborer’s wage.  The gift was not worth much in this world, but it was pleasing in the sight of God.  It was significant, not because of the amount, but because it was pleasing in the sight of God.   Satan may come and tell you that no one is watching.  He may do that to get you to sin, but he may also do it to discourage you.  He will say, “Don’t bother with those good deeds.  No one is watching.  No one cares.  None of it matters, so why even bother?”  Don’t listen to him.  He is a liar and the father of lies.  (GTB). Those good deeds, little or big—those good deeds matter.  God said so.  God is watching, and God cares.  Your actions for Him, whether two lepta or two million dollars, are of infinite value in His sight if they are done in faith.  So do right, please God, and be blessed.  That is the greatest return on investment.

2. God Is Pleased

The second thing we notice is that Jesus is pleased by the small offering of this anonymous widow.  We don’t even know her name.  So we should ask, “Why was God pleased?  Why was Jesus pleased by the act of this widow?”

It was certainly not that Jesus needed the money.  First of all, the money did not go to Him.  It went into the temple treasury.  Second, Jesus had money—enough so that Judas was appointed keeper of the money bag.  So He doesn’t need her two little lepta.  And, third, Jesus could get any money that He needed.  Remember when they were going to pay the temple tax?  He told Peter to go catch the fish, and there was the four-drachma coin in the fish’s mouth.  The four-drachma coin miraculously produced from a fish is worth about two hundred and fifty-six times what the widow gave.  So Jesus does not want or need the widow’s two little sad coins.  So it wasn’t that Jesus needed the money.

It is also not that Jesus is impressed by money in general.  Verse 41 of our text tells us that many rich people threw in large amounts.  They did not even merit a comment from Jesus.  He was not moved by them.  He just sat there until our faithful widow came along with her two small coins.  Jesus is not impressed by money generally.  In fact, we will see later in Mark 13 that Jesus will refuse to be impressed by the massive stones and all the finery that existed in the temple.  So it was not the little lepta that caught His eye.

What, then, is noteworthy about her giving?  Why is it so commendable that the God-man should sit down, should take notice, should call His disciples over, should commend her, and then should inscripturate it for all time so that two thousand years later we are still reading about it and talking about it?  What is so significant?

What was pleasing to Jesus is that this widow trusted in God.  She trusted God, and she showed her trust by giving her all.  This took great faith, and dare I say, it took a lot more faith than we have.  As Professor Edmund Clowney taught our Pastor years ago, the widow had three options.  First, she could give none.  After all, she is a poor widow, and this appears to be some kind of freewill offering or perhaps in fulfillment of a vow.  It doesn’t appear to be her tithe.  She could have easily rationalized giving neither coin.  She could have easily said, “I am poor, and so I need to keep both of these coins.”  That is option one.  Option two: She could give one lepton—the compromise position:  “One for me and one for God.”  Fifty percent is still quite a bit.  And surely God would not begrudge this widow one lepton to buy a tiny mouthful of food to get her through the day.  It is not much, but it is something.  But the third option, the option she chose, was to give all.  She gave one hundred percent out of her poverty.  Despite being poor, despite being a widow, she gave all.

She gave all because she trusted in God.  Likely she reasoned that He provided for the widow of Zarephath, and He will provide for me.  He provided for little Israel in the desert, so He will provide for me.  He provided the promised Messiah to save His people from their sins, so He will provide me with the promised daily bread.  Though I have no material wealth, I am rich in God, so I don’t need my two lepta.  He will never leave me nor forsake me.  He will take care of me until He calls me to Himself and carries me home.  I have nothing to worry about.  Who cares about my two lepta?  I am eternally secure by faith in Christ.

Her offering was the only acceptable amount:  it was her all.  I am not talking about money, lest we need to clarify that again.  We don’t need money and we don’t ask for money in this Church.  Nor does God need money or ask for your money to help Him out.  In fact, your money is insufficient.  God is not interested in money.  God is interested in much, much more than your two lepta.  Much more than your two billion dollars.  It is all worthless in the sight of God.  It is all two lepta to Him.  He owns everything anyway.  No, He doesn’t want your two lepta or your two dollars or your two million dollars.  He wants your all—all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, all your strength.  That is the only acceptable offering—all, all, all, all.  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

With God it is all or nothing.  “All to Jesus I surrender,” or, “None to Jesus I surrender.”  I am not my own; I belong to Jesus, body and soul.  In fact, I am a slave.  If I belong to Jesus, I am a slave—a bondslave of Jesus Christ, who bought me with His own blood.  I am a very blessed, very happy slave of Master Jesus, if I am in the Lord.

We must live for Him who died for us.  We must live a life of thanksgiving to God who saved us.  A holy life.  A joyful life.  An obedient life.  A serving life.  A gospel-sharing life.  An overcoming life.  A super-conquering life.  The life that is truly life.  Life in Christ, holding nothing back—that is the life that is truly life.  That is life for God.  That is the Christian life.  That is your all.  Whether we eat or drink or give or whatever we do, we must do it all for the glory of God who saved us from the just eternal punishment for our sins.

That is what makes her two lepta impressive.  It is not that she gave two lepta.  It is that she gave two lepta by faith.  It is two lepta as evidence of the greatest miracle ever performed:  regeneration.  The spiritually dead made eternally alive by faith alone in Christ alone.  God comes, God makes us alive, God plants that faith in us and then allows us to confess Him and to renounce our sins and to live for Him.

Maybe you are thinking to yourself, “She didn’t have too much to give so she did not have too much to lose.”  Of course she did.  She gave her all.  She gave her two lepta.  She had nothing left.  Compare her with the rich young ruler.  What did Jesus ask of him?  In Mark 10:21 Jesus says to the rich young ruler, “Go, sell everything you have, and give to the poor.   Then come, follow me, and you will have treasure in heaven.”  He would not do it, and he went away sad, and he went away damned.  What did Jesus ask of him?  The same thing: his all.  She gave her all, but he refused.

I ask you:  Who made the better decision?  Who made the better investment?  Who is happy with his choice today?  Which one of them regrets his decision today?  I will tell you:  it is not her.  She may have gone home.  She may have starved.  She may have died.  We don’t know.  But I will tell you, she does not regret that choice.  He does.  He is the one who regrets his choice.  He held on to his great wealth and went to hell.  She let go of her last two lepta and went to glory.

So I ask today: What about you?  What are you holding on to?  Is it your two lepta of money?  Or your two lepta of pride?  Your two lepta of reputation?  Your two lepta of sexual immorality or autonomy or power or career or whatever it is?  What will it matter in a hundred years or in two thousand years or in ten thousand years?  Ask yourself this: Do you think the widow is missing her two lepta now?  Do you think the rich young ruler’s worldly wealth is any comfort to him now in hell, in torment, and in agony?

Make the correct decision.  Make the better bargain.  Trade your worldly wealth, whether it is in money or in anything else—trade your worldly wealth, which you cannot keep, for eternal riches which you cannot lose.  Of course you cannot buy your way into heaven.  I am not suggesting she paid two lepta to get into heaven.  No, it is too costly to buy your way into heaven.  Only the blood of Christ can pay it, and no payment is ever enough for the soul of man (Ps. 49:8).  God’s commands and promises are worth much more than gold, more than pure gold, more than all the gold of all the kingdoms that have ever existed (Ps. 119:127).  So do not misunderstand:  it is not a matter of money.  But if you are clinging to your two lepta, you cannot take hold of Christ.

Give your all to Jesus, whatever it is.  Let go of it and put it all on the altar today, whether it is two lepta or anything else.  Give it all up.  Put it on the altar, and cling to Jesus.  It is worth it.  The return is eternity.  The return is infinity.  Two lepta for infinity, for eternal glory—that is a good return on investment.  Two trillion dollars for eternal glory—that is a good return on investment.  Your sin for eternal glory—that is a good return on investment.  Your all—all your mind, all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength for eternal glory, for joy unspeakable and full of glory, for eternal pleasures at His right hand—that is a good return on investment.  God’s rewards are surely worth it, so put it all on the altar today.

Application

Two brief points of application.  First, know that God sees you.  Sinner, He sees you and hell awaits.  Don’t be a fool.  Confess your sins today, confess Him as Lord and Savior, and be saved.  Cry out to Him the only prayer you can really pray: “Have mercy upon me, a sinner!”

Sinning Christian, He sees your sin and His divine discipline is waiting.  Don’t store up wrath for yourself.  Don’t suffer needlessly.  Don’t put your children in jeopardy to the third or fourth generation.  Confess your sin, renounce it, and find mercy.

Faithful Christian, rejoice, for God sees you too.  He sees the good deeds that you do, and you are bringing Him glory.  He sees your fruits of the Spirit and He is pleased.  His providence smiles upon you.  So take heart and take courage.  If you think you are toiling away anonymously, if you think that no one sees, know that God sees.  Take courage.  Keep going.  Keep on.  Keep fighting the good fight and finish the race.  Glorify God, enjoy Him forever, and then go to glory, your eternal reward.

The second application: Invest in God’s kingdom—in confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; in obeying His word; in doing good works, which store up eternal treasure for you; and in sharing the gospel.  You want to talk about return on investment?  We are reading the book of Acts.  Twelve became 120; 120 became 3,000; 3,000 became 5,000; 5,000 became millions.  We sit here today saved because the gospel chain that goes back all the way to the apostles came to you.  Someone spoke the gospel to us, and someone spoke the gospel to that person, and so on and so on, back to the Twelve.  That is a good return on investment.  So sow the seed of the gospel.  God is glorified in the saving, and God is glorified in the judging.  But it is a good return every time you sow the seed of the gospel.  It will return 30, 60, or 100 fold.  But we know that it will not return to Him empty.

Conclusion

In conclusion, let us use our reasonable minds.  We are on this earth for only a short time.  But we will be in eternal heaven or eternal hell forever, for eternity.  Let us not trade eternity for a few lepta in this life.  Instead, let us give our all—all our heart, our all mind, all our soul, and all our strength—to God our Savior.  Let us cry out to Him, first, “Have mercy on me, a sinner,” and then let us live for Him who died for us.

It is true that we, like this widow, are poor.  We are zeroes compared to Jesus Christ.  We could never repay the debt that we owed for our sin.  But Christ paid it for us—for us who have confessed Him.  So let us give our all out of our spiritual poverty.  Let us share His gospel with everyone we know.  And let us maximize our return on investment, not to “retire well,” as our Pastor says.  No, not in shiny coins or 401(k)s.  Instead, let us maximize our return on investment in eternal treasures, where moth or rust cannot destroy and where thieves cannot break in and steal.  Let us, like this widow, give everything to God, who has given everything to us.  Let us receive His approbation, His eternal blessing, His eternal pleasures at His right hand.  That is a good return on investment.  Amen.