THE WIDOW'S MITE AND THE FARTHING.
IN our last paper upon the coins of the New Testament, we had before us the tribute money of the temple.
We will now turn to the tribute money payable to the Romans, and thus to the coin referred to in the well-known incident of the Lord's discomfiture of the Herodians and the Pharisees, who had thought to lay a trap for Him. Their question was opened up very finely—"Master, we know that Thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest Thou for any man; for Thou regardest not the person of men." Here was an acknowledgment of the most solemn kind: "Thou teachest the way of God in truth"; and in the words, "Thou regardest not the person of men," the allowance, at least in form, that man must submit to the truth. Yet this preface was merely introduced to prepare a deceitful catch. "Tell us therefore, What thinkest Thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?" What would He reply, who preached the coming kingdom, and, therefore, who could not allow that the rule of the pagan Romans over Jehovah's heritage, was in line with the promises of God?
The Lord's preface to His answer was stern.
The Herodians, who were the people of the palace, had entered into an alliance with the Pharisees, who eschewed the palace and boasted in the temple. The Church of that day and the world of that day went into association in order to entrap the Lord. "Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?" Their deference to Him as the Teacher of the way of God in Truth was merely a piece of acting, and He, the Truth at once exposed their true character—they were hypocrites—actors of truth, but in reality lovers of falsehood.
Then He said: "Show me the tribute money." The witness of Israel's sin was stamped upon the coin, in the image of the Cæsar to whom the rebellious nation was subject. So they brought unto Him the little piece of money which is here represented. Look carefully at it, the better to follow the Lord's words as He continued: “Whose is this image and superscription?” An image never used in connection with the worship of the God of Israel. A superscription in no way relating to the glory of Jehovah. Far from it, for though "as far back as any specimens of coined money can be traced, it was the function of the sovereign power, whether that of the king or that of the state, to affix its signature to the coin, whether by name, by symbol, or by portrait," yet "the latter mode of authenticating money was forbidden by the Jewish law. And it is not until the establishment of the Roman power in Palestine that an ' image ' was added to the ' superscription' of any coin current among the Jews." How did the questioners of the Lord find their tongue to answer Him? They knew too well that the "image" of the Roman Emperor upon it was there because Israel had forsaken Jehovah, their King. But they were obliged to answer. "Caesar's," they said.
“Then saith He unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Cesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." His words severed the alliance between Herodians and Pharisees, between the courtiers of the King, and the exponents of the truth of Jehovah's Word. They were utterly discomfited; they marveled, left Him, and went their way.
We now turn to the story of the widow's mite. Here is a picture of that coin, or, at least, of a coin very much like it, one of the smallest of the Jewish coins. This insignificant piece of silver, unlike the tribute money with Caesar's stamp upon it, was one which could be devoted to Jehovah's service. And the Lord has surrounded its intrinsic insignificance with lasting honor, by His record of the love of the hand which bestowed it upon Jehovah's treasury. The silver and the gold are His, and He needs none of them, but He prizes, as of exceeding preciousness, the cheerful heart of the giver. Little did the throng who cast their gifts into the public receptacle in the temple recognize whose eye was upon their hearts and hands, as their donations were thrown into the treasury. "Many that were rich cast in much," and all who that day made offerings to Jehovah, save one, did so out of their abundance. But one—" a certain poor widow "—came with her poverty, and" of her penury.... cast in all the living that she had "—and her devotion is inscribed upon the sacred pages of God's Word, for His glory and her praise. No name, however, is written there; the donor is anonymous—" a certain poor widow." A pattern for ourselves who would give to God, and what a lesson for us not to blow the trumpet before us, but, when we give to God, to do so with heart and hand devoted to His service!
We now turn to the familiar farthing. We may take it that the illustration below presents that coin to the eye. It is the coin which ever brings before the heart the Father's care. "Are not two sparrows" (the little birds of Palestine) "sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father; But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." The common little bird dies and is not missed by man; but it is observed by the great Creator and is cared for by Him. And such care does He, who is our Creator and our Father, exercise over us, that ALL the hairs of our head are numbered by Him! What a comforting assurance to the children of God! Let us rejoice in His love, which is so vast towards us as to stretch from eternity to eternity, and yet which is so perfect in its detailed kindness towards us here on earth, that we cannot have a sigh or a sorrow, a smile or a pleasure, in which He is not interested.
Some of the grand teaching of the New Testament surrounds the mention of the coins which have been before us. The temple tribute money led us to consider Christ as the great Creator and Disposer of His creation, while He Himself was here a man of poverty and not having where to lay His head. The tribute money payable to the Roman Emperor was used by the Lord to show that the Church and the world-as we may express ourselves-cannot be united. In the widow's mite we are given to know how the eye of Christ is upon us in all our actions in His name and for God's glory; while, in the farthing, we are given to learn that our Father's eye is upon us in all our needs, and that His love is towards us in the things of life most common and minute.