Missional Jesus points his own way. Here we find a story, in Mark 12, that perfectly illustrates the first beatitude: Blessed are the poor. The way to the kingdom, the way to peace in the Land, is not the way of compromise with Rome. The way is the way of the poor widow.
1. Missional Jesus can’t help but point to the hypocrsy of the religious elites. They are comic figures in his stories. The elites love prestige and celebrity but have no mercy.
2. Missional Jesus is committed to the piety of the poor. (I can’t help but think Jesus’ mercy for widows emerges from the realities of his mother’s life.)
3. Missional Jesus honors the heart over the appearance.
Mark 12:38 As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! 40 They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
Mark 12:41 He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43 Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”