Title: Don't mention the poor woman's 'Durepdon' anymore.
Don't mention the poor woman's 'durep money' anymore.
Mark 12:42
‘Why are you doing this?’
The understanding of the text of the Word we will hear today is not at all irrelevant to this. In the meantime, when we talk about 'donation', we often hear about 'durep money that a poor woman gave with all her heart'. At least, like this woman, do it with all your heart and do it as much as possible. However, according to the premise of the title, this is a misinterpretation of the Bible and an abuse of it. We must no longer sell and eat this poor woman. should not be used. This means that the biblical text should not spur the public while secretly praising this woman.
This word is also found in Matthew 5:26 and Luke 12:59. Here, all units of money are referred to as [hori]. Hori is a monetary unit. It's very insignificant, like one won for us. However, the Hori in Matthew’s Gospel means ‘the last godrant’, and the Hori in Luke’s Gospel means ‘the last lepton’. It’s like ‘one godrant left, one lepton left’.
Then, why is it called “the last godrant” in Matthew’s Gospel and why is it called “the last lepton” in Luke? This is because the concept of ‘change’ is different depending on the person’s economic situation. For the rich, change may be '10,000 won'. But to me, the concept of change is ‘one hundred won’. So, the concept of change in Matthew's community was 'godrant', and the concept of change in Luke's community was 'lepton'. This does not change the original meaning of the Bible.
According to Mark 12:42, ‘godland’ was worth twice as much as ‘lepton’, so it was slightly higher than lepton. Would it be like 5 won for 1 won? Anyway, both godrant and lepton are change.
A godrant is a quarter of a unit of money called an assarion. According to Matthew 10:29, you could buy two sparrows for one sassarion. Five can live for two assarions. So, one godrant is enough money to buy half a sparrow. Therefore, the two leptons that the poor woman donated today is a unit of currency that can buy 'half a sparrow'. You think, 'Where is that? Since you can buy half of those precious sparrows, it doesn't seem like a very insignificant amount.' But at the time, sparrows were being sold at very low prices. Well, it was raining in our old days. It's just enough money to buy half of those things. That was the woman's living expenses. It's a very, very poor situation. that he dedicated it to God. That's what Jesus is saying.
However, if you look at the scenes that follow, you can see that the core of the story is going in a completely different direction.
Immediately after the woman's offering, someone praised the beauty of the temple in Jerusalem and asked, "What about these giants?" (Mark 13:1). Then Jesus said, “Everything will fall.” Why is there a connection between the woman's offering and the story of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem?
You should read that Jesus felt anger at the woman who had to donate all of his living expenses as an offering, the saints, and the assistant pastor. The previous 'donation' case does not start with 'praise' but is rooted in 'anger'. So why does Jesus feel any kind of anger?
There were many rich people among the people entering and leaving the temple. They were generous and gave many annuals. However, the other church members who went to the temple with them had to live each day with the price of half a sparrow. Nevertheless, the woman had to give the same amount of money as her own survival as an offering. Why? To find out, we need to re-read the previous chapter of today's text, around 12:40.
There Jesus points out that the scribes are threatening the widow's survival. How they devoured the widow's property remains only to be inferred. A man named Manson, mentioned in Luke 2:36, said that the scribes took care of the property of widows like Anna, who spent her whole life in the temple. To expand on this, the widows of that time entrusted their wealth to the powerful (religious at the time, and we still entrust their fortunes to the powerful today. They are the rich of our time) and then they would serve in the temple again. that was being compelled to do.
In order to live somehow, he entrusts all of his wealth to an institution run by the rich, but in the end, it pays off for the rich. And then, they were also those who, while being exploited with their whole body and life in the temple, lived under the pressure of continuing to live that way, instead of feeling pity for them. Jesus was so heartbroken about the lives of these people.
Today we only speak of the widow's sincere offering in this verse. So, like this woman, we are also forced to make the decision to give our all. But that is an act separate from the heart of the Lord. The Lord is not talking about that now. With a heart full of pain, they say that the seojeon should be destroyed. Jesus' words are not talking about the oppressed giving of the poor, but about the responsibility of the rich and the scribes.
The splendid temple is built in the name of a holy place, but there are people in it who have to live with suffering. But they have no protection. Still, there are beings like scribes who are greeted and sit on thrones in the synagogue (Mark 12:38-40). But they are not interested in the lives of the poor to whom they are to serve. Rather, beings like ants scrape away even the ‘change’. They are the ones who devour the widow's property.
A woman's offering is beautiful, but it is a painful reality. The Lord declares, “The judgment you receive will be more severe” (Mark 12:40) toward the religious, powerful, and wealthy people who escorted the temple in Jerusalem, which decorated its appearance by receiving that bloody and tearful yearbook. At the same time, he is saying to the temple where such people are gaining power, “Not one stone will be left on another, and all will be destroyed.”
The meaning of our offering before God is to 'live with people who have to live with half a true bird'. That is an annual report for the Lord.