Sermon Snippet – A Person You Should Know
INTRODUCTION – In Luke 21:1-4, Jesus introduces us to a most interesting lady. Certainly, since our Savior singles out this woman, we should want to know her story.
1. WE LEARN THAT SOME THINGS ARE NOT IMPORTANT
This woman is not described physically. We are conditioned to focus on how we and others look. Jesus is uninterested in our appearance. I Samuel 16 recounts the selection and anointing of David to be the future king of Israel. Verse 7b provides a key principle: “The LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” The Scripture says of Jesus Himself, “He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.” (Isaiah 53:2b). Good looks – whatever that is – must not be an emphasis. Note also that her age is not given (she may have been a young “widow”). The Bible teaches us to train the young correctly and to respect our elders. However, we must not let differing ages separate us. A vigorous adult in the prime of life does not possess more humanity than a toddler or an aged person. Similarly, the fact that the heroine of this account is female reminds us that we cannot create divisions based on gender. There are two – and only two – genders, of course (Genesis 1:26-28), and these real and obvious physical differences must be acknowledged. It is absurd to do otherwise. However, Galatians 3:28 points to our spiritual equality “in Christ Jesus.” The so-called “war between the sexes” is, at best, a waste of time.
2. WE LEARN WHAT IS IMPORTANT
This dear lady gave “all the living that she had” (verse 4). We should not see this as a rebuke of “the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury” (verse 1). The problem is not that these people did not give all; logically, if everyone gave “all” the economy would immediately collapse to a subsistence existence, with no resources to pay workers their due or to invest in job creation. No, the problem is the cultural evaluation that belittles the “two mites” and the person giving it. My message today is not that we need to give more money to the church; rather, it is that we are to reject the world’s obsession with “the outward appearance” instead of “the heart.” We are also reminded here that, in a time when the overwhelming majority rejected God the Messiah, a remnant of faithful believers persisted in doing what was right. Elizabeth and Zechariah; Mary, and Joseph; Anna; Simeon; Lazarus, Mary, and Martha of Bethany; Peter, Andrew, James, and John; John the Baptist – these are the names of godly folks in an ungodly age. However, …
3. WE DO NOT KNOW THIS WOMAN’S NAME, BUT JESUS DOES
In Revelation 3:5, Jesus promises, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.” The name of this lovely lady, spiritually attractive and winsome, is known and honored by Jesus, the Savior.
CONCLUSION – We should know this woman and learn from her example that the little things matter greatly to God. Our daily routines – work, raising children, caring for aging parents, prayer, simple kindnesses – catch our Lord’s eye and gain His approval. Of course, Jesus is a person that we should know, as well. We need to know Him personally as Savior, for He died on the Cross for all of our sins, resurrected from the grave, rose to heaven to prepare a place for His own, and promises to return for us one day. He is worth knowing, now and for eternity.