Mk 12:38-44
38In the course of his teaching [Jesus] said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, 39seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. 40They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.”
41He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. 43Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. 44For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”
THEY DEVOUR THE HOUSES OF WIDOWS: The Hebrew almana (widow) refers to a married woman who has not remarried after her husband’s death. In the New Testament the word used is the Greek chera.
Other terms associated with “widow” in the Bible shed light on both her personal experience and her social plight. Weeping (Jb 27:15), mourning (2 Sm 14:2), and desolation (Lam 1:1) describe her personal experience after the loss of her spouse. Poverty (Ru 1:21) and indebtedness (2 Kgs 4:1) describe her financial situation. With no one to stand for her legal rights, the widow was in an extremely vulnerable economic situation. Hence, she was frequently placed alongside orphans and the landless immigrants, representatives of the poorest of the poor (Jb 24:4; Is 10:2).
Legislation provided a social security for the widow. She was permitted to glean the fields and the vineyard during the harvest. Tithes were shared with her. Provisions were to be made for her at the main religious feasts. The measure by which a ruler in Israel was to be judged as good was whether the powerless ones like the widows were cared for (Ps 72:4; Jer 22:16).
On the other hand, the scribes, at the time of Jesus, lived primarily on subsidies; they were not paid for exercising their profession of teaching the Law. The charge that they devoured the houses of widows means that they sponged on the hospitality and contribution of people of limited means for their benefit, thus losing perspective of the service of God. This exposed them to the severe judgment of God.