Two Small Coins

Kling. Kling. Two very small coins, wey light reach di level wey you no go even feel dem for your hand, drop inside one offering box. Nobody look up. Nobody, except one man wey sit down quietly near there.

Na di last week of di life of Jesus, and e dey teach for di temple for Jerusalem. Di yards full with pilgrims wey come for Passover. Jesus just warn di crowd about some teachers of di law. Dem like to waka up and down with long robes, e talk, and make people greet dem with respect for market. Dem like di best seats for di synagogues and di places of honour for feasts. Dem dey pray long prayer for show. And dem dey swallow di houses of widows. Dem go receive di bigger judgment. Then Jesus sit down, opposite di place where people dey give offering.

From where e sit, Jesus fit see di offering boxes, and e dey watch di people as dem dey put dem money. Na big show. Plenty rich people pass and throw in big money. Maybe di coins dey make sweet noise as dem dey pour enter. Maybe people wey dey near dey notice and dey nod say e good. Dese na big gifts, and di temple need dem. Jesus no talk one word against any of dem. E just continue to watch.

Then one woman come front. Mark tell us two things about her. She be widow, and she poor. For dat world, widow no dey usually get anybody wey go provide for her, and many of dem dey live for di very edge of hunger. E easy to miss her for di crowd. She reach di box and drop two small copper coins, di smallest coins wey anybody dey use. Mark say di two together make one quadrans, one Roman coin wey worth almost nothing. One day pay worth sixty-four of dose small quadrans coins. And then she turn and waka go.

Jesus call im disciples come. E want make dem see wetin e don see. True true I tell una, e talk, dis poor widow don put pass all di others wey dey give for di treasury. Di disciples go don dey confuse. Pass? Two small coins, pass all dat silver wey people dey pour? Jesus explain. All of dem give from di plenty wey dem get. Plenty still remain for dem. But she, from her poverty, put everything wey she get, all di money wey she suppose take live.

Jesus dey measure giving for different way. Di rich people give wetin dem fit spare easily. Di widow give wetin she no fit spare at all. She trust God with everything, reach her last coin. Notice too say Jesus talk dis one immediately after e warn about those wey dey swallow di houses of widows. E dey see di people wey others no dey notice, and di people wey dey cheat dem. Di crowd see only two small coins. Jesus see one whole life wey dem put for God hand.

Where people dey put dem offering? Di Mishnah, one collection of Jewish teaching wey dem write down around di year two hundred, describe thirteen offering boxes for di temple, each one shape like trumpet, narrow for top and wide for bottom, with label for different kinds of gifts. Di coins wey di widow give, dem dey call dem lepta, di smallest bronze coins wey people dey use. Mark explain dem value by naming one Roman coin, di quadrans, and dis one fit show say e dey write for people wey know Roman money pass di coins of Judea.

Two small coins. You go find am for Mark chapter twelve, verse forty-one to forty-four. Jesus no dey count how much enter di box. E dey count how much people hold back. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. How e go be for you to trust God with everything?