💛 What Moves the Heart of God

📖 Mark 12:28–44

✍️ By Pastor Gary Boyd, Collinsville Baptist Tabernacle

👀 Looks Can Be Deceiving

Have you ever been impressed by someone who seemed to have it all together until you found out it was mostly for show?

Maybe it was a coworker who talked about integrity but cut corners when no one was watching.

Or a celebrity whose “perfect” online image fell apart in real life.

We live in a world obsessed with appearances, image, influence, and impression.

And if we’re honest, even church people can fall into the same trap, the trap of looking spiritual without actually being surrendered.

That’s exactly what was happening in the temple courts of Jerusalem when Jesus spoke in Mark 12.

The religious elite looked impressive. Their robes flowed, their prayers sounded holy, and their seats were always in the best spots.

But something was missing. 💔

Then came a poor widow with nothing to offer but two tiny coins and a heart that moved the heart of God.

💬 God Isn’t Impressed by What We Show

In these verses, Jesus reminds us that what captures God’s attention isn’t our performance, polish, or position. It’s our devotion.

💡 God isn’t impressed by what we show. He’s moved by how we love, who we trust, and what we’re willing to give.

Let’s look at three scenes that show what real devotion looks like.

❤️ 1. God Is Moved by How We Love (vv. 28–34)

One sincere scribe asked Jesus,

“Which commandment is the first of all?”

Jesus answered with a verse every Jewish person knew by heart, the Shema:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength.”

Then He added, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

In that one answer, Jesus summed up the whole law.

The rabbis had counted 613 commandments and spent lifetimes debating which ones mattered most.

Jesus said it’s not about counting laws, it’s about connecting your heart to God and people.

📖 Key Word – Love (ἀγαπάω, agapaō): a deliberate, self-giving commitment, not mere emotion.

📖 Key Word – All (ὅλος, holos): total devotion, no divided heart, no half-hearted surrender.

The scribe understood, saying love for God and others is “more than all burnt offerings.” Jesus told him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

💭 Pause & Reflect:

• Does my love for God involve all my being or just what’s convenient?
• Am I expressing that love in how I treat people?

🙏 2. God Is Moved by Who We Trust (vv. 35–37)

Then Jesus turned the tables with a question of His own:

“How can the scribes say that Christ is the son of David?”

He quoted Psalm 110:1:

“The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.”

David called the Messiah Lord, even though the Messiah would come from his line.

That means the Christ is both David’s Son (human) and David’s Lord (divine). 👑

📖 Key Word – Lord (κύριος, kyrios): master, sovereign, the divine title for God Himself.

Israel expected a political liberator. Jesus revealed something far greater. The Messiah is God Himself, ruling at the Father’s right hand.

The crowd “heard Him gladly,” and no wonder. Truth always rings louder than tradition.

💭 Pause & Reflect:

• Do I see Jesus as my helper or as my Lord?
• Real trust shows itself in obedience, especially when I don’t understand what God is doing.

💰 3. God Is Moved by What We’re Willing to Give (vv. 38–44)

Jesus then warned His listeners:

“Beware of the scribes…”

They loved long robes, fancy greetings, and the best seats. But behind the show was a selfish heart.

They even “devoured widows’ houses,” taking advantage of the very people they were supposed to protect.

Then, as Jesus sat across from the temple treasury, He watched people give.

The rich dropped in large sums with loud clinks that echoed across the courtyard.

Then came a poor widow who quietly placed in two tiny copper coins, almost worthless by the world’s standards.

And Jesus said something no one expected:

“This poor widow hath cast in more than all the others, for she gave all that she had, even all her living.”

📖 Key Word – Life (βίος, bios): livelihood, her means of survival.

Her gift wasn’t impressive, it was everything.

The scribes consumed widows’ houses; this widow consumed herself in devotion.

Her two coins barely made a sound, but heaven heard every note. 🎶

💭 Pause & Reflect:

• God measures gifts not by amount but by abandon.
• What would it look like to give your time, your trust, or your resources in a way that costs something?

🌾 Heaven Notices What We Overlook

That day in the temple, Jesus turned everyone’s assumptions upside down.

The scribe learned that love matters more than ritual.

The crowd learned that the Messiah is more than a man.

The disciples learned that heaven celebrates what the world ignores.

✨ God still looks past the show to the heart.

He’s moved by how we love Him when no one’s watching.

He’s moved by who we trust when life doesn’t make sense.

And He’s moved by what we’re willing to give when it costs us something.

Think of that widow again. Her two little coins barely made a sound when they hit the offering box, but their echo is still ringing 2,000 years later.

The world measures worth by noise and numbers, but God measures by love and surrender.

💭 A Few Questions to Take With You

• What part of my life am I still holding back?
• Where do I need to love more honestly, trust more deeply, or give more freely?
• Am I living for how things look or for the One who truly sees my heart?

Because in a world obsessed with how things appear, Jesus still looks past the show and straight into the heart. ❤️

🙌 Final Thought

“May our lives make the kind of sound heaven notices, not the clang of performance, but the quiet ring of devotion.” 🔔

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