The connecting link in Luke's narrative is the mention of a widow (cf. 20:47). The contrast is between the false piety of the rich lawyers and the genuine piety of one poor woman. This is another lesson for Luke's readers on how one's faith should influence his or her attitude toward money. Jesus presented the real issue as being how much one keeps for himself or herself rather than how much one gives away.
"We tend to appreciate the amount of a gift, not necessarily the sacrifice that went into the giving."457
Jesus observed people depositing their gifts in the temple offering collectors. When He spotted a poor widow making a contribution, He drew His disciples' attention to her (cf. 20:45; Mark 12:43). He prefaced His remark with His standard attention-getter. It was apparently evident to everyone that the woman was destitute. Her sacrificial gift demonstrated the depth of her love for God and her trust that God would provide for her (cf. 1 Kings 17:8-16). The two small copper coins (Gr. lepta) that she donated were together worth only about one sixty-fourth of a denarius, the day's wage of a working man in Palestine. Some scholars believe there is evidence that the priests announced the amount of each person's gift publicly as he or she gave it, but this is debatable.458
"If the leaders of Jewish religion treated such pious people in the way criticized by Jesus in 20:47, it followed that the system was ripe for judgment. It is no accident that the prophecy of the destruction of the temple follows: the priests were no better than the scribes in their attitude to wealth (20:45f.)."459
