Widow Gave All She Had; Reflection on Jesus' Gift of Himself

After reciting Jesus' betrayal by a friend and His mockery of a trial, Marshall, who serves as pastor of First Baptist Church of Effingham, shared about an event he had never reflected on in his years preaching and teaching about the crucifixion.

The widow was extremely poor, but she put two small coins, all she had, into the offering at the temple. Jesus remarked to those present that the woman's sacrifice was great and Marshall said it had recently been shared with him that Jesus noticed her gift, since she gave all she had. Marshall reflected that Jesus knew His time on Earth as a man was coming to an end and must have thought that soon He would be giving His all, in an even greater way, as a sacrifice for sin. Not His own, since He never sinned, but for the sins of the whole world.

To conclude the gathering, Marshall told those present that he had taken $8.00 to the bank and had gotten enough pennies so all of those on hand could take two of the coins and reflect on giving our all, too, to honor the Lord. 

The Cross Welcome Center was packed for the service. There was congregational music and music shared by a group of members from First Presbyterian Church. Despite the gusty winds, many of those present journeyed to the foot of the cross, bathed in red to reflect Jesus' sacrifice of Himself.

The rest of the story will be told Sunday morning in the Easter Sunrise service at The Cross. The service will begin at 6am.