Exploring the value of sacrifice through the story from the Bible of The Poor Widow's Gift.
The video
GEMMA: Hi, I'm Gemma and this is the very old story of The Poor Widow's Gift.
What's the largest amount of money you've seen in your whole life? A big bundle of bank notes? Or some glittering gold coins? Now that is a lot of money! And money has a big part to play in today's story.
There once was a widow, which is the word for a woman whose husband has sadly died. She liked to go to her temple to pray, where there was also a collection box. The box was for people to put money into, money to look after the temple and to help the poor.
Now, the widow was poor herself, because her husband had left her with hardly any money, but she loved the temple and she wanted to help people who were even worse off than her.
GIRL: How are you today?
GIRL: Very well, thank you, how are you?
GIRL: I'm fine, thank you.
GEMMA: But she couldn't get anywhere near the box; there were too many rich people hanging around it.
BOY: Nice to see you.
BOY: Nice to see you too.
GEMMA: Why were they taking so long? Why didn't they just put their money in and move on? Because the rich people wanted to take their time. They wanted to make sure that everyone could see how rich and generous they were. They were showing off.
All day long, the richest people in the city would wander up to the box and drop in their gold coins and their precious things.
Imagine how the widow must've felt looking on. She really wanted to help, but had nowhere near as much money to give as the rich people. How much did she have to give? Here's how much. Two copper coins. It's not much, is it? But it's everything that she had and she really wanted to help.
And then she saw her chance. The coast was clear.
Doing her best to act like the others, she walked up to the collection box and dropped in both her copper coins.
The rich people often looked down on other people for giving such small amounts, but what they didn't realise was that the widow had made such a huge sacrifice by giving everything that she had. The rich people definitely didn't want to give everything that they had.
No, they only wanted to give a really tiny amount of their money. They didn't want to make a big sacrifice; they only wanted to look generous.
It was the poor widow who made the greatest sacrifice, giving away everything she had because she wanted to help.
GEMMA: Thank you for helping me tell today's treasure story. It's written in the Bible. See you soon. Bye!
KIDS: Bye!
This story is an event from the life of Jesus. It is found in two places in the New Testament of the Bible - in the gospels of Mark and Luke. It is written in Mark's gospel that Jesus sat in the temple opposite the place where offerings were given. Jesus calls his disciples over and teaches them that they should not judge as ‘best’ the offerings of those who give a lot. He points out the widow’s offering is only small, but represents far greater sacrifice than the larger offerings of the wealthy.
The story also reminds Christians of a verse in the Old Testament (in 1 Samuel 16:7) that comparison is pointless because, while humans might look at the outward appearance and actions of others, God looks at the heart.
Duration: 3' 34"
Final words: 'See you again soon! Bye! / Bye!'
Video questions
- There was a special box at the temple. What was the box for? (For making offerings)
- Did the widow have much money? (No - in the bible passage Jesus says that out of her poverty, she gave all that she had)
- In the video the rich people spent a lot of time giving their money. Why did they do this? (They were showing off their wealth)
- How much did the widow give? (Two copper coins - all that she had)
Teacher Notes
This video could be used to identify common features of religions and beliefs or to retell eligious, spiritual and moral stories. To compare religions and worldviews you could look at the words for 'generous giving' in different religions - eg 'zakat' in Islam; 'daan' as part of 'seva' in Sikhism; 'seva' is also used to express service in Hinduism and 'tzedakah' is giving in Judaism.
Find out about charities that are supported by a local faith or community group. Find a summary of the charity's aims and what they do and explore this with your class. Why might someone sacrifice their time or money to support this charity? How does the charity fulfil need?
Curriculum Notes
This short film will be relevant for teaching KS1 Religious Education in England and Northern Ireland, the Curriculum for Wales (particularly RVE as part of Humanities), and Early and 1st Level Religious and Moral Education in Scotland.
Further resources
