In this message from Mark 12:35–44, Jesus stops debating His opponents and begins teaching His disciples—and in doing so, He exposes a gap that can exist between what we know and how we live.

After a long day of confrontation in the temple, Jesus turns His attention to the hearts of those listening. He warns about religious leaders whose faith is visible but not dependent, impressive but not obedient. Their knowledge of Scripture never leads to trust in God.

Then, in quiet contrast, Jesus points to a poor widow who gives everything she has. Her offering isn’t flashy or celebrated, but it is marked by dependence. In the middle of a broken system, her faith still dares to trust God.

The big idea of this passage is simple and searching: faith is measured by faithful follow-up. Right understanding of who Christ is leads to worship, obedience, and surrender—not performance or control.

In this sermon, we consider two profiles:

Disciplined minds with faithless actions

Dependent hearts with faithful response

Jesus uses money as the example not because it is everything, but because it reveals what we trust, what we fear losing, and where we find security.

The question this passage presses on us is not merely, How much do you know?

It is, How much do you trust God?

We pray that God would expose the gap between belief and action, free us from performative faith, and teach us to live with dependent hearts that trust Him with all that we have.

Scripture: Mark 12:35–44 (ESV)

Big Idea: Faith is measured by faithful follow-up