Jesus' teachings from Mark are part of a longer section beginning in chapter 11 that confronts and challenges the "organized religions" of his time. One by one Jesus engages in debate, discourse, and sometimes diatribe against the Sadducees, the Pharisees, the Scribes, the Herodians, and Temple religion in general. His overarching indictment of the religious-political-economic establishment is summed up when he accuses the leaders of having transformed the Temple into a "den of robbers." (11:7)

This whole section has been powerfully shaped by the 70s issues of Jewish and Christian identity. "Judaism created Christianity by pushing it out," Bernard Brandon Scott has argued. And the attempt at establishing boundaries, distinctions and rationales heavily influence the Evangelists' presentation of Jesus' problematic relationship with the Pharisees (whom some biblical scholars argue he seldom if ever encountered) and Sadducees (whom he vigorously opposed). With the exception of the exchange between Jesus and the scribe in 12:28-34, the Scribes are uniformly presented as hostile towards Jesus' teachings and treacherously trying to undermine his authority. Jesus' words in 12:38-40 are used to suggest little respect for the scribal office as it was allegedly practiced in those days. Verse 38 opens with an unambiguous warning "Beware the scribes ..."

The remainder of Jesus' indictment is somewhat odd, as he characterizes scribes as ones who "like to walk around in long robes." It has been suggested that this unusual reference might be either to a long garment which eventually developed into the tallit (prayer shawl) worn by pious Jews while praying, or to the practice of wearing special Sabbath day garments. It is most likely that the simplest interpretation of this clothing is the best. By wearing "long robes," the scribes are apparently expecting to garner yearned-for honor and prestige based on their enhanced appearance alone (they seek to be "greeted with respect in the marketplaces" [38b]). These scribes, prancing about in their frippery and finery, have no real authority (see Mark 1 :22). But they continuously try to present an imposing, fake face to the people. Contrast this with Jesus' own person: sporting no elaborate dress, traveling with a rag-tag band of followers, but speaking and teaching with true authority. Herein lies the basis for Jesus' warning. The ones who look authoritative are not; the one who appears humble and unimportant commands attention and authority.

The longing for recognition extends outside the Temple to every facet of life - from the marketplace (the center of economic activity) to the synagogue (the center for study and prayer) to formal feasts and celebrations (the center of prestigious social life). In all these situations Jesus has already entreated his disciples to always take the "lowroad" (see 9:35; 10:31; 10:4344), insisting that to be "last," to be a "servant," must be the desire of a true follower. Scribes and disciples are thus easily positioned (too easily for the historian) as exact opposites.

Verse 40 indicts the scribes even more thoroughly, for it focuses not just on the pompous exterior cultivated by religious functionaries, but accuses them of gross professional misconduct. Part of a scribe's duties were to carry out the stipulations of Judaic law by acting as trustees for the inherited estates of widows and orphans. The suggestion in verse 40 is that they were guilty of transgressing the legal safeguards protecting widows and orphans. In fact, they were siphoning off monies from these estates for their own use.

Remembering that anti-Temple, anti-cult themes define this whole section of Mark gives clarity to the second half of Jesus' condemnation (verse 40b). Jesus suggests that these "long prayers" said for "the sake of appearances" were not only spiritually valueless. They were draining the resources of those who needed it most - the helpless, dependent widows and orphans - for this worthless show. No wonder Jesus predicted the condemnation of these rapacious religionists.

Keeping all this in mind enables the thrust of Jesus' observation in verses 41-44 to take on new meaning. Whereas the institutional church has often used "the widow's mite" as a kind of ecclesiastical fund-raising text, it actually remains within the context of Jesus' teachings against the religious establishment. That Jesus is still teaching is indicated by his physical location - "he sat down opposite the treasury" taking up the traditional position used by rabbis when conducting their classes. Having placed himself directly across from the financial collection center for the Temple, Jesus engages his disciples in one final lesson. Singling out the widow's gift should be seen not so much as praising her devotion and selfless generosity as it should a back-door, back-handed indictment of the religious system that allows such injustice to exist in the name of God. Jesus praises the widow while he condemns the whole hierarchy of the Temple whose greed and avarice make such contributions necessary. Having pronounced this final judgment upon the cultic system, Jesus now leaves the Temple with his disciples, never to return.