Strong Words At Dinner
Scripture: Matthew 23:26; Luke 11:37-40
After a one lesson section on the light that dwells within, we begin a much longer section about hypocritical religious leaders.
Lk 11:37 “While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table.”
Jesus was speaking about the light we are to obtain from him to light our souls that is to be seen by others through our good works in drawing them to our Father. As Jesus ends Luke 11:36, a Pharisee comes up to him and invites him to come and dine with him. Jesus accepts and goes with him and went into his home and reclined at table. All seems well up to this point, but this Pharisee has been watching Jesus and notices something that upsets him about the behavior of Jesus.
Lk 11:38 “The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.”
Jesus violated a tradition, Mk 7:3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)” (Mark 7:3 – 4 ESV).
This Pharisee noticed that Jesus came in and reclined at the table ready to eat without first going through the hand washing ceremony. Whether the Pharisee said something to Jesus, we don’t know. All that is recorded is that the Pharisee was astonished, an expression that clearly did not go unnoticed by Jesus as he speaks to the Pharisee.
Lk 11:39 “And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.”’
This cleansing of the hands and utensils was in keeping the traditions that they had added to Scripture. It had to do with outside appearance but the space that could not be seen was left unclean. It is like sweeping the floor but leaving it dirty under the small rugs that might be laying around. It is like not committing murder or adultery but allowing hateful thoughts and lustful desires. These Pharisees may wash their hands very carefully, but, as Jesus said, “inside you are full of greed and wickedness.”
These were pretty strong words for an invited guest to say to the one who invited him, but they were words of truth. Jesus then raises the temperature of his words and really pierces the Pharisee with them.
Lk 11:40 “You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? Mt 23:26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.”
When Jesus said, “You fools!” that should have caught your attention, because in Matthew 5:22 he said, “whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” Did Jesus just contradict himself? The answer is found in the context. For example, David wrote, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1 ESV). This is a true description of such a person and not a sinful statement on the part of David, but when out of anger, as in Matthew 5:21 – 22, one calls a person a fool, it is equivalent of committing murder and is a sin.
To “First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.” is a metaphor in relationship to our body. When we were created, we were created with an outside and an inside and God has revealed to us that a corrupt heart on the inside will result in evil expression on the outside. One can put forth great effort to put forth a good appearance in what is said and done, but under the right conditions the uncleanness of the heart will reveal itself. Jesus was telling the “blind Pharisee” to clean up his heart and the outside will also be clean.
Conclusion
Jesus called this Pharisee a fool for focusing on that which is external and not dealing with the corruptness found inside. Which is most important to you: external appearance of a clean heart? Which to you spend the most time, effort and money on?
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