Luke 11:37-44 — Dirty bowls

READ THIS: Luke 11:37-44

37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal. 39 Then the Lord said to him, 

“Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you. 

42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. 

43 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces. 

44 “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

Jesus finishes teaching on demons and light and all these incredible things, and a Pharisee (one of the teachers of the Jewish law) decides to invite Jesus to his home. The Pharisee probably wanted to learn more about Jesus and His teachings, but right off the bat, the Pharisee is thrown off. Jews washed up before eating because it is tradition, but Jesus didn't wash up before starting to eat. The Pharisee was surprised, and Jesus responded to that. 

In short, Jesus called out Pharisees in general for caring a bunch about how religious they appeared rather than actually having a relationship with God and others. It's like if someone had a bowl of cereal and when they went to go clean it, they only cleaned the outside of the bowl, while leaving on the inside soggy Frosted Flakes that mold over time. Everyone knows you clean the inside of the bowl, not the outside. But, the Pharisees just want people to see them as clean instead of actually being clean. They want all the respect from being a teacher of the law without the actual hard work. But, the worst part is that other people don't realize that the Pharisees are just an empty, dead imitation of what it looks like to be a child of God (v44). 

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. What do you think is the most important rule that God has given us? What do you think is the least important rule? What makes something more or less important to God? (This is just food for thought...)

2. Jesus accuses Pharisees of being greedy, putting on a show for others, ignoring justice/love, and being spiritually dead. Of those four things, what do you think Jesus would be most likely to accuse you of?

TRY THIS:

Go do all your dishes right now (or ASAP today). Think about the difference between a dirty dish and a clean one, and talk to God about where you're at clean-wise spiritually!

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