Luke 11:42 (KJV)
But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Jesus’ accusation against the Pharisees was that they concerned themselves only with the outward appearance and made little to no emphasis concerning the inner things. He used their complaint that His disciples didn’t wash enough as His object for the lesson. They, in effect, washed the outside of their plates so they looked clean but left the inside, where all the real filth was, alone.
Jesus doesn’t discourage washing our hands here. He tells them not to leave that undone. He does, however, urge that the inner plate is more important than the outer.
I think we see both extremes in modern Christianity.
On the one hand there are those whose only concern is appearances
They build extravagant buildings and put on the show for religion’s sake. It’s not just the big denominations that do it. We find this same action practiced all the way down to the single individual who dresses and behaves a particular way, all for appearance sake. If they have an inner spiritual concern it is barely recognizable under all their show.
On the other hand is the reactionary who, seeing the shallowness of religious appearance, has rejected all forms of outward conformity
- They refuse to wear dress clothes to church.
- They will not commit to regular church attendance.
- They mock any form of separation or standards as legalism.
Jesus speaks to both crowds in this case and says, “these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”
In others words, wash both the inside and the outside of the plate.
To my reader:
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For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
Luke 11:42 (KJV) Wash It All
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