Sunday, May 27, 2012

Mr. Clean

 While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 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. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.  (Luke 11:37-41 ESV)
Jesus had been in this type of situation before - an invited guest in the home of a Pharisee - yet never before had He shown such a lack of table manners.  But in the context of the larger passage here, the topic is spiritual warfare.  Soldiers do not just march in parades with well-pressed uniforms; they are called to battle - messy, dirty battle, and the cleanliness of the uniform becomes much less important. The object is not to look good on the outside, but to win the battle on the inside - the war with sin. So as we go to worship the Lord today, spruce up the outside to show Him respect, but focus more on the inside - cleansing and victory over this sin tha so easily besets us.

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