Thurs.’s Devo - Dinner with the Pharasee

Read Luke 11:37-44 It always takes me back when I see Jesus being invited by the Pharasees into their house to have a meal, but in truth, not all of the Pharasees hated Jesus. They recognized that he had a grasp on scripture that they only dreamed of having and Jesus was a Rabbi. He could have had position with them but chose to walk apart from the Sanhedran and picked his disciples from all walks of life instead of choosing the brightest pupils. Being educated, Jesus should know to wash his hands before he ate as a spiritual exercise. They washed their hands as an act of piety as if washing their hands made their whole body clean. Jesus had just explained that being enlightened had to do with the amount of light you had, not the amount of water you used. Jesus read the Pharasee’s mind and gave him a response. He explained that they, the Pharasees, were so meticulous about their external cleansing laws when they were full of sin on the inside. How could they think that cleansing the outside of anything would make them clean inside? Then he addressed what was inside. He told them to give compassion to the poor. He rebuked them for tithing herbs and neglecting God’s judgment and his love. They were more interested in their position with men instead of their position with God. Jesus compared them to graves that were hidden so people would accidentally walk over them and become unclean without knowing it. Their acts of piety and religion were contaminating the people just like the unmarked graves. It is easy to see the faults in the Pharasees but I wonder how many times we look more like the Pharasees than Jesus. We have our own religious markers that show us how we are “doing spiritually”. Like if we had our quiet time or read our Bible for the day. I don’t think any of that matters if we aren’t loving the unlovely or living out of a heart for God. Lord, help us to give of ourselves for your kingdom. We desire to be clean on the inside where only you can see.