Clean the Inside

Tuesday, March 31st, 2026

4:23 am

Good morning! Today I am in Luke 11:37-54. While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to his home for a meal. Jesus accepted and went to the man's home. When He sat down for the meal, the Pharisees around were surprised to see that Jesus did not perform the ceremonial hand washing that was custom before sitting down to eat. Jesus told them, "You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy - full of greed and wickedness! Fools! Didn't God make the inside as well as the outside? So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over. (Luke 11:39-41)" Then He tells them that sorrow awaits them for they are careful to tithe even the smallest part of their income from their herb gardens, but they ignore justice and the love of God. He tells them yes they should tithe, but they should not neglect the more important things. He adds sorrow awaits them for they love to sit in honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the market place. He tells them that they are like hidden graves in a field that people walk over, not knowing the corruption they are stepping on. The teachers of religious law told Jesus that He was insulting them too. Jesus told them that sorrow awaits them too because they crush the people with unbearable demands, but they never lift a finger to ease the burden. They also build monuments for the prophets their ancestors killed long ago and they stand as witnesses who agree with what they did. He tells them that the Lord said He would send prophets and apostles to them, but they will kill some and persecute others. As a result, that generation would be held responsible for the murder of all God's prophets from the creations of the world. He tells them sorrow awaits them because they remove the key to knowledge from the people. They don't enter the Kingdom themselves, and they prevent others from entering. As He left the home, the teachers of religious law and Pharisees became hostile and tried to provoke Him with questions, trying to trap Him into saying something they could use against Him.

The Pharisees and religious leaders became angry about everything Jesus was saying to them. He did accuse them of so much, but His accusations of them were correct. He knew everything they were doing, everything they said to the people, and how everything they did was out of selfish reasons. And these things they taught and did, not only prevented them from entering God's Kingdom, but also stopped other people. They criticized Jesus for not washing His hands like their religion demanded, but Jesus explained to them that that demand was useless because their insides were even dirtier than their hands. They strove to follow all the man-made rules they had made, but completely neglected the needs of the people. They were more worried about what people thought of them, the power they had, but they weren't worried about what really mattered.The demands the Pharisees and religious teachers put on the people made God's truth hard to understand and practice.

Jesus warns us to not be caught up in man-made rules, but focus on Him. Focusing on His ways, God's ways, and what God tells us to do and not do. He doesn't want us adding anything to His Word or taking anything away because His Word is perfect and it is exactly what each of us need. We must be careful not to push our rules and regulations on other people, but instead point them to God's ways. When we add our own rules to how we think other people should worship God, we push people away from Him. Making it hard for them to understand God. Causing them to question why they should even follow Him. Jesus tells us the most important rules to follow are loving God first, and love our neighbors second. Love Him and love others. Not focusing on ourselves, but on God and the needs of others. When we do we will be clean on the inside too, not just the outside.