The Inside that Matters
Few months ago, we had our house renovated. It is hardly needed because we acknowledged already that inside the good looking house are the rotten woods attacked by white ants. In short, after a few months all works of renovation had finished. Our house looks better. But after the rainy days come, we begin to see a lot of problems. How come, it has just been renovated but our house is flooded? Apparently, what looks good, nice from outside, hides something bad inside. For example, the carpenters apparently did not totally replace the old gutters; half old gutters were covered with half new ones. It looks new and nice from outside but, the inside is already rotten. We are deceived by the external appearance.
You know, in fact, in today’s world externals count heavily. People buy things for wrappings. Appearances are often all that matters.
After hearing Jesus preach, a Pharisee invited him to dinner, no doubt, because he wanted to hear more from this extraordinary man who spoke the word of God as no one else had done before (Luke 11: 37-41). It was common for a rabbi to give a teaching over dinner. Jesus, however, did something which offended his host. He did not perform the ceremonial washing of hands before beginning the meal. Did Jesus forget or was he deliberately performing a sign to reveal something to his host? Jesus turned the table on his host by reprimanding him for uncleanness of heart. Which is more important to God — clean hands or a clean mind and heart? Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees for harboring evil thoughts that make us unclean spiritually — such as greed, pride, bitterness, envy, arrogance, and the like. Jesus reacts against the observance of the externals – laws, rules, customs – without inspiration and motivation from inside. It is not the shining cup that matters but the contents. Indeed, the contents must be first rate.
