25“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matthew 23:25-28)
Thoughts: These are two woes together with the same basic message: take care of the inside not just the outside. The Pharisees wanted people (and God) to think well of them because they did the outside things well out of duty and a sense of show. But God isn't fooled. Jesus is always more concerned about the inside- the heart.
Jesus uses two images- if you clean the outside of the cup but leave the inside filthy, it will not make for a good drink. If you have a nice painted tomb- it may look good on the outside but it is still a tomb. I have heard many comment on a dead body that is made up- "Oh they look so good." I am glad they look good- I guess. But it doesn't matter- they are still dead.
Our culture still values the outside- beauty, the size of the house, the car. People are willing to go into tremendous debt just to look good on the outside. But what about the soul? Richard Dawkins speaks positively about selfishness calling it "the selfish gene" but his thesis is just a disguise for greed and appearance- leaving life an empty shell without true love, grace, hope, and meaning. The more we fool ourselves thinking that because we look good on the outside, the more we tear at our eternal soul. This does lead to hypocrisy- a pretense- and a kind of self-indulgence that seems to be justified.
Jesus gives here a check on both selfishness, greed, and hypocrisy that is not found in many other religions or philosophies. Christianity values humility more than stuff.
Jesus uses two images- if you clean the outside of the cup but leave the inside filthy, it will not make for a good drink. If you have a nice painted tomb- it may look good on the outside but it is still a tomb. I have heard many comment on a dead body that is made up- "Oh they look so good." I am glad they look good- I guess. But it doesn't matter- they are still dead.
Our culture still values the outside- beauty, the size of the house, the car. People are willing to go into tremendous debt just to look good on the outside. But what about the soul? Richard Dawkins speaks positively about selfishness calling it "the selfish gene" but his thesis is just a disguise for greed and appearance- leaving life an empty shell without true love, grace, hope, and meaning. The more we fool ourselves thinking that because we look good on the outside, the more we tear at our eternal soul. This does lead to hypocrisy- a pretense- and a kind of self-indulgence that seems to be justified.
Jesus gives here a check on both selfishness, greed, and hypocrisy that is not found in many other religions or philosophies. Christianity values humility more than stuff.
Prayer: Lord, help me to humble myself before you. Give me grace to clean and focus on my heart and soul. May your love grow and cast out my selfishness.
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