Luke 11:37-41 - The worst possible dinner guest

11:37,38

Often times we see the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law hanging around seeking to trap Jesus or find some excuse to accuse Him, but we also see occasions like this when Jesus goes to eat with Pharisees (see also Luke 7:36).  “Reclining at table” was the usual posture at a meal in those days. The Pharisee was surprised when Jesus did not wash before the meal. This was not a matter of concern for hygiene, but to do with ritualistic washing. This was not part of the Mosaic Law but a Jewish tradition. We all need to be wary to distinguish between things that we do that are mere traditions and things that are actually Biblical. The traditions may be helpful and may not have anything necessarily wrong with them, but we need to recognise them for what they are and not treat them as absolutes.

11:39-41

Now Jesus was not the most comfortable of dinner guests to have. The attitude of the Pharisee (it may have just been a thought, we are not actually told that he verbalised it) may have seemed relatively harmless but it led to something of a tirade from Jesus! Why such a violent (verbally) reaction! It is because the issue was really important. Perhaps more to the point, the state of the heart of the Pharisees (and not just the one who had invited Jesus to dinner) was seriously wrong, and was leading the whole nation in the wrong direction. We need to guard our hearts very carefully. The outer religiosity of the Pharisees masked an inner corruption. It is the state of our hearts that really matters, and no amount of religious observance can hide what is on the inside. Instead of being so concerned about ritual washings they should have been concerned for the poor, and then “everything will be clean for you”. If we are focused on the truly important things, then many other things will fall into place.