In our next passage in Luke (11:37-54), Jesus is engaged in some rather awkward dinner conversation with his host and fellow diners. He rebukes the Pharisees and Scribes for their hypocrisy and their public display of superficial holiness and charges them with the blood of all the prophets, from Abel to Zechariah. All of this was evoked by the Pharisee's astonishment when Jesus did not wash his hands before dinner. The Pharisees were meticulous in the external and observable keeping of the law, but neglected justice and the love of God. The Scribes also prided themselves on their detailed knowledge of the law and its traditions, but they never assisted anyone in keeping the law. In fact Jesus says, they 'hindered those who were entering' the kingdom through the knowledge of salvation and the forgiveness of sins.
Some might say that not hypocrisy but sheer lawlessness is more the issue we face today. Either way, we must take heed of these words of warning and woe from Jesus - 'blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.' As Jesus makes clear, no amount of outer cleansing will ever cleanse our hearts and all that is within us. Instead, we are to give our whole selves, and 'behold, everything is clean for you.' As Paul reminds us in Romans, it is only through our baptism into Christ Jesus we can be washed clean, both inside and out, and so by the mercies of God, offer our whole selves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.
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Ray is Senior Pastor at Coromandel Baptist Church, South Australia. Before being appointed to this role in January 2012 and during his years of theological study at the Bible College of South Australia, Ray was Student Pastor at the church. Prior to this he was a high school...
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