Cleanse Cup and Dish

“Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭7‬:‭39‬ 

We have an inner voice: the thoughts of our mind and the expressions of our heart and we have an outer voice with which we communicate with others. The Lord is interested in sanctifying both our inner voice and our outer public voice but it is the inner voice that is far more important. Kindness, gentleness and etiquette will ensure there is always some gap between our inner voice and outer voice. It is not wrong to notice or be aware of brokenness; Jesus is keenly aware of the sin of both the Pharisee and the woman, it's what we do with these insights that matters. When there is a large gap between our inner world and our outer world, the Bible calls it hypocrisy. Jesus says in Luke 12:1 "...“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Leaven is a metaphor of sin, something that elevates and puffs up with pride. "“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish (actions people see in our public world), but inside (what people do not see in our private world) they are full of extortion and self-indulgence." (Mat 23:25) 

The work of the Holy Spirit reveals these inner thoughts and motivations so that we can be cleansed on the inside of the cup and dish, a metaphor of repentance in our inner, private world. Jesus is revealing in a very public manner the Pharisee’s inner world, his lack of love, respect and compassion. The Pharisee disrespected Jesus by not offering water for His feet, a kiss (on both cheeks) for a greeting, and anointing oil for his head, which were common acts of Middle Eastern hospitality for an honored guest. The Pharisee was saying something by these omissions, both to Jesus, his other guests and likely to his fellow Pharisees not in attendance, about his real feelings. His message: Jesus is not loved or respected; he's being surveilled to find a fault.

The Lord arranged a perfect fault for the Pharisee to find but it was in his own heart and not in Jesus or this woman who was a well-known sinner. We should not despair when we experience these corrections, rather we should rejoice because it is a sign of Fatherly love. We know what the Lord reveals, he heals, if we are willing to repent. The mature saint will have more in common with the Pharisee than the notorious sinner so we will experience many a "Simon (to hear), I have something to say to you" moments. May we rejoice today as the Lord bids us to cleanse our cup and dish that we might be vessels of honor “useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” (2 Tim 2:21)