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Jesus eats with a Pharisee, parts 3 and 4

Lynne Baab • Tuesday January 20 2026

Jesus eats with a Pharisee, parts 3 and 4

Overall theme for the next few months: God’s law is love

Lesson 1, parts 3 and 4: Jesus eats with a Pharisee (for parts 1 and 2, look here.)

Passage: Luke 11:37-44

Key verse: The Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.” Luke 11:39.

3. Harmony between the inner and outer being

One of the psalms attributed to David expresses the significance of the inner person in God’s eyes: “You desire truth in the inward being. . . . Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:6, 10). Jesus’ discussion with the Pharisees, precipitated by his omission of ritual hand washing, evokes this priority of God’s.

In Matthew’s version of this meal with the Pharisees, Jesus mentions hypocrisy or hypocrites three times (Matthew 23:25-28). Without being named directly, hypocrisy is indeed one of the central themes of Luke 11:37-44. Our word “hypocrite” comes from the theater of ancient Greece, and the word originally meant to act a part in a play. After a few centuries passed, the word came to mean a false pretender to virtue or religion.

Jesus’ words in Luke 11 reveal components of hypocrisy, including wrong priorities (v. 39-42) and putting reputation above character (v. 43). Sadly, these traits have an impact not only on the lives of the Pharisees themselves, but also on the people who look to the Pharisees as models. Leaders who act in hypocritical ways actually contaminate those who admire and follow them, in ways that might be invisible on the surface but are still very real (v. 44). Hypocrisy can be present in all of us, especially when we slide into forms of religious observance that emphasize outward and manageable forms of obligation and rules. Hypocrisy grows in us when we focus on an outer shell and avoid true intimacy with the God who made and redeemed our whole beings and wants to transform us through and through.

Jesus, in his clear and powerful teaching, wants to bring integrity back to faith in God. Jesus wants us to know the God who delights in us and calls us beloved. This God can bring harmony between our interior and exterior lives, enabling us to experience the deep love of God in our whole beings and giving us a well of love to share with others.

The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ time embrace a form of purity that stresses faith practices based on measurable actions. Jesus’ deeds and words reflect the God who desires an engagement with the world that comes from a deep love for God. This kind of love demonstrates consistency between inner commitments and outer actions and reflects God’s priorities of well-being and justice for all (see Micah 6:8, Amos 5:22-24, and Isaiah 58:6-7).  To show love to people on the margins, we need a strong inner core of love that comes from God.

In what ways do you experience harmony between your inner and outer self? In what ways would you like to? Bring those desires to God in prayer.

4. Stepping into the world

Perhaps you have purchased a table, dresser, or desk that has a laminated surface. As that piece of furniture gets older, the laminate may come loose, revealing the particle board inside. Perhaps you own other furniture made of solid wood, and as the surface wears out, the dings and stains can be sanded out and refinished. In his interaction with the Jewish leaders, Jesus indicates his desire that we be like solid wood furniture, the same inside and on the surface.

We nurture that consistency inside and out through many different faith-based actions. We praise and thank God — alone and with others — in order to increase our ability to love God.  We learn God’s values from the Bible, listening to sermons, attending Bible study classes, or meditating on God’s priorities in the Old and New Testaments. We hear God’s heart of love for all people and for the whole beautiful world that God created, and we try to care about the people and situations God cares about.

We confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness. We strive to avoid acting a role, playing a part in a play, as we live in our homes, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, and in Christian community. In supportive settings, we honestly describe our struggles and weaknesses, and we ask for prayer for God’s help in dealing with them. We try to be honest in all settings.

At any moment, these actions that help us love God with our whole selves can shift in the direction of trying to look good to others or striving to earn God’s approval through measurable actions. When we look honestly at our lives, we often see instances when we have played a role, trying to impress. When we look honestly into our hearts, we often see a mess of motivations and desires. We can come to God in prayer and honesty over and over, asking that God give us clean hearts and a right spirit within us (Psalm 51:10). We can ask for the Holy Spirit’s power day by day to help us love God and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, embracing his priorities and reflecting his purity of heart.

Jesus indicates that hypocrisy is profoundly destructive because it contaminates others as well as making us like cups and bowls that are clean on the outside but dirty on the inside. Therefore, we can pray for purity of heart for ourselves. We can also pray for the ways our life influences others, especially when people look to us as a model.

Which faith-based attitudes and actions help you grow in loving God with your whole heart? Which attitudes and actions help you grow in your love for others?

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Next week: The Sabbath, the law, and love, parts 1 and 2. Illustration by Dave Baab, one of his 2025 watercolor sketches.

Lent starts this year on February 18. I want to recommend my Lenten devotional, Draw Near. For each day of Lent, you'll find a psalm, brief reflection questions, and a watercolor by Dave Baab. The devotional is available in paperback and for Kindle. If you buy the Kindle edition and use it on your phone, a tablet, or a laptop, Dave's watercolors will look luminous. 

This lesson appeared in the Fall 2023 edition of The Present Word adult Bible study curriculum published by the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Used with permission. 



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