“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:25 ESV).
Jesus accused the Pharisees of hypocrisy. For they emphasized outward expressions of holiness without any true heart change. The Pharisees had added dozens of rules on cleanliness in their interpretation of the Torah. They even had instructions on how to do dishes. Yet, their eyes were blind and their ears deaf to Christ’s message. The disciples of Jesus may not have washed their hands according to the Pharisaic tradition, but their hearts were humble and open to Christ’s teachings.
As God told the prophet Samuel, “man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart” (1 Sam.16:7). What does God see in your heart? Have you believed in your heart that Jesus was raised from the dead and confessed Him as Lord and Savior? If so, then your hearts have been “cleansed by faith” in Jesus. (Acts 15:9).
PRAYER: Dear Father, only You can cleanse and change the human heart. Therefore we pray as David did, create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me (Psa. 51:10). For we want our hearts to be fully devoted to You, so that Your Spirit is at home in our hearts. In Jesus’ name, amen.