After he had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. 38 The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. 39 The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. 40 You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? 41 But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you. 42 Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the seat of honor in synagogues and greetings in marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.”
Jesus now accepts a Pharisee’s dinner invitation. During the meal, He delivers the first part of a series of prophetic “woes” that expose religious show without inner obedience (continued in vv. 45-54). Pharisees were a lay movement focused on strict observance of the Law and later traditions.
The host is surprised that Jesus does not perform the customary handwashing. This was not about hygiene but about ritual purity: a short pouring of water to avoid ceremonial defilement before eating. Jesus answers with a proverb: Dishes can be scrubbed outside while remaining filthy inside. He applies it to persons—external observance can mask inner robbery and malice.
“Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?” God, who created the body, also fashioned the heart. Religious practice, therefore, must involve both. The point is not to reject ceremonies, but to insist that inner intention and conduct match any outward observance.
“As to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.” In Scripture, alms means concrete mercy to the poor. Here it stands for sincere generosity that begins in the heart and issues in action. When the heart turns to mercy, the person is “clean” in the sense that worship and life align. The teaching answers the earlier charge: interior conversion makes external acts meaningful.
“Woe to you Pharisees!” Jesus names three failures. First, they tithe herbs—mint, rue, and other garden plants—while neglecting the weightier matters: judgment (just judgment, fair dealings) and love for God. The Law required the tithe, but not at the expense of justice and devotion. Jesus affirms both duties: “These you should have done, without overlooking the others.”
Second, they prize honor: front seats in synagogues and public greetings in marketplaces. Status signals have replaced humble service. The critique targets the motive, not synagogue worship itself.
Third, “you are like unseen graves.” To step on a grave made a person ritually unclean. An “unseen” grave spreads defilement without warning. Jesus says their hidden corruption misleads others while appearing harmless. The image fits the setting: concern for purity in small matters has ignored a deeper impurity that influences the community.
Lord Jesus, cleanse our hearts and actions together. Give us a generous spirit that loves justice and seeks Your honor, not our own. Keep us from hidden corruption and from honoring small duties while neglecting greater ones. Let our worship and daily conduct agree, so that our lives reflect Your truth. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, ed. Chiu et al. (Paulist Press, 2018), on Lk 11:37-44.
- The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition (Four Courts/Scepter, 2008), notes on Lk 11.
- The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, ed. Brown et al. (Prentice Hall, 1990), §43: Luke.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al., A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (1953), notes on Lk 11.
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