The sermon was over the following passage, Luke 11:37-41, NIV.
Woes on the Pharisees and the Experts in the Law
When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.
This is the sermon we heard on December 23, just two days before Christmas. If you are like me, on that day you would have expected to hear a message about Mary, the baby Jesus, the Angel, the shepherds keeping watch, or any other typical Christmas passage in the Bible. The pastor even admitted at the beginning of the sermon that this wasn't a typical Christmas message. As much as I love a traditional Christmas message, I am very thankful to have heard this message as it has inspired me for this new year.
In the story, the Pharisees were upset that Jesus did not wash before the meal. They were just too concerned with his outward appearance that they didn't realize there's more to him than just washing before a meal. Jesus was by far much more cleaner on the inside than they were, but they didn't see that. They just couldn't look past his outward appearance.
The pastor used the example of a baking pot that was shined and spotless on the outside. It was a beautiful pot on the outside, but the inside was a different story. Cleaning the inside had been neglected and it was dirty, rusty, and just plain nasty looking. You would definitely not want to cook anything in it again unless it was thoroughly cleaned.
I wonder how many of us are like this pot? Everything on our outside looks shiny and clean. We wear the right clothes, say the right things, go to the right places, etc. We just all around look good. If our insides were turned outside, would that shininess disappear?
Sadly, I have to admit that my insides are probably not as pretty looking and shiny as I would like and here's why: As I was sitting in church listening to this sermon, I was thinking that I'm pretty clean on the outside and inside, so naturally I started making a mental list of all the people who I thought greatly needed to hear this message, much more than I did, so they could focus on cleaning the inside of their pot! Then it dawned on me, that I probably needed a good inside cleaning just as much, if not more, than those people on my list!
That sermon has stuck with me and this year I plan on giving the inside of my pot a thorough, deep clean. What about you? Does the inside of your pot need cleaning?
In the story, the Pharisees were upset that Jesus did not wash before the meal. They were just too concerned with his outward appearance that they didn't realize there's more to him than just washing before a meal. Jesus was by far much more cleaner on the inside than they were, but they didn't see that. They just couldn't look past his outward appearance.
The pastor used the example of a baking pot that was shined and spotless on the outside. It was a beautiful pot on the outside, but the inside was a different story. Cleaning the inside had been neglected and it was dirty, rusty, and just plain nasty looking. You would definitely not want to cook anything in it again unless it was thoroughly cleaned.
I wonder how many of us are like this pot? Everything on our outside looks shiny and clean. We wear the right clothes, say the right things, go to the right places, etc. We just all around look good. If our insides were turned outside, would that shininess disappear?
Sadly, I have to admit that my insides are probably not as pretty looking and shiny as I would like and here's why: As I was sitting in church listening to this sermon, I was thinking that I'm pretty clean on the outside and inside, so naturally I started making a mental list of all the people who I thought greatly needed to hear this message, much more than I did, so they could focus on cleaning the inside of their pot! Then it dawned on me, that I probably needed a good inside cleaning just as much, if not more, than those people on my list!
That sermon has stuck with me and this year I plan on giving the inside of my pot a thorough, deep clean. What about you? Does the inside of your pot need cleaning?
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