Title: To Be Clean / Luke 11:37-41
Contents Last week, the chapel was meticulously redecorated. The painting has been renewed and additional lights have been installed on the platform and on the windows. The overall atmosphere was completely changed by opening the front door made of a gloomy fire door and closing the aluminum sash door on the inside. It was clean and bright. How good is it? Most people like to be clean. No one hates cleanliness. Today, I would like to receive grace by thinking about the teachings of Jesus about cleansing.
First, people value keeping the outside clean.
There was a Pharisee in the crowd who were listening to Jesus. He differed from his fellow Pharisees in that he had an affinity for Jesus. He made the courageous decision to draw closer to Jesus. It was expressed in the act of inviting him to lunch. But something unexpected happened. The invited guest was disrespectful. He had not washed his hands and was sitting at the table. The owner of the house, the Pharisee, was very perplexed. Because he took it very seriously for religious reasons.
“The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands diligently, keeping the tradition of the elders, and when they return from the market they do not eat unless they sprinkle water on them. Then the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples do not follow the tradition of the elders, and eat bread with unclean hands?" (Mark 7:3-5)
Already, Jesus was accepted as a respected rabbi among the people. He wondered because such a person would act out of the ordinary like this. To be more precise, I felt displeased and internally criticized his actions.
These Pharisees aren't the only ones who value washing their hands before eating. Most of us do that too. Think about it. I wash my hands when I leave the bathroom after seeing what I need to do. Wash your hands without sitting at the table as you were working. Tell your children to wash their hands before coming. In most restaurants, towels are provided to wash hands with food. For hygienic reasons, we wash our hands before eating. This is not at all wrong. It is a recommended practice.
Where is that? Be sure to wash your face or shower after sleeping. No one walks out with a bushy face. Because they consider it a great shame not to wash their bodies. In other words, washing your body is important. Washing your hands and feet and your body clean is an act that values your appearance.
Washing the dishes is also an act that places importance on the exterior. It is also an act that places importance on the appearance of women putting on makeup. Washing our clothes often is also an act that values appearance. Because you want to wear clean clothes, not dirty clothes. Dusting and cleaning the house every day is also an act that places great importance on the exterior. Trying to show sophisticated manners is also an act that values appearance. Applying new wallpaper and painting on the wall in the springtime is also an act that emphasizes the appearance. Planting trees in the mountains on Arbor Day is also an act that places great importance on the exterior. Considering the fact that they are making a huge investment for a clean environment recently, it is an act that places great importance on the exterior.
As such, we attach great importance to keeping the exterior clean for hygienic or religious reasons.
Second, people don't put much importance on keeping the inside clean.
It wasn't that Jesus was so hungry that he skipped washing his hands. It's not that he's usually lazy and doesn't get into the habit of washing his hands. He was well aware of the consequences of his words and actions. In this case, he knew very well what would happen if he himself did not wash his hands. Nevertheless, he purposely broke the custom. This was to correct their thinking, which only emphasized the appearance. He said:
“...You Pharisees now clean the outside of the cup and dish, but on the inside they are full of greed and wickedness” (verse 39).
It is said that the outside is clean, but the inside is not. It is good to keep the outside clean, but it is also said to be clean at speed. It is said that pure cleanliness on the outside does not mean complete cleanliness. It is said that a person who is full of greed in his heart is an unclean person. A person whose heart is full of evil is not a clean person.
Are you a person who cares only about appearances, or are you a person who values speed as much as you value appearances?
Like the Pharisees in the text, it is an act that does not give importance to the inside to welcome the guests with a face but displease them inside. Placing dirty things or garbage in an inconspicuous corner is also an act that does not value the inside. Recruiting employees based solely on academic background or skills without considering human nature is also an act that does not value the insider. Covering up the corruption of the social leaders while taking it easy is also an act that does not give importance to the insider. However, implementing a welfare policy that considers the disadvantaged and the poor is an act that values the heart.
Third, people downplay the fact that inner cleanliness is more important.
Jesus called a person who is clean on the outside but does not know how to be clean on the inside is a fool. Jesus called those who despise or do not know that it is more important to be clean on the inside than to be clean on the outside (verse 40).
"It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth defiles a person... Don't you know that everything that goes into the mouth goes into the stomach and is thrown away? For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, and blasphemy, which defile a person, and eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person." (Matthew 15) :11-20)
It is in the heart that actually defiles a person. You cannot achieve true purity no matter how hard you try unless you first cleanse the inside. Verse 41 supports this. “Give alms only with what is in them, and all things will be clean to you.” In this verse, “what is in it” refers to the food in the cup and bowl. The person who can use it for alms without eating and enjoying it on his own has already washed away the filth of greed. Cleaning the outside can be done much easier. So to such a person, everything becomes clean.
The fraudulent hoarding case of Janghak-ro, which was exposed before the general election, greatly damaged the image of President Kim Young-sam. President Kim proudly said that he has emphasized clean government and clean politics at every opportunity, and has eradicated various corruptions through reform work. However, the person who was the closest aide to the president was secretly committing a great deal of corruption. Who would soon believe that the president has absolutely no responsibility for that? The fact that the event had catastrophic consequences was demonstrated during the campaign and after the election. The phrase "receive I am peaceful" is correct.
Rollers that have been used with water-based paint do not return to their original state no matter how many times they are washed with water. This is because the paint that has penetrated to the inside of the roller is not removed just by washing the outside. If you put it in water, you can see that the water continues to change to a pale color. Still, the paint brush will take some time, but washing and washing can at some point come clean. However, the filth in the heart, that is, the sin, cannot be washed away in this way. It is not something that can be washed with an eraser or soap. It can only be washed with the blood of Jesus. You can wash with repentance.
A painter wanted to paint everyday life in London, so he was busy
I tried to depict various aspects of life in the city on canvas. So, while first looking for a good specimen of a young bum on the streets of London, he finally met a boy like that.
"Son, don't you want to get a silver coin?"
"What do you mean, silver coins? Of course I want to get them."
"Then here's my business card. Come to this address tomorrow at 9 o'clock as you are now. Then you'll get a silver coin."
"Yes, sir, I will go tomorrow."
However, the boy doubted whether he could ever get the silver coin.
The next day, at 9 o'clock, the boy was ringing the bell in the painter's studio. Of course, the maid who had opened it came and said, "Master, the little boy is looking for
I'm here." The painter had a lot of different thoughts to think about yesterday.
I was forgetting work.
"Little boy? What kind of boy are you?"
"Well, he looks poor, but he's a pretty good-looking kid with a clean face and neat clothes."
"I'm asking you to come in."
Yesterday's boy stood in front of the painter. But his face was clean, his hair was neat, and he was wearing ragged clothes thanks to his mother, who thought something good would happen to him. the boy asked.
"Where is the silver coin you promised?"
"Do you remember what I said?"
"Yes, teacher."
"Surely?"
"Yeah, you told me to come at nine. That's why I came here on time. It's just past nine."
"But I wanted you to come as you are. If you had come as you are, you would have received the silver coin. But I will not give it to you because it is not you."
God wants you as you are. He wants to save you. He wants to show you that He can wash away your sins with His Blood. He wants to show you that His grace can restore you. He washes you as white as snow (W. E. BURROUGHS)