Lk 11:37-41
37After [Jesus] had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. 38The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. 39The 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. 40You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? 41But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.”
PRESCRIBED WASHING: “Cleanliness is next to godliness” captures well the central ideas of the biblical usage of washing. Washing is not only for personal hygiene; it has also a cultic or spiritual dimension. The cultic dimension has to do with the holiness of God. God is “wholly other”—there is a vast separation between him and the people. To approach God, one must be “cleansed” as a reminder of the difference between the divine and the human.
Israel, too, is a “holy nation,” separated from other nations because of its special covenant with God. Washing indicates the inner and external holiness God requires of his people. Priests, especially, have to wash themselves and abstain from sex before they serve God. People who are contaminated because of contact with impure things or with the pagans need to undergo ritual cleansing.
One of the customs of the Pharisees which they expect people to follow is the prescribed washing before the meal. So the host of Jesus is surprised when the “rabbi” Jesus ignores this ritual washing. Jesus takes the occasion to talk about external rites and inner goodness. He calls for an inner purification that translates into deeds of mercy and the love of God.
Jesus’ criticism of his otherwise respectable host should be seen in the light of other passages which set the controversy between Jesus and the Pharisees while they are sharing a meal (Lk 5:29-39; 7:36-50; 14:1-35). In Matthew, similar sayings are given in a different context.