Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest : Part 9

Nourished by meals with the Messiah

Joel S. Heckendorf

“Did you wash your hands?” (Luke 11:37-54) 

Moms, how many times have you asked the question, “Did you wash your hands?”? And if your child says yes, what’s your follow-up question? “Did you use soap?”  

Washing hands before you touch food is a good routine. And yet, it’s something that Jesus intentionally refused to do on occasion. Strange, isn’t it? Even a bit uncivilized. Why did the Savior, who deemed it necessary to wash his disciples’ feet before they ate his special meal, refuse to wash his hands when he was a guest at another meal? 

It had nothing to do with hygiene. It had everything to do with hypocrisy. Jesus was willing to risk some germs on his hands so he could address the sin germinating in the heart of his host. “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness” (Luke 11:39). 

Whoa! That’s pretty bold for Jesus to address the host in such a way. To call the host out was a feather-ruffling, wave-making statement, especially when you consider the host didn’t even voice his disapproval of Jesus’ dirty hands. He simply noticed it (v. 38). But Jesus wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and address the host’s sin straight on. For the many times that we dance around addressing sin because we don’t want to “offend someone,” appreciate Jesus’ comments. Appreciate Jesus’ love and concern and his willingness to do the dirty work. He didn’t care about whose toes he stepped on or about which tradition he broke. Even when others chimed in, “Hey, that hurts my feelings. You’re insulting us also” (cf. v. 45), Jesus didn’t let their feelings get in the way about how he felt about their spiritual condition. Six times Jesus scolded, “Woe to you.”  

Considering we live in a society that promotes so much tolerance, Jesus’ willingness to have tough conversations catches our attention. His “woes” make us say, “Whoa!” 

But should we be surprised? Jesus was always willing to do the tough thing. He doesn’t just love people enough to address sin with his words. He was also willing to roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty to address sin with his actions. As he went to the cross, he carried in his hands our lack of love. His hands were stained with our pride, our poor leadership, our hypocrisy. For all the times we hid the gospel from someone or unnecessarily burdened their consciences, Jesus took matters into his own hands. Jesus got his hands dirty so he could wash our hearts. As we see Jesus’ hands dirty on the outside, know that it was because he wanted to make us clean on the inside. 

And so, we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest. Let these gifts”—your willingness to call sin a sin, but also your willingness to cleanse our hearts—“to us be blessed. Amen.” 

Food for thought 

1. What traditions may get in the way of the spiritual condition of our hearts?Answers will vary. Examples may include things like church membership or Confirmation. We may be tempted to think that as long as our names on the books of some congregation, that’s all that matters, instead of being concerned about our personal relationship with Jesus. Or we may feel Confirmation is necessary because that’s just what you do, but we fail to put into practice the importance of being in the Word outside of Confirmation class.
2. “The church is simply a bunch of hypocrites!” How do you respond?Christians often are accused of hypocrisy – saying one thing and doing another. Instead of putting up our defenses, better to repent. Hypocrisy is a sin of which all our guilty, often being more concerned about what’s on the outside instead of the inside. But having repented, also know that hypocrisy is a sin that Jesus was willing to carry to the cross. He forgives us our hypocrisy.
3. Jesus calls out six particular sins of the Pharisees and experts of the law. Which sins most apply to you? To our culture? 

Answers will vary depending on your personal situation. Answers may even vary by the day or hour. As a culture or society, we may want to take to heart Jesus’ “woe” in Luke 11:44. There, Jesus is addressing how we lead people into sin, allowing themselves to be defiled unknowingly. In the name of “tolerance” or our personal fear of getting our hands dirty and having tough (but loving) conversations, other people may keep on sinning without even knowing it.

Contributing editor Joel Heckendorf is pastor at Immanuel, Greenville, Wisconsin.

This is the ninth article in a 11-part series that looks at Jesus as a mealtime guest and how he blessed his fellow diners—and us—with his living presence. Find the article and answers online after August 5 at wels.net/forwardinchrist.

Author: Joel S. Heckendorf
Volume 105, Number 08
Issue: August 2018

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