Luke 11:39-40
And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Jesus directly points out the glaring hypocrisy: the Pharisees meticulously clean their dishes, but their inner selves are overflowing with greed and wickedness. The "now" highlights the stark contrast between their outward show of ritual purity and their inner moral decay.
Jesus has just been invited to dine at a Pharisee's house. Upon seeing Jesus hadn't performed the customary ritual washing before eating, the Pharisee is surprised. Jesus uses this moment to directly address the Pharisees' outward show of piety, contrasting it sharply with their inner corruption and greed.
Jesus often called out the religious leaders of his day for their focus on outward appearances. But what did He mean by 'clean outside, full inside'?
Jesus confronts the Pharisees, using their own practices as a stark illustration of their spiritual state. They were meticulous about cleansing the outside of their cups and dishes, adhering to traditions that demanded ritual purity for these vessels. This external cleanliness was for show, to impress others.
However, Jesus points out the grim reality: the inside of these same vessels, and more importantly, the inner lives of the Pharisees themselves, were filled with 'greed and wickedness' (or 'ravening and wickedness' in some translations). This wasn't just about food preparation; it was about the source of their wealth and the corruption of their hearts. Their outward compliance masked a deep inner decay. They were performing a religious show while their hearts were far from God.
Jesus doesn't just point out the problem; He redirects us toward the solution. What truly makes a person, or even a meal, clean in God's eyes?
Jesus isn't just condemning the Pharisees; He's revealing God's true desire. He calls them fools for thinking external rituals could compensate for internal corruption. The Creator of both the outside and the inside knows that true purity originates from the heart.
The implication here, and echoed in verses that follow (like verse 41), is that genuine cleanliness comes not from meticulous washing of objects, but from the transformation of the inner person. When the heart is right with God – filled with generosity, justice, and love – then even the 'outside' (our actions, our possessions, our interactions) becomes clean. Giving generously from what one has is presented as a way to purify, not just the food or vessels, but the giver's entire life.
Understand the original words
Kyrios · Greek Noun
A title acknowledging Jesus' authority, sovereignty, and divinity; it is the primary Greek term used to address God or Jesus as the supreme Ruler and Master of one's life.
harpagē · Greek Noun
An inordinate, selfish desire for wealth, possessions, or status; it is condemned in Scripture as a form of idolatry that displaces trust in God.
ponēria · Greek Noun
A broad term for moral evil, depravity, or malicious intent; it represents a heart that is actively turned away from God's standards of righteousness.
aphrōn · Greek Adjective/Noun
One who lacks spiritual perception or ignores divine truth; in biblical usage, it refers to a moral and intellectual failure to acknowledge the reality of God and His requirements.
Jesus' words cut through the Pharisees' obsession with ritual purity, highlighting their hypocrisy. While they meticulously cleaned their cups and dishes, their hearts were filled with greed and wickedness, showing a profound disconnect between outward performance and inner reality.
c. 450 BC
Restoration of Jewish Law
Ezra the scribe returns to Jerusalem, emphasizing strict adherence to the Law of Moses, which included ritual purity regulations. This period saw a renewed focus on outward observances among Jewish religious leaders.
c. 1st century BC - 1st century AD
Rise of Pharisaic Influence
The Pharisaic movement gains significant influence, emphasizing meticulous observance of both written and oral laws, including detailed rules for ritual purity in daily life, such as washing vessels.
c. AD 27-30
Jesus' Galilean Ministry
Jesus travels throughout Galilee, teaching, healing, and often challenging the religious establishment, including the Pharisees, on their interpretations and practices of the Law.
c. AD 30-33— this verse
Jesus' Judean Ministry and Confrontations
Jesus' ministry intensifies in Judea, leading to direct confrontations with the Pharisees over issues of Sabbath observance, purity laws, and hypocrisy. This verse is spoken during this period.
This passage directly parallels Jesus' accusation, contrasting the Pharisees' meticulous cleaning of the outside of cups and dishes with their inner state of greed and wickedness, highlighting the consistent theme of their hypocrisy.
Isaiah 29:13This prophetic passage speaks of people honoring God with their lips and mouths but having hearts far removed from Him, mirroring Jesus' critique of the Pharisees whose outward religious practices didn't match their inner corruption.
Psalm 51:6This psalm expresses a desire for God's wisdom to produce inner truth ('in the inward being'), contrasting sharply with the Pharisees' focus on external purity, revealing God's deeper desire for a pure heart.
Matthew 15:8Quoting Isaiah, Jesus rebukes those who draw near to God with their mouths and honor Him with their lips, but whose hearts are far from Him, reinforcing the idea that outward actions without inner sincerity are meaningless.
Romans 2:28-29Paul explains that true Jewishness is not outward but inward, a matter of the heart, directly echoing Jesus' condemnation of the Pharisees who focused on external rituals while neglecting the inner transformation that truly matters to God.
barnesLuke 11:39: "And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness."
See Matthew 23:25 . "Ravening." Robbery, plunder. Here the sense is that the cup and platter were filled with what had been unjustly taken from others. That is, they lived by their wickedness; their food was procured by dishonesty and extortion. This was a most terrible charge; and as it was applied, among others, to the man wh…
vincentLuke 11:39: "And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness."
Platter (πίνακος)The word rendered charger in Matthew 14:8, on which see note. Compare, also, παροψίς, platter, Matthew 23:25.
Jesus directly points out the glaring hypocrisy: the Pharisees meticulously clean their dishes, but their inner selves are overflowing with greed and wickedness. The "now" highlights the stark contrast between their outward show of ritual purity and their inner moral decay.
Jesus has just been invited to dine at a Pharisee's house. Upon seeing Jesus hadn't performed the customary ritual washing before eating, the Pharisee is surprised. Jesus uses this moment to directly address the Pharisees' outward show of piety, contrasting it sharply with their inner corruption and greed.
Jesus has just been invited to dine at a Pharisee's house. Upon seeing Jesus hadn't performed the customary ritual washing before eating, the Pharisee is surprised. Jesus uses this moment to directly address the Pharisees' outward show of piety, contrasting it sharply with their inner corruption and greed.
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"And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?" — Jesus directly points out the glaring hypocrisy: the Pharisees meticulously clean their dishes, but their inner selves are overflowing with greed and wickedness. The "now" highlights the stark contra…
