11:37-38 Why did Jesus not wash His hands before eating?
11:37-38 Why did Jesus not wash His hands before eating?
The washing of hands here had nothing to do with hygiene. It was a ritualistic cleansing - the ceremonial and religious dipping of the hands to remove any moral defilement acquired by contact with unholy things.
It was not required under the law but was an extrabiblical tradition devised by men (cp Mt 15:1-3, 7-9; Mk 7:1-9). The scribes and the Pharisees were hypocrites - their whole religion was an outward show (cp Mt 23:1-7, 23-28; Lk 11:39-44).
To strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel in Mt 23:24 means that the scribes and Pharisees ceremonially cleansed outward things which typify inward cleansing, but they never purified the inward man, whence comes the issues of life (cp Mt 15:10-20; Mk 7:14-23).
This is an admonition for contemporary Christians too whose Christianity goes no deeper than can be seen (cp Mt 7:21-27; Ro 2:13; Jas 1:22-25).
See also comments on Lk 11:46. 11:42 See comments on /Mt 23:23