37 And as he ^ake, a certain Pha- risee besought him to dine with him : and be went in, and sat down to meat.
38 And when the Pharisee saw t^, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.
39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and platter ; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.
40 Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make tb at which is within also ?
41 But rather give alms of such things as ye have ; and, behold, all
things are clean unto you.
42 But woe unto you, Pharisees ! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judg- ment and the love of God : these ought ve to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in tiie synagogues, ana greetings in the mar- kets.
44 Woe unto you. Scribes and Pha- risees, hypocrites ! ror ye are as graves which appear not, ana the men that walk over them are not aware of them.
Let us notice in this passage, our Lord Jesm Christ^ a readiness, when needful, to go into the company of the un- converted. We read that " a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him." The man was evidently not one of our Lord's disciples. Yet we are told that "Jesus went in and sat down to meat."
The conduct of our Lord on this occasion, as on others, is meant to be an example to all Christians. Christ is our pattern as weU as our propitiation. There are evidently times and occasions when the servant of Christ must mix with the ungodly and the children of this world. There may be seasons when it may be a duty to hold social intercourse with them, to accept their invi-
LUKE, chap: XI. VBR. 37 — 44. 43
tatlons, and sit down at their tables. Nothing, of course, must induce the Christian to be a partaker in the sins or Mvolous amusements of the world. But he must not be imcourteous. He must not entirely withdraw himself from the society of the unconverted, and become a hermit or an ascetic. He must remember, that good may be done in the private room as well as in the pulpit.
One qualification however should never be forgotten, when we act upon our Lord's example in this matter. Let us take heed that we go down into the company of the unconverted in the same spirit in which Christ went. Let us remember His boldness in speaking of the things of God. He was always " about His Father's busi- ness."— Let us remember His faithfulness in rebuking sin. He spared not even the sins of those that entertained Him, when His attention was publicly called to them. Let us go iuto company in the same frame of mind, and our souls will take no harm. If we feel that we dare not imitate Christ in the company which we are invited to join, we may be sure that we had better stay at home.
Let us notice, secondly, in this passage, the foolishness \phtch accompanies hypocrisy in religion. We are told that the Pharisee with whom our Lord dined marvelled that our Lord "had not first washed before dinner." He thought, like most of his order, that there was something unholy in not doing it, and that the neglect of it was a sign of moral impurity. Our Lord points out the absurdity of attaching such importance to the mere cleansing of the body, while the cleansing of the heart is overlooked. He reminds His host that God looks at the inward part of us, the hidden man of the heart, far more than at our