37 And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. 38 And when the Pharisee saw it, 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 the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. 40 Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that 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 judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.
44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. 45 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. 46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. 49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; 51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. 52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. 53 And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: 54 Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him. (Luke 11:37-54 KJV)
William Burkitt’s Commentary
Christ here says many of these things to a Pharisee and his guests in a private conversation at table, which he later said in a public discourse in the temple (Matthew 23); for what he said in public and private was consistent. He would not say in secret what he wouldn’t repeat before a crowd; nor would he rebuke sinners generally without also doing so personally when the opportunity arose, for he was, and is, the faithful Witness.
He went to dine with a Pharisee who invited him while he was still speaking (Luke 11:37). Perhaps the Pharisee was impressed by Jesus’ teaching and wanted to hear more, or perhaps he had a hidden motive to interrupt his teaching or catch him in something they could use against him (Luke 11:53-54). Christ knew the Pharisee’s intentions—if they were good, he would do him good; if bad, he would show he didn’t fear him. So he went in and sat down to eat. Christ’s followers must learn to be approachable and not withdrawn. While we must be cautious about the company we keep, we must not be rigid or try to remove ourselves from the world.
The Pharisee was surprised that Jesus didn’t wash before eating (Luke 11:38). He couldn’t understand why someone of such piety and reputation wouldn’t follow this custom, especially when everything needed for washing was ready. It was strange to him that Jesus, unlike everyone else, didn’t comply. But Jesus deliberately did not wash because he opposed their practice of turning non-biblical traditions into religious obligations. This kind of hand-washing wasn’t part of the ceremonial law, and Jesus would not adopt it just to avoid offense.
In response, Jesus gave a sharp rebuke to the Pharisees, without apologizing to his host, because we must not flatter even our closest friends in their wrongdoing.
He reproved them for putting too much emphasis on outward rituals while ignoring inner purity (Luke 11:39-40). “You Pharisees clean the outside, but your hearts are full of greed and wickedness.” Outward purity means little if the heart is corrupt. It’s as absurd as cleaning only the outside of a cup or plate while leaving the inside filthy. The state of the heart affects everything in our worship. People who avoid visible, scandalous sins but harbor inward vices like greed and spite are deceiving themselves. They avoid gross sins like sexual immorality or drunkenness, yet live in selfishness and hatred.
Jesus called them foolish: “Did not he who made the outside also make the inside?” God, who gave them their bodies, also created their souls. If he expects you to care for one, he certainly expects you to care for the other. If God gave laws about outward cleanliness, he also expected inward purity.
Then Jesus gave a principle for purifying their possessions (Luke 11:41): “Give alms from what you have, and everything will be clean for you.” This refers to Mosaic laws requiring the Israelites to set aside portions of their harvest for the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows. Only then could they enjoy the rest with a clear conscience (Deuteronomy 26:12-15). When we share our blessings with those in need, we can enjoy them ourselves with peace of heart (Nehemiah 8:10; Job 31:17). If we withhold what belongs to God or the poor, we defile what we keep.
Jesus also reproved them for focusing on minor details while neglecting what truly mattered (Luke 11:42). They were meticulous about paying tithes of even the smallest herbs like mint and rue, doing it to the letter, likely to earn public approval and favor with the priests. Jesus didn’t condemn their exactness—“these things you ought to have done”—but rebuked them for neglecting justice and the love of God, which are the heart of true religion.
He rebuked their pride and desire for public recognition (Luke 11:43): “You love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.” The issue wasn’t the seats or greetings themselves, but their love of them—their craving for status and public praise.
He also condemned their hypocrisy and the way they covered up their sins with religious pretenses (Luke 11:44): “You are like unmarked graves; people walk over them without knowing it and become defiled.” Outwardly, they looked devout, but inwardly they were full of corruption. Like hidden graves, their influence spread sin and spiritual death without people realizing it.
A lawyer then protested, “Teacher, by saying this, you insult us too” (Luke 11:45). Like many proud sinners, he saw reproof as a personal attack. But wise people welcome correction, even when it comes as a harsh word. This man, instead of examining himself, took offense and sided with the Pharisees.
Jesus then turned directly to the lawyers (Luke 11:46, Luke 11:52). Though admired by the people as teachers of the law, Jesus pronounced woes on them. They added burdens to religious life through their traditions, burdens too hard for others to bear, while they themselves wouldn’t lift a finger to help. They restricted people from freedoms God allowed and bound them to obligations God never commanded. They expected others to follow traditions strictly but exempted themselves.
He reproved them for pretending to honor the prophets while continuing in the same spirit that murdered them (Luke 11:47-49). They built tombs for the prophets and decorated them, claiming to revere them. But they hated the prophets of their own day—those who came with the same message—and would soon persecute them. Jesus, the Wisdom of God, foretold this would happen. God would send prophets and apostles, but they would reject and kill them.
Their actions exposed their hypocrisy. Though they claimed to honor the prophets, they were really confirming their fathers’ crimes. Their building the tombs of the prophets only testified that they agreed with what their fathers had done. Josiah honored a prophet simply by not disturbing his grave (2 Kings 23:17-18). But these men went beyond that—excessively honoring the dead while plotting against the living.
Jesus warned them that they were completing the measure of their ancestors’ guilt (Luke 11:50-51). The blood of all the righteous, from Abel to Zechariah, would be required of this generation. Their coming rejection of Jesus and his apostles would surpass all previous crimes. That guilt would be judged when Jerusalem fell to the Romans, a destruction so severe it fulfilled this warning (1 Thessalonians 2:15-16).
They were also guilty of blocking access to salvation (Luke 11:52). As teachers of the law, they should have opened the Scriptures to point people to the Messiah. Instead, they distorted the truth and misled the people, “taking away the key of knowledge.” They didn’t enter the kingdom themselves and hindered those who were trying.
At the end of the chapter, we’re told how bitterly the scribes and Pharisees plotted against Jesus (Luke 11:53-54). They were furious at his rebukes, yet they couldn’t bring a legal charge based on his words. So they tried to provoke him into saying something they could use. They pressed him with many questions, hoping he would slip and say something they could report to the authorities. Like David’s enemies, they twisted his words (Psalm 56:5). Faithful reprovers of sin must expect hostility. They must guard their speech, for some are always looking for a reason to accuse them. The prophet Isaiah spoke of those who “make a man an offender for a word” (Isaiah 29:21). To endure such trials wisely and patiently, we must look to Christ, who faced the contradiction of sinners and triumphed.