Luke 11:38 kjv
And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.
Luke 11:38 nkjv
When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.
Luke 11:38 niv
But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
Luke 11:38 esv
The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.
Luke 11:38 nlt
His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom.
Luke 11 38 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Mk 7:1-8 | "Now when the Pharisees gathered to him... said to him, 'Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with unwashed hands?' ... you abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition." | Parallel account of Pharisees' critique of unwashed hands, Jesus' response. |
| Mt 15:1-9 | "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread... in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” | Parallel account to Mk 7, highlighting the emptiness of human tradition. |
| Isa 1:16-17 | "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean... cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression..." | Emphasizes true cleansing involves ethical and moral transformation. |
| Psa 51:10 | "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." | Focus on internal purity over external ritual. |
| Jer 4:14 | "O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved." | Call for spiritual washing of the heart. |
| Tit 1:15 | "To the pure, all things are pure, but to defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but even their minds and consciences are defiled." | Highlights the inner state as determining true purity. |
| 1 Sam 16:7 | "For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” | God's focus on the internal disposition, not just externals. |
| Lk 11:39-41 | "But the Lord said to him, 'Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness...'" | Jesus' direct response and critique following this incident. |
| Lk 11:42-44 | "Woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God... woe to you, for you are like unmarked graves..." | Further woes exposing Pharisaic hypocrisy and legalism. |
| Mt 23:25-28 | "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence... You are like whitewashed tombs..." | Extensive denunciation of external piety lacking internal righteousness. |
| Rom 2:28-29 | "For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly... But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter." | True covenant relationship is internal and spiritual, not merely outward. |
| Mk 7:9-13 | "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'...'thus making void the word of God by your tradition..." | Jesus critiques human traditions that nullify divine commands. |
| Lk 5:36-39 | "No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment... new wine must be put into fresh wineskins." | Jesus bringing new teachings that do not fit old, rigid systems. |
| Jn 5:18 | "This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God." | Jesus challenging established religious norms and authority. |
| Hos 6:6 | "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." | Prophetic emphasis on inner devotion over external ritual. |
| Mic 6:8 | "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" | True religion defined by ethical action and humble walking with God. |
| Am 5:21-24 | "I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies... But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." | God's rejection of ritual divorced from justice and righteousness. |
| Heb 9:9-10 | "These are symbolic for the present age, in which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body..." | Old Covenant rituals (like washings) were temporary and external. |
| Heb 10:22 | "let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." | The contrast between external washes and inner spiritual cleansing by Christ. |
| Col 2:16-17 | "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." | External observances are secondary to the reality found in Christ. |
| Php 3:4-9 | "If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more... as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ." | Paul's rejection of confidence in ritual adherence for faith in Christ. |
Luke 11 verses
Luke 11 38 Meaning
Luke 11:38 records the Pharisee's astonishment when Jesus, upon being invited to dine, did not perform the customary ritual hand-washing before the meal. This was not a matter of hygiene but of religious ceremonial purity, based on the oral traditions of the elders rather than a direct command from the Mosaic Law. The Pharisee's marvel indicates his rigid adherence to these traditions and his perception of Jesus' action as a significant and perplexing breach of expected religious custom. This incident sets the stage for Jesus' subsequent strong rebuke of the Pharisees for prioritizing external rituals and human traditions over true inward purity and genuine obedience to God's heart.
Luke 11 38 Context
Luke 11:38 occurs during a meal at the house of a Pharisee, to which Jesus was invited after a significant public ministry. Prior to this verse, Jesus had cast out a demon, prompting a dispute with some who accused Him of casting out demons by Beelzebul (Lk 11:14-23). He then taught about true blessedness, hearing and obeying God's Word (Lk 11:27-28), and the sign of Jonah (Lk 11:29-32). Jesus' teaching on the "light within" (Lk 11:33-36) concludes just before the invitation to dinner. The Pharisee's surprise at Jesus not washing sets the immediate context for Jesus' forceful pronouncement of "woes" upon the Pharisees and scribes for their hypocrisy and legalism, detailed throughout the remainder of Luke chapter 11. This meal served as a critical occasion where Jesus exposed the spiritual bankruptcy of relying on outward performance over inward righteousness. Culturally, the Pharisees, a prominent Jewish sect, meticulously observed an extensive body of oral traditions that expanded upon and, in their view, protected the written Torah. Ritual washings, such as the netilat yadayim (washing of hands before a meal), were not prescribed by the Old Testament but were traditions highly esteemed, almost as commandments, by the Pharisees to maintain ritual purity. This washing was intended to cleanse from various sources of perceived defilement before eating, particularly from contact with those deemed ritually unclean. Jesus' omission of this washing was thus a deliberate or indifferent rejection of these traditions, signifying His allegiance to the deeper spiritual principles over superficial rules, thereby provoking the Pharisee's marvel and establishing a polemic against such man-made traditions.
Luke 11 38 Word analysis
- But when (καὶ ἰδών - kai idōn): The Greek kai here functions not just as "and" but implies a connection and consequence. Idōn is the aorist participle of horao ("to see"), signifying that the Pharisee personally observed Jesus' omission, directly leading to his reaction. It highlights an immediate, eye-witness account.
- the Pharisee (ὁ Φαρισαῖος - ho Pharisaios): A specific individual, acting as a representative of this strict, legalistic Jewish sect known for its rigorous adherence to both written and oral Law. Their name means "separated ones," referring to their zeal for ritual purity.
- saw it (ἰδών - idōn): This repetition emphasizes the direct perception and visual evidence that triggered the Pharisee's surprise. He did not hear about it, but saw it with his own eyes.
- he marvelled (ἐθαύμασεν - ethaumasen): From thaumazō, meaning to wonder, be amazed, or astonished. In this context, it expresses a mix of surprise, disapproval, and perhaps indignation. It’s not necessarily admiration, but rather bewilderment that someone, especially a religious teacher, would neglect such a foundational practice to him.
- that he had not first washed (ὅτι οὐ πρῶτον ἐβαπτίσθη - hoti ou prōton ebaptisthē):
- not first (ou prōton): This phrase highlights the established sequence: washing must precede eating. The "first" emphasizes the absolute priority and necessity placed upon this ritual.
- washed (ebaptisthē): This is the aorist passive indicative of baptizō. While baptizō typically means to immerse, submerge, or dip, here, in the context of handwashing before a meal (parallels in Mk 7:3-4 use nipto for hands but baptizō for cups), it refers to a ritual cleansing, an ablution, that could involve pouring water over the hands thoroughly, or dipping. It is crucial to distinguish this ceremonial washing for purity from Christian baptism, which symbolizes spiritual regeneration. For the Pharisees, this ritual washings involved a specific amount of water and procedure to be ritually effective.
- before dinner (πρὸ τοῦ ἀρίστου - pro tou aristou): Aristou (from ariston) generally refers to the main meal, often the midday meal in that culture, although it can broadly refer to a feast or significant repast. The phrase specifies the exact occasion for which the washing was expected.
Luke 11 38 Bonus Section
- The washing in question was not about physical cleanliness, but spiritual, ritualistic purification to avoid becoming defiled or contaminating food, especially after interacting in public spaces or with "common" people.
- The use of baptizō for "washed" here is a common source of misunderstanding; it highlights a ritual, ceremonial cleansing practice in Judaism, distinct from the salvific Christian baptism. It indicates a thorough, ceremonial drenching rather than a simple rinsing.
- Jesus’ action was seen as an offense against the Halakha, the detailed Jewish law derived from the Torah and oral tradition. For the Pharisees, this tradition was considered equally binding to the written Law, necessary for maintaining a holy status and serving as a "fence around the Law."
- This verse marks the beginning of one of the strongest indictments by Jesus against the religious leaders, revealing their internal corruption masked by external piety (Lk 11:39-54).
- The Pharisee's reaction is a key narrative device to transition from Jesus' general teaching to his direct critique of religious hypocrisy.
Luke 11 38 Commentary
Luke 11:38 presents a pivotal moment revealing the deep chasm between Jesus' priorities and those of the religious establishment of His day. The Pharisee's "marvel" underscores the extreme importance given to human traditions, particularly ritual purity laws, which for them had attained the authority of divine command. Jesus' omission of the pre-meal handwashing was not an accidental oversight but a silent yet powerful challenge to this externalism. He consistently elevated the state of the heart over outward performance, genuine justice and mercy over ceremonial observance. This specific incident thus serves as a catalyst for Jesus to forcefully declare that inward righteousness, love for God, and seeking justice are paramount, far exceeding the value of meticulously kept human customs. It highlights how religious rituals, when detached from spiritual truth, become mere legalistic burdens and lead to spiritual blindness.