The Pharisee gasped at Jesus lack of hand washing. It wasn't about being a germ a phobe, it was religious pretense. He didn't honor their rituals.
How many things in our lives are merely that? Rituals to prove to others that we are "Christian," rather than inward workings of the Spirit that come out as fruit (love, joy, peace...) Sinclair Ferguson points out "Their religion was essentially self-centered and man-centered." Sadly, not much has changed today. We worship God based on how we feel about Him. We see the movement of God measured in rhythmic swaying to words far more about us and how we feel than the truth of who God is.
We can so easily become white-washed tombs, but be dead inside. Friends, what things do we do that hold religious value or selfish gain over the Word of God, over Jesus Christ and what He has done for us, in dying for our sins and raising again? What voids do we replace emotionalism over truth with? May we pause and repent of these. May we be as the tax collector is Luke 18 who beat his chest in sorrow saying, oh God be merciful to me a sinner and not as the Pharisee demanding hand washing and thanking God that he is not like other men.
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