Jesus
told this parable to bring conviction to the Pharisees. They did not like it much. “Whited sepulchres” He called them. They wash the outside of the cup but leave
the inside unclean.
This
is a striking parallel of life in many churches today. They paint this picture of the church as
being spotlessly clean to all outward appearances. They promote this idea consistently and
relentlessly. They want to show the
world
how
wonderful the church on earth really is.
What they do not want is for anyone to take a look inside the church to
see what she is like from that vantage point.
Jesus had a look and He saw only ‘dead men’s bones.’ What He saw was putridity, stench. What He saw was not impressive. Is that why churches tend to keep the lid on
their own organisations? Not only do
they not want outsiders seeing what is really there, they do not want insiders
saying what they see – a bit like the British TV quiz show, Catchphrase, where, in order to
answer the question correctly, the presenter, Roy Walker, encouraged them by
saying, ‘Say what you see.’ That is OK
within a TV quiz show, but it is not appreciated by the church. She wants people to see only the clean
outside, not her rotten inside.
And,
I suppose, who can blame them.
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