Matthew 23:26
“Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.”
“Ma’am, could you give me a new glass? There is some dirt on the inside.” When this happens, your mindset of that restaurant changes because you wonder about the cleanliness of the kitchen. The dirt on the inside of that glass can change your whole outlook on that restaurant’s quality.
This is what Jesus was teaching when He scolded the Pharisees about their lifestyle. The Pharisees were more interested in putting on a show so that others would think they were spiritual. Jesus rebuked them because they spent more time on the outside than they did in cleaning up the inside. Jesus showed that if you would clean up what is going on inside, then your outside would naturally be clean. There are four things that God is teaching in this verse.
First, God is not teaching that the outside is not important. God didn’t say that the Pharisees needed to ignore the outside; rather, He was teaching to first work on the inside. There are many who think that the outside doesn’t really matter. This is not true. Matthew 5:20 says, “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Notice that Christ used the outward righteousness of the Pharisees as an example because He is interested in Christians having an outward righteousness.
Second, God places a priority on inward righteousness. Yes, God is interested in our outside being clean, but He truly wants the inside to be clean because of its affect on your outward righteousness. There are many who may not have committed outward sin, but Matthew 5:28 makes it clear that inward sin is just as bad. You can outwardly portray that you are a good Christian, but what goes on inside is the true revelation of your Christianity.
Third, when you clean the inside, then the outside will naturally be clean. You can’t clean the inside of a cup without the outside getting clean. Likewise, you can’t clean what is going on in your heart and mind without your outward appearance being clean. Whether or not you like it, your outward appearance truly reveals what is happening on the inside. The Christianity that wants to look like the world is only revealing their worldly heart. If you clean up the sin and worldliness on the inside, then your outside will not have a hint of sin or worldliness.
Fourth, your inward and outward righteousness will ultimately determine the world’s mindset of Christianity. Maybe one of the reasons many lost people don’t want anything to do with Christianity is because they’ve seen the dirt on the inside, and it changed their whole mindset about Christianity. The greatest way to influence the lost is to let the outside be a true revelation of what is going on inside.
Are you only rinsing the outside of your life and leaving the inside dirty? What is going on in your mind and heart? You may think that you can hide what is happing on the inside but you can’t. Yes, your outward appearance matters, your inward appearance is most important to God. If the inward and outward appearance match, then God’s influence will shine through your life to show the world what real Christianity is all about.