In 11:37-54 we have a record of the Man-Savior rebuking the Pharisees and the lawyers. Verse 37 says, “Now as He spoke, a Pharisee asked Him if He would have a meal with him; and He went in and reclined at the table.” The word for “meal” here is primarily the first meal, taken early in the morning. Verse 38 says, “But the Pharisee marveled, observing that He had not first washed before the meal.” Literally, the Greek word for “washed” means “baptized,” a ceremonial washing. The Pharisee’s reaction gave the Lord an opportunity to unveil something to the hypocritical Pharisees and lawyers.
In verse 39 the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the platter, but your inside is full of robbery and wickedness. Senseless ones! Did not He who made the outside also make the inside?” Here the Lord seems to be saying, “You wash your hands, but what about your hearts? Your hands may be clean, but your hearts are not clean. Your hearts are filled with robbery and covetousness. You need to cleanse the inside as well as the outside.”
In verse 41 the Lord goes on to say, “But give the things which are within as alms, and behold, all things are clean to you.” The word “within” here refers to the contents of the cup and the platter (v. 39), signifying what is in the hearts of the Pharisees. They have covetousness within their hearts; hence, their inside is full of robbery and wickedness. Therefore, the Lord commands them to give as alms what they are coveting in their hearts so that all things may be clean to them.
In verse 42 the Lord continues, “But woe to you, Pharisees! Because you tithe the mint and the rue and every herb, and pass by the judgment and the love of God. But these things you ought to do, and not leave those undone.” Judgment refers to justice, and the love of God refers to man’s love toward God.
In the following verses the Lord continues rebuking the Pharisees and also includes the lawyers in His rebuke. He tells the Pharisees that they are like unseen tombs, and He rebukes the lawyers for burdening men with burdens hard to bear and not touching these burdens with one of their fingers.
If we put together the four sections of Luke 11, we see a portrait of the Man-Savior with the highest standard of morality. We see a Person who prays Himself into God and remains in God to receive the Holy Spirit as His life supply. Because He is full of the Triune God, there is no room in Him for anything of the enemy. Moreover, He is filled with light, and He is genuine and clean both inwardly and outwardly. Eventually, this One is today’s Jonah, the One who passed through death and entered into resurrection, and today’s Solomon, the One who speaks the wisdom of God. This wisdom includes the mysteries of the hidden things of God.
In 11:29-32 the Lord refers to Himself as the One who is greater than Solomon and Jonah: “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks for a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. The queen of the south shall be raised in the judgment with the men of this generation and shall condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, more than Solomon is here. Men, Ninevites, shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, more than Jonah is here.” Christ as the prophet sent by God to His people (Deut. 18:5, 18) is greater than Jonah the prophet. Jonah was the prophet who turned from Israel to the Gentiles and was put into the belly of the great fish. Remaining there for three days, he came out of it to become a sign to that generation for repentance (Jonah 1:2, 17; 3:2-10). This was a type of Christ, who would be buried in the heart of the earth for three days and then be resurrected, becoming a sign to this generation for salvation.
Christ, as the Son of David to be the King, is also greater than Solomon the king. Solomon, to whom the Gentile queen came (1 Kings 6:2; 10:1-8), built the temple of God and spoke the word of wisdom. This also is a type of Christ, who is building the church to be the temple of God and is speaking the word of wisdom.
We may say that the “wisdom of Solomon” in Luke 11:31 indicates the mysteries revealed in the fourteen Epistles of Paul. As the One greater than Jonah, the Lord passed through death and entered into resurrection. As the One greater than Solomon, He speaks the wisdom of God. Today the resurrected Christ through the Spirit speaks the wisdom of God. As we have pointed out, this wisdom is revealed in the Epistles of Paul. The contents of God’s wisdom are the hidden things of God, the mysteries hidden in God and revealed to us through Paul. In particular, this is the wisdom concerning God’s New Testament economy, the wisdom concerning Christ with the church.
Chapter eleven of the Gospel of Luke includes a number of matters related to the Man-Savior’s highest standard of morality. From this chapter we need to realize that Christ, through death and in resurrection, is now carrying out God’s New Testament economy, which is the real jubilee.
In this message and in the foregoing message, I have given you some hints concerning the proper understanding of this chapter. Here we see the Savior’s divine essence mingled with His human essence and His divine nature with His divine attributes mingled with His human nature with His human virtues to produce the highest standard of morality. This is for us to enter into Him, the resurrected One, and to listen to His wisdom so that we may participate in God’s New Testament economy, which is the real jubilee. In order to understand Luke 11 we need the proper understanding of the intrinsic elements of the Gospel of Luke. These elements include the mingling of the divine attributes with the human virtues in the Man-Savior, the highest standard of morality, and the proclamation of the New Testament jubilee.