Lipstick on a Pig

Intro

Lipstick on a pig.

Anyone ever hear that turn of phrase?

Bottled water is lipstick on a ...

Plastic bottles were first used commercially in 1947. However, the bottles still remained relatively expensive and impossible for some people to use and afford. It wasn’t until the early 1950s when high-density polyethylene was introduced.

Bottled water regained some long lost glory in the 1970s thanks to serious marketing campaigns—the most notable being the Perrier $5 million marketing campaign in America meant to popularize imported water. The campaign gave bottled water a renewed allure of health and image in 1977.

By the year 2000, tap water was fully engaged in a war with bottled water. Beverage companies were playing on consumers' fears of contamination and illness from tap sources. One of the key players in this war was Brita Filters which further alleges the fact that toilet and tap water came from the same source.

The global bottled water market has surpassed the $200 billion mark and is expected to be valued at $350 billion by 2021 if the 10% year-on-year growth is sustained. It's not surprising that the Asia Pacific region accounts for 42% of the world’s bottled water consumption. The region is home to the most populated countries globally which also tend to face poor access to clean drinking water.

both tap and bottled water have pros and cons, tap water is generally the better option. It’s less expensive, more environmentally friendly, and less likely to contain microplastics.

Furthermore, most people can’t taste a difference between the two.

You can use a home filter to increase water quality, or boost its flavor with slices of watermelon or cucumber.

Main Point

It doesn’t matter what you do on the outside. We have to be made pure on the inside. OR have integrity. What are your motives? Who are you when no one is around?

Why Does it Matter

Because it does!

Scripture

Luke 11:37–44 NIV

When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal. Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you. “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces. “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”

37 - We don’t know why. Presumably because the Pharisee was interested in Jesus’ teaching

38 - He DIDN’T WASH!!!! What? Seems like an odd detail.

Why do you suppose Luke mentioned this? Why did they have to wash before the meal?

It actually had noting to do with cleanliness. The most top notch Jewish person knew that before they could consume the meal they MUST complete a ceremonial “cleansing”.

Jesus just spent the day with all of those unclean sinners and he didn’t purify himself before he ate.

39-41 - What happens here? Did the Pharisee say anything to Him? That’s so Jesus isn’t it. He knew. He knew what he was walking into when he received the invitation.

Lips stick on a pig. Jesus is saying you can put lipstick on a pig but...

it’s still a pig.

What good is it to follow ceremony if the vessel is contaminated.

Jesus is saying you RELIGIOUSLY wash the outside of the cup even though it will NEVER touch the food you are eating.

The space that you food touches is more important than the outside.

OR

Drink goes in side not out side.

Food goes on the top of the plate not the bottom.

You know the law but do you know the HEART of the law.

These pharisees were gong through the motions but never stopped to examine why.

This cleansing before a meal. At this point in jewish history it wasn’t even part of the law. It was an oral tradition and the Pharisees embraced it to show them selves better thsn others.

They judged others by THEIR standards. and jesus here was saying,

“You should be judging by God’s standards.” He made both the inside and the outside of the cup!

Luke D. Dedication’s Goal: Love, Not Law (11:37–54)

Dedicate yourself to what the law is all about, seeking to make you qualified as a member of God’s covenant community, being the people of God. Quit dedicating yourself to legalistic actions in which you take pride but which do no good for anybody.

42 - What is a Woe?

It is an expression of regret not vindictive.

He may as well be saying ALAS...

Jesus is grieving for the pharisees here.

He is calling the Phar… out for giving their money but missing the point completely.

Give to God but hoard the rest. You neglect love and justice.

43 - Religious leadership should help other people to grow and mature in their relationship with God. Religious leaders should devote themselves to worship and study of God’s Word. The Pharisees went to worship to be seen by others and went to the town’s business center so other people would lavish praise on them as they greeted them. This meant the Pharisees continually sought the public spotlight for themselves without concern for others. They were in love with themselves rather than being in love with God

44 - Biblical law taught that contact with the dead or anything connected with the dead made a person ritually unclean and thus disqualified for worship (Lev. 21:1–4, 11; Num. 19:11–22). Every Jewish grave was supposed to be clearly marked, so no one would unwittingly touch the grave and become unclean. Jesus claimed the Pharisees were unmarked graves—they were unclean and made anyone who touched them unclean without the victim knowing it. The Pharisees must have drawn back in horror at such a thought! They perceived themselves to be the cleanest of the clean, and so did their fellow Jews. Jesus said they were clean in regard to their own legal system, but they were unclean in regard to items at the top of God’s list—love and justice.

Application

The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 26: Luke The Legalists

They are more concerned about form than substance, about appearance than reality.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG!!!!

The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 26: Luke The Legalists

He is outraged by the legalistic burdens the scribes and Pharisees have laid upon the Jews. For example, it was taught that on the Sabbath a man may not carry a burden in his right hand or left hand, in his bosom or on his shoulder. But, he may carry it on the back of his hand or with his foot, or with his mouth, or with his elbow, or in his ear, or in his hair, or in his wallet, if it is carried mouth-downward or between his wallet and shirt or in the hem of his shirt or in his shoe or sandal. That’s only one of a thousand laws that faithful Jews were to follow. To paraphrase Jesus’ reactions somewhat, He is saying, “What do you think you are doing? You have taken the joy of living as God’s chosen people and made it a burden. Because of your laws, you have made worship burdensome. Instead of sharing with joy the material blessings God has given you, you’ve made it a ridiculous game—counting every little herb in your garden. You are so concerned with tithing the fruits of your garden that you have neglected justice and the love of God.”

What about our lives?