And the Lord said unto him,
Now do you Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness.
All Commentaries on Luke 11:39 Go To Luke 11
Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
In what follows there is no doubt that the suffering of the body is shown by the name of cup, when the Lord says, “Should I not drink the cup that my Father has given me?” Whoever swallows bodily frailty in spiritual love and pours it into the mind and spirit so that the interior drains the weakness of the exterior drinks his body. You perceive that the inside, not the outside, of this cup or platter defiles us. A good teacher taught us how we should cleanse the pollution of our body, saying, “Give alms, and behold, all things are clean to you.” Do you see how many remedies there are? Compassion cleanses us. The Word of God cleanses us, according to what it is written: “Now you are clean by reason of the word that I have spoken to you.” Not only in this passage but also in others you have revealed how great grace is. “Alms delivers from death.” “Store up alms in the heart of the poor, and it shall obtain help for you on the evil day.” –.
