Luke 11:38 (NASB)
Jesus had not first ceremonially washed before the meal.
Wouldn't it be nice for once to thumb our nose at convention? There's a bit of radical in all of us. We all long to defy status-quo and change the world around us. For evangelism to be truly effective there has to be this element of confrontational radicalism in our preaching. In this scripture we see the Lord Jesus, a pious Jew who kept the law, deliberately not ceremonially washing before a meal at the home of a prominent Pharisee. I'm inclined to believe that Christ deliberately set up this confrontation to rebuke and instruct the religious leaders gathered there (Luke 11:39-54). We have to confront the devil and the established ways of this world to advance the kingdom of God.