Luke 11:40

Ye foolish ones, did not he that made the outside make the inner side also?

This has the weight of: "Do you really think that God cares about external cleanness only, and not about internal cleanness?" Spence paraphrased this verse thus:

Are you not fools to lay down such rules to avoid outward defilement, while within, in the soul, you allow all manner of wickedness? Surely God who created the things we see and touch, created the soul also![39]

The persons addressed by Jesus as "fools" include an impressive list of the "respectable." This Pharisee was doubtless hailed by his peers as wise; the arrogant fool of Psalms 14:1 was probably considered unconventional and daring; the man who built on the sand (Matthew 7:26) was probably a respected contractor; the rich farmer who mistook his body for his soul (Luke 12:20) probably had a high social status; and the foolish virgins of the parable (Matthew 25:1f) were without doubt the cream of their society. This gives a glimpse of what Jesus meant by the terms "fools" or "foolish"; any person who does not respect his soul's deep need of salvation is foolish.