This weekend I read Matthew Chapter 21 and this part stood out:
Matthew 21:12-13
Jesus entered into the temple of God and drove out all of those who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the money changers’ tables and the seats of those who sold the doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’* but you have made it a den of robbers!”*
Has anyone like me always heard people saying some version of this , "Well Jesus flipped tables and got angry , so it's okay that I get angry. "
As one who is truly working on anger right now, and learning when it's good to be angry or not . I truly doubt Jesus' flipping tables has anything to do with our impatient / instant gratification society getting angry when a restaurant order was wrong. He often probably would have showed patience and restraint where we would probably lash out.
Let's look at the text : People were buying and selling in the temple , where people would pray and worship.
Let's think about God's anger for moment.
God and Jesus both got angry throughout the Bible for several reasons. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but they were the ones the Lord brought to mind while I was studying:
• Unjustice
• Abuse
• Disobedience
• Danger to others
• Preventing other from fulfilling their God given purpose
God wants honesty from His people and how we deal with others. He hates abuse. When we are disobedient to the Lord, we may be the servant that the Lord purposed to send out on mission, whether local or abroad . What happens if a servant is sent from the Kingdom on the King's orders with lumber and and supplies to help establish a new town in the country, that never arrives?
Another person goes to the meeting place, but hours and days pass with the servant not showing up. One servant was obedient , but cannot do the next step without the supplies and abilities the missing servant has. Maybe the king sends another in the disobedient servant's place, but what has that cost? Time never to be recovered? Did someone who needed shelter die because the supplies for their place of safety didn't arrive in time? A soul lost , is a grave and sorrowful loss to our King, when we were asked to share the Gospel and we kept silent.
Think about the sins of abortion and Homosexuality, would our Creator not be angry that children are dying because instead of trusting the Creator for life and health foe someone in the womb , it was determined that doctors can speak for God and that's child's future? What gives us the right to terminate life, Take God out as His Place as Creator and believe evolution , then I guess there is where our devalue of life comes from. What's the point of life , the world says when we are cosmic accidents ? But put God into the equation and we are responsible for our actions and accountable. What happens when our world seeks homosexuality and all those planned lives God wants on this earth are never born because God's intended plan for children involves a married man and woman?
Would the Lord be angry at the false teachings and the danger of believing such lies? He was in the Pharisees' day, because they were adding rules and more than God required. Souls are at stake for eternity and lying to people , because it's not what they want to hear is dangerous.
Thank goodness for the forgiveness of sins, if we repent from any sin. If we don't the consequences are death and Hell.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
But does this sound like our version of anger? Are we angry at unjust and abuse, and danger to others? Are we angry at those things that God is angry at, or are we angry about things that won't matter in five minutes?
This weekend I was trying to plug in a extension cord to charge tablet while it was playing our shows. Someone was talking to me while I was flustered. I got a little snappy. I wasn't listening to what was being said. That situation was over in five minutes. Was that a good reason to get angry, or is that why Ephesians 4 says starting in verse 25:
25 Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and don’t sin.”* Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 and don’t give place‡ to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, producing with his hands something that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
Because the Gospel seems to describe different details in John's Gospel of the temple cleansing, some believe Jesus could have cleansed the temple twice once possibly at the beginning of the ministry and then at the end.
Whether if it was once or twice, would it not grieve and anger the Lord that God's House was not used for it's intended purpose. If it there were two times roughly three years apart, would it not grieve Him that they went back to their old ways. Yes, people needed animals for sacrifice, but it was not done outside the temple in the proper place.
James 1:19-20
19 So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God.
So are we angry about the things the Lord is angry about, or is our anger out of impatience, selfishness, jealousy etc?
I don't think the even Jesus got angry, always justifies the way we express that emotion. The best thing is to practice a pause before responding, because once we speak or react, we can't take it back. We can't undo the hurt. Jesus was perfect without sin, even when He was angry at times. We cannot say the same.
*All scripture is from the World English Bible
Comments