This month we are looking at healthy and faithful ways to work through some of the emotions we have wrestled with during the past year. Last week we heard that being anxious is not a sin and that when Jesus got anxious He did one thing to help Him find peace. Anyone remember that one thing? TALK. He talked to His friends, He talked to God, and Jesus talked to His emotions.
Many of you shared with me how helpful that was and how encouraging it was to hear that being anxious is not a sin. Anxiety and depression are real struggles that many of us face. Too often we are embarrassed or afraid to share these struggles in the life of the church so we end up dealing with them alone when what we need to be doing is talking to one another. Please keep talking if you wrestle with anxiety, and please know that the church can be a safe place to share these struggles. You are not alone.
This week we are going to explore another difficult emotion that we have seen all around us this past year - anger. Anyone experienced some anger this past year? Seen any anger in our community and world this past year? Feeling angry today? Covid protocols have made us angry. Politics continues to make us angry. The limitations we have had to endure have made us angry. The injustices we have seen have made us angry. The actions or inactions of our government or our neighbors have made us angry. The discourse we see on social media makes us angry. Anger is everywhere and if we are honest, it’s in here (us) as well.
Just as it is not a sin to be anxious, it is also not a sin to be angry, but anger can quickly lead us into sin. If we feed our anger, or allow it to go unchecked, it can lead us to hate and violence, but anger itself is not a sin. In Ephesians 4:26-27 it says, in your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
Paul is not telling us that we should never be angry, or that anger is a sin, but he is saying that we cannot let anger go unchecked in our lives. If we hang on to our anger even overnight, it can lead to bitterness, hard hearts, and an unforgiving spirit, so don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Don’t hang on to it, and don’t give it a foothold. The word foothold simply means room. It means making space for someone or something, and if we hold on to our anger we are making room for it in our lives, which in time allows it to not just dwell within us but slowly shape us.
So while anger is not a sin, it can lead us to sin and it can drive a wedge in our relationship with others and with God, so we need to learn how to deal with our anger. Before we look at how to be angry like Jesus, let me first say that if anger is a real issue for you, please get some help. If uncontrollable anger rises up in your relationships, or if it seems to dominate your daily activities, or if you just can’t let please get some help. Sometimes the deep hurt and pain we carry in life can cause anger, and talking with a good counselor can help us find some peace. Please don’t go it alone. Get some help if your anger is constant or negatively impacting your relationships.
What we want to do today is look at what caused Jesus to be angry and how He dealt it. While Jesus is most often characterized by love, grace, peace and forgiveness, there is one very clear moment when Jesus got angry, and yet Jesus wasn't angry because of how He was treated, Jesus got angry on behalf of others.
Matthew 21:12-14. Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.
So what exactly is going on here that makes Jesus so angry? It’s not that fundraisers were being held on Sunday, or that sign up sheets to buy soup were placed in the lobby. What’s happening is that the poor and marginalized were being kept away from God.
This entire scene takes place at the Passover when Jewish people from around the region came to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice to God. Historians at the time of Jesus said that the normal population of Jerusalem was about 40,000, but during the Passover it could surpass 250,000. Since it would have been difficult for people to travel with the animals needed for the sacrifice, merchants sold animals in the temple courtyards, and since there were so many people looking to buy these animals, they raised the prices significantly.
Do you know how a bottle of water might cost you a dollar at Sheetz but then you go to Disney World and it costs you over 5? That’s what was going on in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover. 2 doves that might sell for 2 pennies most of the year, would be sold for over 75 at the time of the Passover. This often kept the poor from being able to offer a sacrifice, or it drained them of all their resources just to worship God.
On top of this price gouging, the market had been set up in the court of the Gentiles which was the only place in the temple where non-Jews were able to pray and worship. So not only were the poor being abused and kept from God, but so were Gentiles and foreigners from around the world who came to worship God. They literally had no place in the Temple to worship or pray.
As Jesus entered the Temple He took in this entire scene and it broke His heart. Those seeking to be close to God were being pushed away, and those who couldn’t afford the sacrifice were the ones being taken advantage of. None of this had anything to do with Jesus personally. None of this has to do with how Jesus himself was being treated. Jesus' anger is not personal, it is on behalf of those being mistreated.
To be clear, Jesus could have gotten angry many times because of how He was being treated. Think about it, was Jesus ever betrayed? Rejected? Criticized? Unjustly accused? In any of those situations did Jesus get angry? In any of those situations did Jesus defend Himself or fight back? No. His anger only came out when others were being mistreated and kept from God. If we are going to get angry like Jesus, we have to make sure our anger is not personal.
One thing we might want to do is take an “anger audit” and identify what causes our anger. Do we get angry because our views aren’t being promoted? Do we get angry because our rights are being violated? Do we get angry because we have been personally attacked or because we have found out that others have been talking about us, sharing misinformation about us, or putting us down? Do we get angry because of a post we don’t like on someone else’s page? If our anger is somehow all about us - we need to think about whether we are called to forgive in these situations or fight. Remember, Jesus was known for His forgiveness not His fighting. When Jesus was personally attacked or persecuted He didn’t get angry, He forgave. If most of our anger is about personal things, we need to learn how to forgive and not fight.
If our anger comes because others are being mistreated and abused, if our anger is about a system of injustice that keeps people from God and the fullness of life God has for us, then let’s learn from Jesus how to fight back. In this situation, when Jesus chooses to fight back, notice that He flipped tables and not people.
Jesus flipped tables but He did not flip people. Even in John’s gospel when it says that Jesus took cords and made a whip and drove the merchants out, it doesn’t say that Jesus used the whip to flog them. Some people think that by turning over the tables Jesus was making a statement that the systems that had been set up that were keeping people away from God needed to be turned over. Jesus was angry at a system of injustice that needed to be driven out, not the individual people who were selling the doves. Jesus wanted to cleanse the Temple, not cancel the people.
Too often today, our anger causes us to want to cancel people. Someone crosses the line in a way that we don’t like and we want them out of their job. Someone makes a mistake or offends us in some way and we want them to pay for it personally. Instead of addressing the larger issues that concern us, or the injustice that breaks our heart, we focus on the people and not the problem. Jesus wanted to change the system that allowed for the exclusion of the poor and foreigners. Jesus wanted to make sure that people were free and had a place to worship God. His anger wasn’t at the people but the larger problem, so He flipped tables and not people.
Jesus’ anger never seemed to be personal. Judas betrayed Him but He didn’t call out for his death. Peter denied Him and Jesus forgave him. The world rejected Jesus but from the cross He asked God to forgive them. The only thing Jesus ever cancelled was what ultimately separates all of us from God - sin. Colossians 2:13-14. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
Jesus cancelled sin, not the sinner - which is great news for us because we are the sinners who are forgiven and set free. We are the ones who were dead in our sin and separated from God, but instead of punishing us, instead of cancelling us, God cancels our sin by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
To be angry like Jesus means that we get angry on behalf of those who are being mistreated, and that we focus on the problems of injustice and not the people. The final thing we learn about Jesus’ anger is seen in the last sentence that is often overlooked. In fact, I’m not sure I ever really thought about it before. After Jesus drove out the merchants and flipped over the tables it says he healed the blind and lame. Even in the midst of His anger - Jesus loved those who were hurting.
In the midst of our anger we can not lose sight of love. In the midst of working for God’s righteousness in the world, we can’t forget to do the right thing and care about those who are in need around us. While Jesus was angry about the systems that were keeping people away from God, He also stopped to heal those who were physically in need. The anger of Jesus, the righteous indignation and anger of Jesus did not blind Him to the simple needs of those around Him.
Too often when we start fighting for a Godly cause and desire to change the world for good, we forget to see the simple needs of those around us. Too often in our fight for righteousness we forget to stop and do what is right. On both sides of the political aisle we have seen people fighting for what they believe is right, but in their cause for justice they have forgotten at times to do what is right.
When protests become violent, we have forgotten to do what is right. When fighting for what we believe is right turns into personal attacks on people’s character, or a larger group's motives, we have crossed the line and forgotten to do what is right. When our own agenda takes priority over seeing and meeting the needs of the people around us, we have forgotten that our focus needs to be on loving others first, last, and always.
While Jesus did get angry and fight injustice head on, we can never forget that even in this moment He stopped to love. Jesus is known for His love. God is known for His mercy and patience and grace. If we are going to be angry like Jesus and stand up on behalf of those being mistreated, let’s remember to never flip people, or flip off people, and let’s remember to always make sure love remains as the foundation of our lives.
It is not a sin to be angry, but don’t hold on to anger, don’t make room for it and allow it to dwell in your heart and life, and if we are going to be angry, let’s be angry like Jesus and always make sure we leave room for grace, mercy, and love.
Next Steps
Emotions - Anger
What has made you angry this past year?
What still makes you angry today?
Is your life characterized more by love or anger?
Being angry is not a sin. Read Ephesians 4:26-27.
● In what ways do you hold on to anger?
● Why is it dangerous to make room for anger?
● How can we be angry but not sin?
Jesus got angry. Read Matthew 21:12-14.
● Why did Jesus get angry when He saw the activities in the Temple?
● Was Jesus angry at the people or the larger problem?
● What was that larger problem?
Do an anger audit and identify what causes you to get angry.
● Does your anger come from personal attacks or the abuse and mistreatment of others?
Jesus got angry on behalf of those being mistreated.
● What injustice causes you to get angry today?
● How can you work to cancel the problem and not the people?
Jesus flipped tables and not people.
● How can you work to overcome systems of injustice and abuse and not just attack people or groups of people?
Jesus still focused on love.
● When has your righteous anger caused you to stop doing what is right?
● What simple ways can you love people in need this week?
