Gettin’ Mad!

I had the experience, once upon a not-so-long-time ago, where someone shared testimony with me about a terrible fight they had experienced with a loved one. In the heat of the spat, the woman says “Do you really think God would want us to react with this much anger?” to which was given the response, “Yea, well guess what? Jesus flipped tables when He got mad!” The woman went quiet realizing this was indeed true… but what felt so red flag about this comparison of the current angry words to Jesus’ reaction in the temple? As always, let’s take a hard look at some scripture to get the whole story from the Lord’s side then we can measure up the excuses we make toward any angry outbursts against that. Okey dokey? Let’s go to the gospels!

“And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes, have you never read, “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.” Matthew 21:12-17

“They came to Jerusalem, and He entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for the feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came they went out of the city.” Mark 11:15-10

“And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.” Luke 19:45-48

“The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you will raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word the Jesus had spoken.” John 2:13-22

Here we have four eye-witnesses to this scene in history. What stands out to me are the following:

The temple belongs to Jesus.
Jesus sets the rules for HIS house.
God had made those rules clear.
Ain’t NOBODY trashin’ THIS house!
Jesus, according to John, took the time to fashion together cords to use for driving out those who were misusing His house. This is a slow, prayerfully considered response.
Jesus is God. The temple is His house. The Word is His Word. God gave all authority to Jesus.
Jesus was driving out sin from a holy place.

So what does it look like when we get angry? What happens? This varies from person to person but the following is a general idea of what that could look like:

Sharp words
Emotional reactions
Silent treatments
Broken relationships
Stress/anxiety
Fight or flight-survival response
Increased focus on self: pride OR insecurity
Destruction to property
Destruction to self
Destruction to other people through any means of harmful words or behaviors
Abuse

This is certainly an inconclusive list of varying extremes but you get it. Human beings are usually stupid when we get angry.

So what can we gather by comparing human anger to Jesus anger?

Jesus turning tables and driving out sin was a righteous response to an actual injustice to the Kingdom of God, His kingdom, that resulted in the continuation of ministry and brought a response of christian unity and worship to and from believers of all generations. God receives all glory!

Human anger acted upon is, generally speaking, an emotional reaction to a perceived injustice to the kingdom of self and seeks to yield self-gratification and self-glorification resulting in no ministry, no healing, no worship and certainly no unity among the body of believers regardless of the initial spiritual status of the upset being.

We are not God and sadly, that doesn’t always sit well with mankind. I’ll be sure to acknowledge a few points that I left in the “gray area”.
1. If you are in any form of abusive situation be it physical abuse from another, physical self-abuse (alcohol, self-harm, disordered eating, etc) I implore you to seek help immediately!

2. There is a righteous anger to be achieved from man and woman. It is when you see these actual injustices to the kingdom of God being carried out and it pains you. Our responses to that will vary based on heavy prayer and guidance from the Lord as to how we intentionally respond. Maybe you go on missions. Maybe you are part of law enforcement teams that bring stout halts to the sickening world of slavery and trafficking. Perhaps you give generously to ministries that aid the recovery of victims of abuse or any undesirable circumstances. Let me say this one in caps: YOU VOTE FOR HONORABLE LEADERS. Maybe you foster, adopt or support a family who does. Perhaps you raise awareness, build and equip teams of able people to go and do all of these things and more.

3. We are broken and sinful people. Even as believers we often fall short. Among the beautiful gifts that comes with a relationship with Jesus is the ability to confess, ask and offer forgiveness, repent and walk forward together in the peace of God that transcends all understanding (see Philippians 4). Jesus initiated our rescue. We, in obedience to live by His example, can initiate forgiveness and healing among our own disrupted relationships. Not all relationships can be mended to a point of linking arms in life but we can release others from the bondage of anger where we have held them. This is one of those resurrection power plays! It may be a daily commitment more than a fuzzy feeling but it is worth it for everyone to break those chains. The Lord will help you every step of the way!

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33