Father, time and time again I speak of praises for all that You do. I feel that I am just repeating myself in my very finite mind, but I realize, too, that if with every breath I praised You, my whole life would be inadequate to truly do You justice!
John 2:13-17 (<<click here to read the passage)
Anger. Some of us struggle with it on occasion while the struggle of others is the fact that it is only occasionally that they are not angry!
Admittedly, I battle anger. Knowing my family, I would say, honestly, that we most definitely have a propensity toward anger. For me, at least, it’s just sort of there laying beneath the surface. I can usually keep it pushed down in public, but like a pressure cooker at some point, the steam needs to blow! Unfortunately, it too often happens when I am around people closest to me. It may be directed at them but they can also be caught in the crossfire when my anger is directed at someone else or circumstances outside of my control.
It is an ongoing point of prayer. I realize I am not the only one who goes through this but I’m not responsible for dealing with the anger of others, but I am responsible for dealing with my anger!
An honest question is, “Is it always wrong to be angry?”
The honest answer to that question is, “No.”
Looking at today’s passage, we can best describe the emotion that Jesus is exuding as anger. Verses 15 and 16 paint a pretty vivid picture.
Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” NLT (emphasis mine)
We can all claim that we have reason to be angry, but can we legitimately do so? There may be times when that is the case but usually our anger is set off by some obscure infraction. Often it is simply the proverbial last straw breaking the camel’s back.
But looking at Jesus’ actions, His response to these grievous infractions was totally legitimate! We’re not talking about Him getting His toes stepped on or His ego bruised. The scene described involved the Temple – His Father’s house literally turned into a marketplace!
In comparing this passage with others found in the Gospel, scholars hold that this was taking place not just in the area surrounding the Temple but in the Temple itself – specifically in the Court of the Gentiles. If you weren’t a Jew but had been drawn to a relationship with the One True God, that was the only place you could go to worship. How in the world would you worship in those conditions?
If you’ve ever been around cows and sheep you quickly realize that they can be…let’s say, a bit messy! Not to mention noisy! And they wouldn’t have been the only source of noise. I doubt the merchants were quietly selling their wares. They were probably shouting to get everyone’s attention. More than likely, unless you were deaf, and your nose was plugged, worship wasn’t going to happen!
And you can guarantee that the merchants were price gouging – high prices for merchandise and of course you couldn’t use your money, you had to exchange it for money acceptable to the Temple treasuries!
Now that would be a reason to be legitimately angered…and Jesus was!
I sure don’t have all the answers, but I do know the best place to start in finding those answers…our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Lord Jesus, help us…help me. Help us all to deal with anger. May we address the unjustified anger we fight against, but may we also be forthcoming in exuding justified anger as did You. Amen.
Mar 25th, 2021, Thurs, 7:45 pm
