11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. ...
[the next morning] 15 And 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. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 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.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of the city.
[the next morning] 15 And 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. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 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.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of the city.
Matt. 21:11-13
12 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. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
Luke 19:45-46
45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”
- What evidence is there in these passages that Jesus was angry when he cleared the temple?
- How many times had Jesus been to the temple prior to this?
- Why was it too late in the Mark passage?
- If Jesus was angry at what he saw in the Mark passage, did he sin by letting the sun go down (Eph 4:26)?
- If Jesus' actions in the temple were expressions of anger, was it a fit of anger/rage?
- What does Mark say Jesus was doing while he was physically disrupting things?
- Why do we want this to be an angry moment for Jesus?
As humans we seem to want Jesus to be angry, throwing things a round, and yelling fury. These three passages do not state Jesus was angry. They indicate a person with a job to do. Drill sergeants yell at their trainees but most are not really angry; they are doing a job. Did Jesus as the son of God have a right to be angry at what he saw? Absolutely. But how many times had he seen this and done nothing? (The other temple cleansing tomorrow.) If this were an annual event, why were the people astonished? In the three or so years that Jesus was teaching, there were many opportunities for Jesus to be angry with the religious leaders of the day. Only once does God's Word state Jesus became angry, and this event is not it. (Day after tomorrow) I do not believe that we can truthfully use these three passages to excuse our angry actions.
2 comments:
On these occassions cited, I feel that Jesus was angered BUT DID NOT SIN. I think Christians too can be angered and not sin. One does not overturn tables through a joyous action with a smaile on your face. I agree the passage does not say Jesus became angry, but the emotional content of this passage certainly indicates a righteous anger. As humans, we are created with emotions and one of these emotions is anger. I do not believe God created us with this ability and then said we should not use it. I am angered by what I see and hear in public and through the TV. I don't feel my anger with these occassions have caused me to sin. I think Christians can and should display righteous indignation. I also must confess that I am confused with this topic of anger and I can also lean the other way. At the present, this is where I am.
It is very important to understand that anger is an emotion built in by God. Our actions are were the problem shows. I will allow that God's wrath is always righteous and his wrath caused physical harm to the Israelites. Nowhere in the NT is there any indication that a Christian has the right to violence. We want this and tomorrow's passage to allow us some leeway on violence. I'm still not convinced that Jesus was angry here. I think we project our feelings onto him, but the coming back the next morning when he can make his point is more calculated than emotional. I agree that we have tolerated stuff in our world, but interestingly the only way Jesus, Peter, Paul, etc addressed sin was in the lives of Christians, not in the lives of non-Christians. Make disciples, baptize, teach to obey. Man's anger is not God's righteousness. Not even mine, as much as I like it.
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