Day 5
John 2:12-25
12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.
Did you know that Jesus got mad and expressed anger? Of course you did. Everyone knows this passage and uses it as a justification for "righteous anger" in their lives. Lately we've seen it used to justify anger at the democrats for "stealing the election", the forced use of masks, vaccinations, and joining the World Health Organization. We've seen it used in association with gender neutral bathrooms and we have seen it used right back at the groups who are standing for and against everything I've just mentioned. I think it is important to look at what angers Jesus so we don't get off base.
In my previous post I discussed the Amazon Prime movie/documentary of The Jonas Brothers entitled "Chasing Happiness". I alluded to something that happened that was a crisis situation and a watershed moment in their life that precipitated their leaving the church, their fellowship, their youth group, their purity rings, their faith and I believe their happiness. Their dad, who was pastor of an Assembly of God Church, was fired because his kids became a secular band singing about love, girls, and relationships. They were kicked out of the parsonage and were basically homeless except for a kind police chief let them live for free in a very small house. All the Dad's money had been put into the boys' band so they were broke too. All this done by "religious" people. Can I just say, this is what got Jesus angry?
As people came to worship God at the temple over Passover, the religious leaders had turned it into a money making scam. Everyone saw it and I'm sure many were turned away from worshipping God because of it. Not only that but the "market" was set up in the Court of the Gentiles, the only place where Gentiles were allowed to worship, effectively keeping them from worship. In other passages, Jesus angrily called the Pharisees blind guides leading people into destruction and accused them of putting yokes of religion on people so heavy that it kept them from Heaven. He said that it would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their neck and thrown into the sea than to lead someone away from God. This is what got Jesus angry! Isn't it interesting that He isn't getting angry at the sinners who sin - what do you expect them to do?- but at "religious" people keeping unbelievers from coming to God.
Are you guilty of that? I hope you/me are living a life of grace, humility, and love that is drawing people to Christ rather than repelling them. This is a challenging yet opportunistic time to do this. Are you making Jesus smile or frown?
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