Angry like Jesus

March 7, 2021 

Do any of you know someone right now who is a little bit angry? It’s kind of crazy, the past year has been such a stressful year for our country. Are you dealing with feelings of anger? I know I get angry sometimes. What are we supposed to do with these feelings of anger?  

When you think of Jesus, you often think of Him being loving and compassionate and full of forgiveness. Jesus also got angry, but when he did, he got angry in a way that honored God. So today we’re learning what it is to be “Angry like Jesus.” 

This can be a tough subject. So, I want you to try something kind of fun. Let’s just smile. If you’re online, maybe go for the laugh emoji, or a smile emoji. Let’s even let out a laugh! We can smile and laugh, there are still a lot of reasons to find joy.  

Is it a sin to be angry? Is God angry at me if I’m angry? Well, Jesus got angry on occasion, so it’s not a sin to be angry. The issue is that anger can very quickly lead to destructive sin. But we learn from Scripture, the book of Ephesians, that it is actually not a sin to be angry: 

Ephesians 4:26 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.” Foothold means don’t give the devil room. The Scripture is saying, you can be angry and not sin. Or you can be angry and sin. You can give your anger free rein and give the devil lots of space and opportunity when you’re angry. Or, you can be angry, without letting it take over your life, and without letting it lead you away from what God intends. 

Today our gospel reading is from John. He tells the story of Jesus going to the temple in Jerusalem. ¹⁴In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵So 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. ¹⁶To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 

Jesus was angry! He did something out of the ordinary for Jesus. He let a whip fly at sheep and cattle! And he overturned tables and scattered coins! 

Now I admit I kind of wish Jesus didn’t do that. Because it sounds like you can let your anger fly and throw some tables over. That’s what Jesus did. But I want you to recognize that Jesus was not characterized by his anger. This was not the fourth time that week that Jesus turned over tables. No, Jesus was known for his love, not his anger.  

When you think about Jesus, I hope you think about how he loved the outcasts and touched the leper and forgave the sinners. Today my goal is not to inspire you to go home and turn over the kitchen table, look your spouse in the eye and say, “That’ll teach you to criticize my driving!” No, when we’re angry, we don’t want to sin. Jesus teaches us, our goal isn’t to be right, it’s to be loving. 

So, what was Jesus doing, with a whip and overturning tables in the temple? Well, the temple was a place for God, a place for spiritual preparation. But people were focused on buying and selling, it was more focused on wealth than on prayer. Jesus was angry, because he cared about how people related to God. So, he hustled the buyers and sellers out of the temple courts, so worshippers could come to the temple and focus on God. 

Jesus can teach us how to be angry in a way that does honor God. That time in the temple was maybe his angriest moment. But Jesus was not offended at what somebody said about Him or did to Him. Here in the temple his heart was breaking over the mistreatment of others. 

Do you think Jesus was every betrayed? Well yes, he was betrayed and that’s how he was arrested and crucified. Do you think anybody hated Jesus? Yes, there were religious leaders and probably political leaders who wanted to get him killed. Jesus might argue with them, but he wouldn’t fight them. He said, “Those who live by the sword die by the sword.” Jesus forgave everybody involved in crucifying him as he hung on the cross. It’s incredible that Jesus didn’t have anger about what might happen to himself.  

What is it that makes you angry these days? Where are you carrying a grudge? Where is it that you’re easily agitated? Now when someone hurts you, let’s say they lie about you, they mistreat you, they gossip about you, it’s a natural response to get angry.  

It is natural to get angry. The good news is that we’re not just bound to a natural world, but we follow a supernatural God who invites us to something that goes beyond that. We’re invited to respond in a supernatural way. Jesus teaches us, our goal isn’t to be right, it’s to be loving. Which is tricky, because whenever we feel strongly about something it’s easy to think, I am righteously angry. But just because we feel strongly about something doesn’t necessarily mean we’re right. 

We can call on God for the strength to be loving when we’re angry. 

So why did God give us anger? What is that tricky emotion doing in our hearts? Well, Jesus at the temple shows us that there is righteous anger that we can have, where it’s about love for other people.  

And we can each have different injustices we care about. I may fight for something different from you. Someone might fight for recycling, and someone else fight against sex trafficking. You might fight against racism. Or you might fight for veterans. Another person fights for people with a substance use problem. And some might fight for polar bears. If you wake up every morning thinking about polar bears, fight for them! But don’t be angry at me if I don’t. God gives us different callings, but it’s a version of the same thing: we’re called to use our anger to be loving and build God’s kingdom. We live in a very divided world, but God calls us to be a united church. 

My homework for you this week is to memorize the first part of Ephesians 4:26: “In your anger do not sin.” 

Anger is a gift from God, with a warning attached, that warning is “In your anger do not sin.” When we take our anger in a loving direction, we can make this world a better place. So, let’s get angry like Jesus. Let’s not be characterized by anger, instead let’s be characterized by love.  Amen.