The Lord Jesus Christ; the embodiment of love, Love manifest in the flesh. But, did Jesus ever get angry? Let's take a look at this.
Mat 21:12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
Mat 21:13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. (see also Mar 11:17, and Luke 1946)
I'd like to have been there when he was giving his mind to the Pharisee's, and turning the temple upside down, turning over the tables and ruining the moneychangers livelihood. It does my heart good to see He was completely man, and completely God, and knew what it was like to come to the end of his rope with people in their wickedness.
Indeed they had become a den of thieves and den of robbers. The language indicates that it was a corrupt and fraudulent traffic, which a corrupt and fraudulent priesthood had permitted to encroach on the worship of God. It is a desecration of religious institutions to use them for worldly gain. Nothing has changed in 2000 years, it is happening today. Religion is a big, profitable business.
Mat 21:12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
Mat 21:13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. (see also Mar 11:17, and Luke 1946)
I'd like to have been there when he was giving his mind to the Pharisee's, and turning the temple upside down, turning over the tables and ruining the moneychangers livelihood. It does my heart good to see He was completely man, and completely God, and knew what it was like to come to the end of his rope with people in their wickedness.
Indeed they had become a den of thieves and den of robbers. The language indicates that it was a corrupt and fraudulent traffic, which a corrupt and fraudulent priesthood had permitted to encroach on the worship of God. It is a desecration of religious institutions to use them for worldly gain. Nothing has changed in 2000 years, it is happening today. Religion is a big, profitable business.
I recommend reading the entire chapter of Matthew 23; because there you see Jesus as you will probably never be told of him in any church today. But, here is a small portion:
Mat 23:29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
Mat 23:30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
Mat 23:31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
Mat 23:32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
Mat 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
He calls them exactly what they are, a brood of vipers, full of venom, deadly as serpents, treacherous as the lurking snake. So John had called them nearly four years before (Mat_3:7).
The same critics who had found fault in the preceding chapter were standing there now, they never ceased to dog him, to catch him in some discretion. There was also present, a man whose right hand was withered, and they watched to see whether the Lord would heal him on the Sabbath.
Mar 3:1 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.
Mar 3:2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
Mar 3:3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
Mar 3:4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
Mar 3:5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
As I study these verses, I then go to Jesus' specific teaching on what to do when we get angry; because everyone does, just as he did when he was here. When teaching the people on the Sermon on the Mount-He taught them how to pray, and spoke these words:
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
This clear teaching, is consistent throughout the New Testament Scriptures, and the foundation of all biblical teaching.
Again, Paul's admonition by the Holy Spirit in Ephesians simple; be angry but do not sin, and forgive.
Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Eph 4:27 Neither give place to the devil.
Eph 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
He didn't say it would be easy, but it is his command to us. He doesn't tell me to condone what was done, or like it, or pretend to be friends with those who have done the wrong. I am told to forgive, and let God take care of it. He will, in His time. He holds the balances in His hands, and I know from years of experience that He is just and righteous in all His ways. I can trust God to take care of me. You can also.
Rom 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Forgiveness sets the one offended free, and keeps the door of fellowship with God open. Nothing anyone can do to me, is worth losing the connection with the Lord that is so vital in everyday living.
Forgiveness is a choice, and the best one, always.
Lorna Couillard
Mat 23:29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
Mat 23:30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
Mat 23:31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
Mat 23:32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
Mat 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
He calls them exactly what they are, a brood of vipers, full of venom, deadly as serpents, treacherous as the lurking snake. So John had called them nearly four years before (Mat_3:7).
The same critics who had found fault in the preceding chapter were standing there now, they never ceased to dog him, to catch him in some discretion. There was also present, a man whose right hand was withered, and they watched to see whether the Lord would heal him on the Sabbath.
Mar 3:1 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.
Mar 3:2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
Mar 3:3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
Mar 3:4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
Mar 3:5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
As I study these verses, I then go to Jesus' specific teaching on what to do when we get angry; because everyone does, just as he did when he was here. When teaching the people on the Sermon on the Mount-He taught them how to pray, and spoke these words:
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
This clear teaching, is consistent throughout the New Testament Scriptures, and the foundation of all biblical teaching.
Again, Paul's admonition by the Holy Spirit in Ephesians simple; be angry but do not sin, and forgive.
Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Eph 4:27 Neither give place to the devil.
Eph 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
He didn't say it would be easy, but it is his command to us. He doesn't tell me to condone what was done, or like it, or pretend to be friends with those who have done the wrong. I am told to forgive, and let God take care of it. He will, in His time. He holds the balances in His hands, and I know from years of experience that He is just and righteous in all His ways. I can trust God to take care of me. You can also.
Rom 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Forgiveness sets the one offended free, and keeps the door of fellowship with God open. Nothing anyone can do to me, is worth losing the connection with the Lord that is so vital in everyday living.
Forgiveness is a choice, and the best one, always.
Lorna Couillard