You Will Like Me When I’m Angry
Our Bible study this year recalls the details of the days leading up to the
trial, death and resurrection of Jesus. In meditating upon His sacrifice for
us in this “thoughtful hour”, we pray that you will sense your connection
with all of heaven. Feel free to post your thoughts and reactions to things
you have read and experienced in the study, #messagemag. Above all, it is our
prayer that you get to know Jesus and experience His life-changing power for
yourself.
The Experience
The Experience Study
I loved watching the popular television show, “The Incredible Hulk.” The mild
mannered Dr. David Banner has a condition that causes him to change into a
huge, menacing, green, rampaging character—the Hulk. The Hulk would then go
about righting wrongs and dishing out vigilante justice.
One line Banner would use to caution people who took his calm demeanor as a
license to take advantage of him was, “You don’t want to make me angry. You
won’t like me when I’m angry.”
As I read Matthew 21:12, I see a different side of Jesus than the one we are
accustomed to seeing. The verse says: “Then Jesus went into the temple of God
and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the
tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.”
This is not the “gentle Jesus meek and mild” that some of us recited in our
prayers as children. This Jesus is turning over tables and chasing people
out, and breaking up stuff. Tables flying everywhere. People clearing out.
This is not a polite display of asking permission. Jesus acts first and talks
later.
This Jesus seems angry. Why?
Jesus? Angry?
The reason Jesus seems angry is because
Jesus is angry. I know the picture we
sometimes cling to is that of the Savior who
was void of human emotions, such as anger.
This passage indicates that there is nothing
wrong with anger; Jesus was angry. There is
nothing wrong with being angry about the
right things, and in the right way.
So what was Jesus angry about? Well we do
not have to guess. He tells us in verse 13:
“And He said to them, ‘It is written, My
house shall be called a house of prayer,’
but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”
Jesus quoted a popular verse that day from
Isaiah 56:7 with which they were familiar.
He said, essentially, you have taken this
place that was intended for one thing and turned it into another. A place
that should have been a house of prayer has become a den of thieves.
In a poignant and powerful symbol to address sin, God established a system
that required the sacrifice of an animal. For those who did not have such an
animal, well, they were conveniently sold on the premises. And, as with any
system that is created, we human beings have the potential to corrupt it and
use it for our benefit.
Recognizing they had a captive audience, the animal brokers by the temple
gate jacked up the prices. Because of this, poorer folks could not afford to
buy the animals so they were kept away from the temple. They were kept away
from the house of God. They were kept away from the place where the grace of
God was being ministered.
Isaiah 56:7, 8, the passage Jesus cited, helps us see the power of what made
Him so angry.
“Even them I will bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be accepted on My altar;
For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
‘Yet I will gather to him
Others besides those who are gathered to him.”
All
The word that sticks out is all! God’s house was to be a house of prayer, and
it was to be for all people. No one was to be excluded because of anything
they did not have or even their ethnic group or disabilities. And Jesus got
angry because people were being denied access to God. I think He still gets
angry when people are denied access to God because of socio-economic reasons
or their disabilities, or even their hang-ups and issues.
Jesus was so angry about what was happening in the temple that day that He
did something about it. He cleared out the system standing in the way. And
the next verses show the results. It says “Then the blind and the lame came
to Him in the temple, and He healed them.”
Wait, Jesus just flexes his muscle and throws His weight around and the blind
and lame come to Him? They are not afraid of Him? Even the children sing
Hosanna in the temple and are drawn to Him. They are joyful because finally
they had access to the temple to be able to connect with God in a way that
they could not before. And they loved this Jesus who got angry, because He
did something about the things that kept them away from God.
I am glad that Jesus saw another system keeping us away from God. It was one
that we brought on ourselves as humans. One called sin. And He came down to
earth and did something about it. He took it on, head on. He took it on and
destroyed the system that kept us out from the grace of God. But it cost Him
His life to do it.
Today Jesus will not let anything or anyone keep you away from Him. Anything
that tries to, He gets angry about it and does something about it. And you
will love Him for it.
KYMONE HINDS, his wife, and their three energetic children live in Memphis,
Tennessee. He pastors the Overton Park and Journey Fellowship Seventh-day
Adventist churches. He also speaks and blogs regularly on different life
issues. You can connect with Kymone via twitter@kymonehinds, or on his blog
at comejourney.org.
TOO GOOD FOR GOD
What does Jesus want out of our relationship with Him? Love? Commitment?
Service? I’m sure you have wondered if your relationship with Jesus is what
it should and could be. Do I pray and have devotion enough? Am I in my Bible
the way I should be? We’ve all had those questions. I wish to submit to you
that unknowingly we are trying to be too good for God.
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Day 1 - Read Mark 11:7-11
Many of us know what it’s like to have someone smile in our face one moment
only to stab us in the back the next. What do you think is going through
Jesus’ mind as He is entering into Jerusalem? We want to know your thoughts
here at Message. Share on Social Media using the #MessageMag.
Day 2 - Read Mark 11:12-14
Have you ever experienced God do something that didn’t make sense. Why would
Jesus curse the fig tree that was out of season? What has God allowed to
happen to you that you have felt has been out of season? Share it with us on
social media using the #MessageMag.
Day 3 - Read Mark 11:13
Notice that the Bible says the fig tree was in leaf. When a fig tree is in
leaf it is supposed to have fruit. Therefore this fig tree looked like it was
being fruitful but was just putting on a show. Is it possible to look like
you have everything together and really be nothing but show? Do you know
anyone like that? Are you like that? Don’t share it with us. In your time
with God I invite you to pray about the places in your life that may just be
show.
Day 4 - Read Luke 7:40-46
There is another side to the coin. Some people see it as disruptive when
other people go after God in the way they feel inspired to. This is how Simon
responded. Because the woman went to Jesus in a way in which he and others
did not approve, he spoke condescendingly about her. Be honest now: Can you
think of a time when you were being a Pharisee, looking down on someone for
something you did not like? Share it with us using the #messagemag.
Listen
In preparation for the next section I invite you to listen to “Intercession”
by Kirk Franklin. Allow your mind to drift to your need for Christ.
Day 5 - Read Mark 11:15-17
Jesus seems to be out of character in this portion of the Bible. Irate and
enraged is the Lamb of God who is usually meek and mild. What caused Him to
act this way? If we pay close attention to the personality of Jesus, nothing
sets Him off more than people being mistreated. The church had gotten so bad
that the place used to connect with God is now being used to take people’s
money and resources. The thing is, aren’t we supposed to help people connect
with God, but sometimes we drain or get drained by people who were supposed
to help us get closer to Him? Have you experienced this? Tell us about it on
social media using the #MessageMag
Day 6 - Read Mark 11:19-20
I once thought the stories of the fig tree and Jesus flipping tables were
disconnected. But when I took into account the detail of the tree having
withered from the roots I realized Jesus was being very intentional with His
perceived discontent. God is turned off by those who act like they’re
connected when they are nothing but show. The fig tree didn’t have fruit
because the roots weren’t connected to anything of substance. Jesus kicked
the people out the temple because they were hindering connection to God. Take
time to evaluate your connection to God and if your life facilitates other
people making connection to God.
Day 7 - Read Mark 11:22-26
Jesus is simply emphasizing prayer. Some of us are so focused on acting right
and behaving correctly that we neglect our connection to God that truly makes
us productive. Let us be mindful and prayerful that we don’t focus on acting
so good that we are too good for God and the people He’s truly trying to
connect with.
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Rashad Burden is the pastor of the Shiloh Seventh-day
Adventist Church in Ozark, Alabama. He also pastors the Mt. Olive Seventh-day
Adventist Church in Dothan, Alabama.