“And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up,” John 2:14-17.
Has anyone ever told you as a believer that getting angry is “not of God?” Or how about being told that you’re “in the flesh” when you confront something? Well, we all know that Jesus was tempted in all points just as we are in our day to day walk, but was without sin and yet we see him here acting out of His usual character. So, did Jesus lose control over the situation? Certainly not! Allow me to explain. Have you ever been ministering to someone about the Lord, about His love for them, and His plan of salvation? You’re so close to converting them to Christ, when someone who claims to be a believer comes and confuses them with a bad perspective of the church and why they feel you don’t have to actually go to church to be a believer. Anyway, it confuses them so much that they decide not to come. That feeling you feel towards the situation is somewhat like anger. What about when you spot a wolf in sheep’s clothing, preying on either new or weak-in-their-faith believers, misleading them away from the purity and integrity of the gospel, taking advantage for their own selfish gain? There’s that same feeling of what’s right is right, and what’s wrong is wrong, and the question you’re dying to ask is, “why would they do something like that?” Kind of like how we feel sometimes towards injustice. That’s called holy anger or zeal, which is being passionate about righteousness, being uncompromising to sin, and standing up for what’s right. Was it right for the people to be selling animals in the Temple so that people can have something to give to God as an offering? Or, how about turning the house of God into a circus for their own profit? So if Jesus did get a little angry at what was going on, it was because it was wrong and He wasn’t just going to walk on by, being passive and act as though He didn’t see it. There are going to be situations that arise when your holy anger will surface and will cause you to confront and correct something wrong that’s going on before your eyes, what will you do? “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,” says Ephesians 4:26. Don’t get me wrong, anger can be blinding and can cause you to act out of control and eventually end up committing sin, so we must be cautious how we deal with it. Let’s see how Jesus dealt with it another time when He got angry.
“And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.” Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other,” Mark 3:1-5. In this case, Jesus just kept doing what was right and what His Father had permitted Him to do. People will confuse your zeal and passion for God with many things. They will talk behind your back, make fun of you, distance themselves from you, and treat you harshly, for if they did it to Jesus they will do it to you. As long as you’re standing for righteousness, and being in right standing with God, then just keep on marching. My pastor always says that there’s a time to keep quiet and don’t say anything, and there’s a time when God tells you to speak on something and you will roar like a lion. “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord,” Romans 12:11 NIV. I leave you with this word from the great Winston Churchill, “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”