Is it a sin to be angry? No, of course not. The Bible clearly teaches that it is okay to be angry, to feel anger, as long as we aren’t quick to anger (Ecclesiastes 7:9, James 1:19) and don’t sin in our anger (Ephesians 4:26). And if I were to ask you for an example in the Bible that proves that it is okay to be angry, a vast majority of you would probably all give me the same example – the story of Jesus cleansing the temple. The story of Jesus storming into the temple, flipping over tables, and chasing the money-changers away.
Though this is a very well-known biblical story, many people do not understand its real meaning. Throughout the years, I’ve heard people justify their own unrighteous anger by saying, “Well, Jesus got angry, too!” And in recent times, I’ve seen many social media posts using this story to justify the violence and rage that spread across the country because “it was all for a good cause.”
We can’t just use this story of Jesus’ anger to justify our actions. We need to take a good look at the account and study the passage in context so that we can unearth its true meaning and apply that true meaning to our lives.
The story of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple can be found in Mark 11-
“And they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And He would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, ‘Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.’ And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy Him, for they feared Him, because all the crowd was astonished at His teaching. And when evening came they went out of the city.” Mark 11:15-19, ESV
To give you some background – the “they” in this passage is referring to Jesus and His 12 disciples. Earlier in the chapter, the author (Mark) writes about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. When He enters the city, Jesus goes into the temple and looks around, but it is late, so He and He disciples go out to Bethany. As they are returning from Bethany to Jerusalem, Jesus seems to get hangry and curses a fig tree when He finds no figs on it. Once they re-enter Jerusalem, Jesus again goes into the temple, and this is when He drives out the sellers and money-changers and overturns tables.
So, what exactly was happening in the temple? It was near the time of Passover, the annual Jewish feast that celebrates God rescuing Israel from slavery in Egypt, and thousands of people were traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate. The area was occupied by the Roman Empire, which meant the people used Roman coins for their currency. But it was Jewish law for men to pay a tribute of Jewish coins in the temple. For the sake of convenience, there was something like a currency exchange booth in the temple so the people could exchange their Roman coins for Jewish coins. But, like any modern currency exchange place, the money-changers demanded a fee. They were getting rich off of penniless Jewish worshippers.[1]
Also, there was a required sacrifice for those entering the temple, but it was not easy to bring sacrificial animals with you on a several-day journey. So, people were selling animals to the travelers for ridiculous amounts of money, again robbing them of the little money they actually possessed.[2]
Of course, this was absolutely wrong to do. The temple was meant to be the house of God, a place of worship and honor and reverence. Instead, it had been turned into an animal market and currency exchange booth. And this angered Jesus. He would not allow His Father’s house to be dishonored and disrespected. So, he chased the people out, quoting Jeremiah 7 and Isaiah 56-
“Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 7:11
“These 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 peoples.” Isaiah 56:7
Some may describe Jesus as being “triggered” in this moment since He seems to so quickly get angry and violent after seeing what was being done in the temple. But this is not the case. If you go back to verse 11 of Mark 11, you’ll notice that Jesus went in and looked around the temple. He observed what was happening in the temple and didn’t say or do anything in the moment. And we know that Jesus did see what was happening by how He acts in the following passage. When He curses the fruitless fig tree, He is not doing so because He was really hungry and in need of food. Jesus’ cursing of the fruitless fig tree was a symbol of the fruitless Jews in Israel who were not giving God the worship, honor, and reverence He deserved and the judgment they would soon encounter.
The truth is that Jesus was not a violent, angry person. He did not allow His human, fleshly emotions consume Him. Israel wanted a militant Messiah who would slay the Romans and restore the Kingdom of Israel, but that’s not who Jesus was. He was humble (Philippians 2:8). He was meek (2 Corinthians 10:1). He was the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). And He clearly cared about the proper worship of God (John 2:16-17).
Darrell B. Harrison posted on Twitter recently-
“I shudder to think what many evangelical social justicians would believe about Jesus had He not turned over the tables… They would have no theology upon which to base their Christology, erroneous as it is, that Jesus was a divine social justice activist.”[3]
We can’t use this one story of Jesus to justify any angry, violent, hateful, or vengeful thoughts or actions. Yes, Jesus got angry, but He didn’t let His anger guide His actions. Instead, His life and ministry was marked by peace, love, and trust in the will of the Father (John 14:27, Matthew 5:44, Luke 22:42). Everything He did was in accordance with God’s plan and God’s commands. Likewise, our lives should be marked by peace, love, and trust in God’s will, not anger or violence. Everything we think and do should be in accordance with God’s plan and commands. And I think we would all do well if we lived out Paul’s teachings in Romans 12-
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:14-21
[1] “How many times did Jesus cleanse the temple?,” GotQuestions.org, accessed July 19, 2020, https://www.gotquestions.org/temple-cleanse.html.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Darrell B. Harrison (@D_B_Harrison), “I shudder to think what many evangelical social justicians would believe about Jesus had He not turned over the tables…,” Twitter, July 9, 2020, https://twitter.com/D_B_Harrison/status/1281251965125554176.
