Our Gospel is John 2:13-22, taken today from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB).
The Jewish Passover was near, and so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and he also found the money changers sitting there. After making a whip out of cords, he drove everyone out of the temple with their sheep and oxen. He also poured out the money changers’ coins and overturned the tables. He told those who were selling doves, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” And his disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal for your house will consume me. So the Jews replied to him, “What sign will you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days.” Therefore the Jews said, “This temple took forty-six years to build, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. So when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the statement Jesus had made.
Did Jesus actually get angry? He was a human just like us so He experienced every emotion that we feel. The difference is that He didn’t sin in His anger as we often do.
The apostle Paul wrote “be angry but do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26) to warn us that what we do with our anger is the issue. It is when our anger leads us to seek retribution rather than justice that we hurt others and damage our relationship with God. Emotional decisions are often poor choices because we don’t consider the consequences.
Jesus cleared the temple to prevent further dishonor to God’s holy place, not to harm anyone. He wanted them to understand that those activities would distract people from the true worship that was intended there. Our connection to God and each other is the most important part of our human existence and a necessary part of our hope for eternal life through Christ.
Gracious God, help us to use our emotions as You intend, to lead us to correct action and not into sin. May we be energetic in our praise and thanks, and in our work for the kingdom. Amen.