Boundary 4: When Wrath Is Righteous

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Ephesians 4:26

How could Jesus react in anger and still be sinless?

Jesus drove out people who were selling goods, animals, and doves in the temple. The dove is a sign of the Holy Spirit (see details here). Merchants were attempting to sell God’s presence and overpriced sacrificial animals. Jesus was angry, he began flipping tables and crack whips (See Mark 11:15-18). He drove all of the merchants out of the temple.

Jesus was both human and God, he experienced the same emotions that we experience, including anger. In the temple, his reaction was justified, merchants were making it more difficult for people to properly honor their relationship with God.

Jesus came so the sin barrier between man and God would be broken once and for all.

What happened in the temple with the merchants mirrored what Jesus spoke out against regarding the Pharisees. They made it difficult for people to go to God.The Pharisees and the merchants attempted to keep the sin barrier in place. Jesus would not allow a misrepresentation of God’s relationship with his people. Jesus was angry that God and his gifts were being treated as merchandise to be purchased. God was being misrepresented and Jesus put a stop to it. 

Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that make people fall into sin are bound to happen, but how terrible for the one who makes them happen! Luke 17:1

Jesus’ wrath was righteous in the temple because God always intended for his people to have a way to reconcile with him when they sinned. In contrast, while on his way to the cross, a display of wrath to keep his abusers at bay was not justified. God’s plan was for Jesus to suffer all of the consequences of our sins, not some of them. Jesus was not called to defend himself he was called to trade his innocence for our guilt.

In scripture, we never see Jesus react out of anger in response to a personal offense, that’s how he made it to the cross while still being sinless. He is the example for us!

 What boundaries can you set to better deal with offense in your everyday life?