On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there.  He overturned tables of the money changers, and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.  And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’?  But you have made it a den of robbers.                                          The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.  Mark 11:15-18 NIV

When my grandmother was really angry she used to say that she was “fit to be tied”.  Now I am sure that  you have heard this term before, but if you have not allow me to explain.  When someone says they are fit to be tied, it usually implies that they are furious or enraged.  It indicates that their anger has reached a level requiring physical restraint.

Now our scripture passage today is one of the very few passages where Jesus physically demonstrates his anger.  Now just prior to this he came upon a fig tree that was bearing no fruit and cursed the tree so that it would never bear fruit again.

Sometimes we like to think about God as a loving, merciful, caring God that would never get angry with us.  Well, he is loving, caring, and merciful, but he can be provoked to anger.  As Christians we are supposed to bear fruit meaning that we are supposed to be witnesses for Jesus Christ and bring others to Christ.  So we are just like that fig tree, we are supposed to bear fruit and I am guessing that if we sit around being lazy and useless that this will anger God also.  But what really angered God was these people using His Father’s house not only as a marketplace but as a marketplace where they were basically robbing the people with the prices.

Now let’s look at how he handled his anger.  First and foremost he turned over the tables and benches and refused to let them carry merchandise through the doors.  So Jesus let them know for sure that he was not pleased with what they were doing.  Did he sin while he was angry?  Well let’s look at the scripture.  It doesn’t say that he took God’s name in vain.  It doesn’t say that he physically harmed anyone.  It doesn’t say that he destroyed any property. It doesn’t say that he plotted evil revenge against any of them.  So, no He did not sin while He was angry. Of course we already knew the answer to that question because we know that Jesus never sinned.

Anger is an emotion that we all experience from time to time.  Anger is not a sin, it’s what we do with that anger that gets us into trouble.  Psalm 37:8 tells us to “Refrain from anger, and  forsake wrath!  Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil”.  James 1:20 says “For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”  Ephesians 4:26-27,  “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.”  Some versions say do not give the devil a foothold and this is the biggest problem with anger, it gives the devil a foothold.  As Christians, we must constantly guard ourselves against anything that might allow the devil to slip through any tiny crack in our foundation.  Once the devil gets in, he takes over more and more areas of our life and before you know what has happened, he has complete control.

Now we all get angry, it’s what we do with it that makes the difference.  It has taken me quite some time to learn this, but one thing I have tried to do is stay in God’s word.  Proverbs 16:32 says “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”  There are several verses about being slow to anger.  So first and foremost, pick your battles.  Don’t fly off the handle at every little thing.  Now some of you are reading this and whining about how you just can’t help it.  Phillipians 4:13 says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”.  So call on God’s strength to help you when you find yourself getting “fit to be tied”.  Trust God to help you to control your anger.  Pray to Him to help you to not sin while you are angry.  I have done this when I have found myself getting angry and let me tell you it works!

Just as we see in the scripture, anger is sometimes appropriate.  If Jesus had calmly walked in and began a teaching, I doubt anyone would have even noticed that he was there.  But start turning over tables and not allowing people to go through the doors and they tend to notice you.  If you are in a position where you are going to have to express your anger. Take just a second to pray for God to lead you and give you the words to say.  He will help to keep you from falling into sin even though you are angry.  I have found when I lash out in anger, it is much less effective than when I let God control what I do and say.

Now once Jesus regained control in the temple, He did not just walk out shaking his head.  No, he stopped and taught them, which was what he came there to do.  I have started out to do something and gotten so angry that I failed to accomplish what I started to do.  Jesus expressed his anger, stopped what was being done, and then sat down and taught them.  He took time to remind them that it was written that His fathers house should be a place of prayer.  He warned them that they had turned it into a den of robbers.  He calmly explained to them what the problems was, after he had gotten their attention.  Our scripture passage ends by telling us the crowd was amazed.  It didn’t say that they were offended.  It didn’t say they all left mad.  It said they were amazed.  Jesus showed his anger, but then He took time to tell them why He had become angry.  Like a good father, He disciplined His children and then sat them down and explained why they shouldn’t do that.  He got their attention.

Anger our way does not produce good results, it usually just leads to more trouble.  What’s even worse is that it generally pleases the devil and allows him to step into our lives.  Anger handled God’s way can diffuse the situation.

At some point we all get angry.  Learn to handle your anger in a Godly way.  This can be done through Bible reading and prayer.  You will be amazed at the results!

Have a great day!