Matthew 21

  • Today’s emotion...anger
  • Hard one for me….Therapy help me recognize sometime anger FITS THE FACTS...to deny anger prevents healing
  • Sin to be ANGRY?—NO—Being ANGRY isn’t a sin!
  • Quickly lead destructive sinful behavior—Agree?
  • Lots sinning happens because people feel angry!
  • 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. Eph 4:26
  • Does NOT say...don’t feel anger, but don’t sin when angry and don’t be angry for a long time
  • Ever meet someone who is just ANGRY (Office Angela - “is good at holding grudges, that they had a disagreement 16 years ago, but doesn’t remember what it was about and that they don’t talk anymore”)
  • Anger...
    • How would you define this emotion?
    • “a strong feeling of displeasure and usually of opposition toward someone or something can sometimes to physical symptoms (ex. Headache. digestion problems, insomnia, increased anxiety/depression, high blood pressure, skin problems, heart attack)”
    • Anger is referred to as one of the base/primal emotions
    • It is an ESSENTIAL emotion, similar to anxiety it should lead us to action
    • Outward actions and/or inward actions…
    • HOW do we make sure those actions are not sinful

Well...itmight be helpful to know. Someone else went through anger...guesses?

Yep...Jesus

Matthew 2112Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying andsellingthere. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benchesof those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My housewill be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a denof robbers.’”14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healedthem.

  • Jesus was….ANGRY
    • Some commentators believe this is the SECOND time Jesus kicks money changers out of the temple (First time in John 2 after water to wine miracle)
    • Jesus feels strong feeling of displeasure here doesn’t he?
    • Seems out of place...what emotion do we associate most with Jesus?
    • LOVE AND COMPASSION
    • Loved outcasts—Touched lepers—Forgave sinners

AREYOU KNOW FOR YOUR ANGER OR YOUR LOVE AND COMPASSION?

    • Jesus feels angry here though…
    • Why? There is one other time Jesus felt angry that we have recorded in scripture...any guesses? (Phyllis knows)
    • 13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16)
    • What do these two passages (temple, children) hove in common?
    • People are drawing LINES to KEEP PEOPLE FROM GOD
    • Disciples – drew the age line...too young to be with Jesus
    • Money Changers – drew financial status line...too poor to offer proper sacrifice
    • (NOTE: God had made provisions so that ALL could afford to worship...if you could not afford a lamb, bring a couple birds. The birds should have cost like 4pence, outside of the temple you could get them for that cheap...inside the temple some theorized the price had jumped to 75pence for “the right doves”)
  • 1. Get ANGRY when….
    • Jesus got angry when LINES WERE DRAWN
    • He got angry at the hypocrisy and the mistreatment of people
    • When we seen lines being drawn...we should get ANGRY...do we?
      • Or do we draw them…
      • Too young
      • Wrong sexual orientation
      • Incorrect political party
      • Bad social status
      • Not the right skin color
      • Do we make Jesus ANGRY? Because of our mistreatment of others...because we put up lines that prevent them from seeing God
  • When NOT TO GET ANGRY
    • Jesus did not get angry when
      • betrayed and denied
      • questioned and taken advantage of
      • made fun of or rejected
    • Natural to feel angry when these things happen to us...but already know what we are to do in these scenarios
    • Hold on to the anger for 16 years?
    • keep track of it and bring it up constantly?
    • Forgive us our sins as we _____ forgive those who sin against us
    • Not focus of this sermon, I’ve preached on this before. Forgive because God commands it, they don’t deserve it, it frees YOU
    • Jesus got angry when he saw these lines, this hypocrisy and mistreatment of people trying to get to God…
    • Some call it righteous anger...this is When we are to feel angry as well

Sothen when we feel this anger...what do we do? (ask me)

SLIDERead Matthew 21:12 Jesusentered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and sellingthere. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benchesof those selling doves.

  • 2. Jesus flipped tables
    • Ahh okay...so anger means go turn over a table...NO
    • Jesus did not cuss out or punch or even flip the bird to the people
    • He flipped that TABLE
      • Table—Represented the system supported the hypocrisy/mistreatment and line drawing
      • Turned table—Disrupted the system that kept this injustice going

ACAUTION: Just because we feel strongly about something Doesn’t meanwe are right!—Doesn’t mean we should look for tables flip!Example—Some people mad at me in 2020—Convinced righteously so! One said - Never open church pandemic—Reckless, put lives unnecessary risk. Another said - Never closed church—Rights—Caving to liberal agenda if you wear mask.
Both sides felt righteously right! (Angry)

Somany people…In their effort to be right, they’ve forget to beloving!

Makesure we don’t let our unrighteous anger justify any unlovingbehavior.

Ourgoal should not be to be knowing for be right—Goal is to beloving!

    • Jesus...motivated by ANGER and LOVE flipped the tables of hypocrisy and injustice

  • 3. Jesus also CALLED OUT the wrong he saw

Matthew 21:1313“It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be calleda house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

    • The fact that children are though of as LESS THAN even in the church is wrong
    • The fact that some churches refuse to let people CALL OF GOD serve because of their gender IS WRONG
    • The fact that people in the church cast side eyes and whisper judgments about people who look/think/vote/act differently than them IS WRONG
    • The fact that churches are torn apart because of non-essentials IS WRONG
    • The fact that churches become more concerned with having money than serving others IS WRONG
    • The fact that CHRISTIANS (who are the church) do not serve IS WRONG
    • The fact that Christians claim to want to connect to the community and do not show up here when the community comes IS WRONG
    • That face that Christians become more concerned with how people might perceive them rather than speaking the good news of Jesus to those they meet IS WRONG
    • Call it out...bring awareness to the ways that people are being kept from God, the ways that lines are being draw...call out the hypocrisy

Andthen...

Matthew 21:14Theblind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.

When Jesus got angry...he loved and healed those who were hurting.

  • Remember who couldn’t get into the temple to worship?
  • Poor—Marginalized—Sick—Blind—Lame!
  • Jesus didn’t just flip tables and call out the hypocrisy—He Helped Hurting, HE LOVED...he forgave

Inyour anger...do not sin, FORGIVE, FLIP TABLES and HELP in the areasyou feel injustice is being played out...where lines are being drawn!

  • Thank God we get angry about different problems! Fight for different solutions. Fight against porn—For marriages! Fight against racism—Stand for those who risk lives protect/serve! I might fight help for those facing mental illness. Another fights against human trafficking— Others for Clean drinking water, etc.
  • If we all remember to HELP not just pout and shout...maybe we can just bring a little of God’s Kingdom here now as we wait for Jesus’ Return
  • Goal isn’t to be right—Loving! Want to be characterized by love—Not anger.
  • Any time you are angry—Working to bring healing and hope hurting.

TheLORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. The LORDis compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. hedoes not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to ouriniquities. Psalm 103:1