WHEN JESUS BECAME ANGRY
Mark 3:1-6 NKJV
1 And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.” 4 Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
If you ask most people when Jesus got angry, the most common response will be when He cleared out the temple. That is the correct answer. Jesus was not happy with people making the place designated for worship and prayer into a place of shady businesses. But the temple clearing was not the only time Jesus became angry. Our verses today present another time, and they also give us insight into why He became angry.
Jesus was controlled. He was able to control His fleshly desires, and this was one of the reasons He was without sin. Jesus was also able to control His emotions. When He became angry, He did not launch into a tirade or hurt people in any way. Obviously, His becoming angry was not a sin because He was sinless all His life. And that’s good for us to know. The scriptures say to be angry but don’t sin and don’t hold onto your anger (Ephesians 4:26). I am grateful that becoming angry is not a sin unless I allow it to. There will be things taking place in life that cause anger. Don’tcondemn yourself for feeling anger; just don’t allow anger to rule you. Being angry all the time means something is misaligned in our thoughts and emotions. If you are always angry, ask the Lord to help you identify the source and move past the anger.
It is important to pay attention as to why Jesus was angry. He was not angry because He did not get His way. He was not angry because of criticism and persecution He suffered. Neither was Jesus angry because of being rejected by the leadership of the nation. Jesus was angry and grieved because of the hard-hearted religious leaders who did not want a man healed on the Sabbath. And Jesus gave the leaders an opportunity to see truth. He asked them if it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil. To save or to kill. The easy and correct answer was absolutely to do good, save a life, heal, and strengthen on the Sabbath. The Sabbath only testified of God’s goodness; it was never meant to keep people away from God’s healing grace. It takes a heart that has been hardened to refuse a disabled man from being healed and set free on the Sabbath.
But Jesus did not allow the hard hearts of the leaders to stop Him from doing what was right. He asked the man with the withered hand to stretch it out. Jesus was asking the man to do something he was probably unable to do. But as the man acted on the words that Jesus spoke, his hand was restored and was made just as whole as his other hand. And while the man and those around him who cared for him rejoiced, the leaders were angry at Jesus and were looking for ways to destroy Him. Hard hearts are hard to deal with.
APPLICATION
We must remember that people are more important than practices and procedures. People are more important than our church traditions. I’ll never forget a lady who did not believe that God was a healer, doing her best to talk Joy out of believing for healing. Joy was so sick at that time, and this lady would not let up. So I banned her from further contact with Joy. It was the lady’s right to believe whatever she wanted, but it was not her right to try and stop a young mother of three from believing in God to simply be able to live. It made me angry. I didn’t handle things as well as Jesus, but I stopped the lady’s opposition, and Joy received healing and wholeness. Praise God!
Jesus has not changed. I want to make sure I do not stand in the way of people that He loves receiving help. I never want to grieve Him by being hard-hearted. People matter to Him more than traditions, politics, and personal beliefs.