Righteous anger

​3-30-21
This week is Holy Week, so I would like to take a particular event in Jesus' life this week and see what we can learn from it. Today's devotion is based on  Matthew 21:12-14, “And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers." And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.”
While there is not much mentioned in the Bible about this particular incident during Holy Week, it has been used as the reason for not having church sales, and such in the church buildings.  It has also been used to justify what a person might call “righteous anger” for Jesus was clearly angry when he cleand the money-changers and sellers out of the temple that day.
Both of those are clearly a wrong application of the incident, for in the first, what was taking place by doing business in the temple did not allow gentiles to gather at the temple to worship God.  Making money had taken precedence over allowing others to worship God in the temple.
The second is that Jesus in his humanness was also sinless.  His righteous anger was truly righteous.  Our so called “righteous anger” is always tainted by sin for righteous anger cares about the other.  I would say that when we display “righteous anger” we are actually caring more about ourselves and our beliefs.  We can never act as Jesus did that day and not sin.  Thank the Lord that the only righteous one, Jesus, has clothed us with his righteousness.
It is my prayer today that the feet of God walk with you, and his hand hold you tight. May the eye of God rest on you, and his ear hear your cry. May the smile of God be for you, and his breath give you life. May the Child of God grow in you, and his love bring you home. (Robert Mann, 1983)