Mark 3:1-6   Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand.  And they watched Jesus to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him.   And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.”   And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.   And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”  He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.   The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Sometimes, when studying a passage of Scripture, you must stop and address one of the ‘big picture’ ideas found in the passage.  So we will look at this story as we primarily discuss this phrase:  “Jesus looked around at them with anger…”

Jesus…angry?  Yes.  If you thought Jesus was only meek and mild and never angry, then you had better read the Bible again.  And this word translated as anger here is the Greek ‘orge’ (pronounced ‘or-gay’).  It is not saying Jesus is irritated or mildly annoyed.  This is a word of violent passion.  Jesus is steaming mad.  He is boiling over with anger.  Does it bother you that Jesus is described with such fierce anger?  (It must bother some people, for there are many translations that ‘water down’ Jesus’ emotions.)

Some people have a problem with Jesus being angry in the New Testament and an even bigger problem with how angry God gets in the Old Testament.  I have heard people describe God as an “angry God” in the Old Testament. Just because someone gets angry occasionally, do you call them an angry person?  Now, if I see a mass shooting at a school and I get angry about someone indiscriminately killing children, you can describe me as angry, but does that make me an “angry person”?   Now, if I am in a hurry to drive somewhere all the time and the person in front of me is on their phone and not noticing the light is green and I start blowing my horn and yelling — if I do that a lot, maybe then I am an angry person.  But if I jump out of my car and attack that person…, that is another thing.  It makes a difference: 1. what situation causes the anger and 2. How do you act in your anger.

We have mentioned Exodus 36:4 several times in the past weeks, where God uses five character traits to describe himself.  “Yehovah passed before him and proclaimed, “Yehovah, Yehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” “Slow to anger,” the middle description, makes it clear that God is patient. Still, his patience has a limit. (The Hebrew literal translation is “long nostrilled,” because anger is typically described in Hebrew as your ‘nose burning hot,’ so if you are ‘long of nostrils,’ it takes some time before you get your nose overheated.  If you think that is odd, remember that we do something similar in our culture.  We use the term ‘nosy’ to describe someone who is a ‘busybody,’ always ‘getting their nose in someone else’s business.’  Languages are fun.)

Now, my friends who read the Old Testament and complain that Yehovah is an ‘angry God’ talk of Sodom and Gomorrah or the flood in Genesis, or the warfare in Joshua and following.  Interestingly, there is no mention of God being angry in the book of Genesis (and only three times in Exodus.)   At the time of Noah and the flood, God is described not as angry but as grieved or hurt.   He was heartbroken that his image-bearers had abandoned his ways and descended to the depths of evil.  The flood is a necessary act of judgment but not an act of anger.

You may know someone who rarely gets angry.  That is an excellent, godly trait.  How about someone who never gets angry?  Is that a good trait?

Think about the time you got the most angry in your life.  What did you get angry about?

Let me tell you about the most angry I have ever been.  My 5-year-old daughter had the day off from Kindergarten.  I took the day off to spend the day with her.  She first requested to have breakfast at McDonald’s and to play on the playground.  While I was paying for the meal and waiting for the order, she wanted to get her drink, and I let her.  Apparently, it took her a while, and she kept the next person waiting a bit to get his drink.  I hear him huffing behind me and see him force his way beside her as she finishes so he can fill his drink in the dispenser.  I hear him say, “Damn half-breed,” and something else I won’t even repeat.  I ask my precious bi-racial child to go out to the playground.  After she gets outside, I have a ‘discussion’ with this man.  In Hebrew terms, my nose was a blazing inferno.  I really wanted to slug him, but I instead corrected him with a not-so-gentle spirit.  God forgive me.  The lesson to learn from this is, first, that it matters what you get angry about.  Getting angry because your child is treated wrongly, bullied, or abused is expected.  If a parent watched another adult abuse a child and didn’t get angry about it, then something is wrong with that person.  Secondly, anger rises up much faster when it involves someone in relation to you, someone you love.

What kind of God would Yehovah be if he had no emotional reaction when one of his children was mistreated or abused?  Would you really want to have a God who never got angry?  Some anger is not only justified but is necessary.  The Bible gives three primary reasons for God’s anger:  human suffering, evil, and betrayal of a covenant.

The first time God is described as angry in the Bible is when God meets Moses at the burning bush on Mt Sinai.  

Exodus 2:23: “The people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning…”

Things had gone from bad to worse for the Hebrew slaves to the point that the Egyptians were committing genocide, drowning their babies.  Egypt is abusing God’s children.  God then comes to Moses and says, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings.” (Exodus 3:7)  God asks Moses to go back to Egypt and lead his people out of bondage.  But five times, Moses refuses to go, giving excuse after excuse, and when he runs out of excuses, he tells God, “Just send someone else.”  At this point, Exodus 4:13 tells us, “The anger of Yehovah was kindled against Moses.”  Why was God angry?  It was not just because Moses was refusing to obey, but because Moses was refusing to care enough for his own people, his own family, to do anything.   His people were being tortured, and their babies drowned, and Moses didn’t want to become involved.  God may be patient with disobedience, but a frank disregard for people who are suffering will arouse God’s anger much faster.  Human suffering is one of the three primary reasons God gets angry.   The Bible is full of God’s reprimands to Israel for failing to care for those who can not care for themselves, especially widows, orphans, and strangers in the land. If you ignore the suffering of others, God will get angry.

That is the reason for Jesus’ anger in our story today.  This man has a ‘withered hand.’  He is not able to work and provide for his family.  It likely resulted in him becoming a beggar.  Jesus can restore him.  But some in the synagogue don’t see this man as someone desperate for healing.  They see a chance to further their agenda to trap Jesus.  If Jesus heals on the Sabbath, they can accuse him of breaking the Sabbath rules.  But God never said that healing was not allowed on the Sabbath¹, and Jesus makes it clear that God would never say that.  That was a rule the Pharisees added themselves.  Notice that Jesus calls the man up in front of everyone.  He tries to point out to these ‘religious leaders’ that he is a child of God who is in desperate need.  But their agenda to trap Jesus prevents them from having compassion and requires them to ignore his suffering.  After he is healed, they should be celebrating the miracle with him.  But what do they do?  Just as God became angry with Moses for his lack of care for those suffering in Egypt, Jesus became angry with these Pharisees for their refusal to care about this man.  Do not miss this lesson. If we have the means to prevent suffering and choose not to get involved, we make God angry.  Even today, some people don’t have compassion for others; instead, they see all people as pawns to further their agenda.  We call these people politicians.  How do we view people who are in need?  Are they inconvenient burdens that interrupt our day?  Or are they opportunities to minister and show the love and mercy of God?  We should thank God every time we cross paths with someone in need because God has given us another opportunity to be compassionate and obedient.

The second time we see God described as angry is due to evil.  Just a few chapters later in Exodus, God’s anger is due to the evil of Pharaoh.  Even after the ten plagues, including the death of the firstborn of Egypt, Pharaoh is too hard-hearted to let the Hebrew slaves go, and he pursues them into the parted waters of the sea.  God has had enough of this evil leader, and he and his ‘chosen officers’ suffer the fury of God’s anger and are drowned (ironically, just as they were drowning the Hebrew male children.)  No one can argue that God wasn’t patient (slow to anger) with Pharaoh, but evil will always eventually be dealt with.  Jesus created this world, and evil was never meant to be a part of it.  Death and illness were also not supposed to be part of this world.  Several times in the gospels, we see Jesus react with deep emotion when facing the death or illness of others.  For example, when Jesus is faced with the death of his friend, Lazarus, the ESV translates that Jesus was “deeply moved,” but the Greek word used is one of anger and rebuke.  We see this again when Jesus is faced with illness.  It is okay to be angry when someone dies, or someone gets a horrible diagnosis.  But don’t be angry at God; be angry at death and disease.  Just as God became angry at evil in the world, Jesus is angry at death and illness, two things that should not exist in God’s creation but are the result of a world fallen in sin.

The third time God is described as angry in the Bible is at the incident of the Golden Calf. God had just established a covenant at Mount Sinai with the nation. As we discussed last time (#42), the covenant at Sinai was like a marriage. Both parties promised to be faithful to each other. They are expected to act with chesed towards each other, faithful covenant love and mercy.  Then Moses ascends the mountain, and while he is up there with God, Israel builds a golden calf and worships it.

Exodus 32:7-10   And Yehovah said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.   They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’”   And Yehovah said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.   Now, therefore, let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”

Can you imagine someone committing adultery six weeks after the marriage?  Israel made this covenant with God; they exchanged vows and made a commitment.  And just six weeks later, they break the covenant and worship other gods. God calls this adultery, and they have done it on the honeymoon.   Betrayal of a covenant leads to anger.

God takes commitment very seriously.  Betrayal of the expected loyal covenant love (chesed) is the third reason for God’s anger in the Bible.  We see this happen repeatedly in the Old Testament and the New Testament.  Israel betrays God and worships the idols of other nations.   The Bible has three important recurring phrases seen in God’s reaction to Israel’s betrayal: God “hiding his face,” “handing them over,” and “drinking the cup” of wrath. Pay attention when you see these phrases as you read your Bible.

Deuteronomy 31:16-18   And Yehovah said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then these people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’ And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods.

God “hiding his face” represents God withdrawing his sustaining power over his people.  In the beginning, God’s act of creation was to make order out of chaos. And God did not create the world and then walk away to let it run on its own.  Without God’s continual intervention in this fallen world, things return to disorder. (In Physics, you may have learned this concept as the 2nd law of thermodynamics.)  The Bible makes it clear that without God’s sustaining efforts in our lives, we would all perish.  Who knows how many catastrophes God prevented this past week that we never knew about?  When God ‘hides his face,’ he stops intervening and allows us to reap the consequences of our poor choices.  Paul in Romans describes this action of God removing his protection and allowing people to suffer the natural consequences of their sins, God ‘handing them over.’

Over and over, Israel sins by worshiping the gods of another country or (against God’s plan) involving themselves with another country politically or by taking wives from that country.  Eventually, God’s anger is aroused, and he ‘hides his face.’  Typically, then, Israel is attacked by that very country.  God allows this country to invade as the natural consequence of their unholy alliance with that country.  We see this with many nations in the Bible, but the classic example is Babylon, which invaded Israel, destroyed the temple and took away a large percentage of the population in 586 BC.  Isaiah and Jeremiah had warned the people that this would happen.

Jeremiah introduces another important symbol relating to God’s wrath:

Jeremiah 25:15-16   Thus Yehovah, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.   They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.”

We will discuss the importance of this symbol of the cup of wrath when we look at Jesus’ final days. He repeatedly mentioned the cup he must drink, and in his prayer in Gethsemane, he asked if the cup could not be taken from him. Jesus is not making this symbol up but using a well-known Old Testament phrase.  If we don’t understand how Jesus uses it, we miss some of the richness of his message.  We see the cups of wrath again poured out in the book of Revelation.  Again, if you don’t understand Jeremiah, you can’t understand Revelation.

For those who believe the Old Testament is about wrath and the New Testament is all about grace, you might want to read the last 1/3 of the Bible again.  The first three books all begin with John the Baptist warning people that the wrath of God is coming and they need to repent.  He is preaching the same message as Old Testament prophets Isaiah or Jeremiah: change your ways, or God will bring destruction.  He says the one coming after him (Jesus) has a winnowing fork in his hand and will separate the wheat from the chaff and burn the chaff in the fire.  He says the ax is already at the tree.  John expects you to know the story of how this has happened many times before in Israel.  And how does God bring destruction in the Old Testament?  He hands them over to some foreign nation.  Assyria, for example, is called the rod [of correction] of God’s anger.  (Isaiah 10:5). 

In Jesus’ day, things haven’t changed.  Israel is still being disobedient, and God’s anger is coming to a point where he will hide his face as he did so many times in the Old Testament.  As before, a foreign nation will come in and bring destruction. But it doesn’t have to be that way.  As in Old Testament times, the prophet’s (John the Baptist and Jesus) attempts to convince the nation to turn and repent are largely ignored.

And as you know, Rome is waiting in the wings to be the latest rod of God’s anger.  In 70 AD, Rome destroyed the Temple and, according to Josephus, killed 1.1 million Jews, and 97,000 were enslaved.  We have drawn too thick of a line separating the “Old Testament” from the “New Testament.”  God has not changed.  What he does in Jesus is the continuation and completion of what he has been doing with his image-bearers all along. 

God does indeed get angry.  As God in the flesh, Jesus gets angry at the same things.  But God is ‘slow to anger,’ which tells us he is not only patient to a point but also very strategic in his response.  It is not a response of rage and rash action (though it appears God considered that response in the Golden Calf incident.)  But God’s action from his anger is measured and productive.  When God’s wrath is poured out on Israel, a remnant is always preserved, and the nation is never completely destroyed.  So Paul tells us:  “Go ahead, Be angry…” as we said, sometimes anger is not only justified but is necessary.

Be angry about what Jesus is angry about.   I told you that Bob Pierce (founder of World Vision) famously prayed, “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God,”   Similarly, we need to pray, “Let us become angry at the things that make God angry.”  What made Jesus angry?

Jesus got angry when the disciples wanted to keep children away from him.  He got angry when he saw the money changers taking advantage of the poor in the temple. He got angry when he saw people caring more about religious traditions than a beggar’s needs.  Notice that he didn’t get angry when someone personally attacked him.  He wasn’t angry when someone’s donkey was going too slow in the left lane or not moving fast enough at a traffic light.  He didn’t get mad at the tax collectors or the prostitutes.

So be like Jesus. Be angry when the poor are taken advantage of.  Be angry at payday loan companies.  Be angry when children are abused or neglected or when unborn children are slaughtered.  Be angry at death; be angry at cancer.  Jesus hates cancer…it was not supposed to be part of the world he created.  Don’t be angry about a scene on television at the Olympics.  It is okay to be grieved about it but not angry.  Be angry about ethnic and economic injustice, abuse of any kind, sex trafficking, human slavery, adultery, refugee plight, or persecution.

But look at the rest of Paul’s verse in Ephesians:

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. 

Be angry, but do not sin.  Respond strategically and measured. So much of our anger is rooted in our prideful, selfish, sinful nature.  Do not act in rage or retribution.  Vengeance is not ours to take.  If you feel the need to become angry at someone else’s sin.  First, you better look in the mirror.  Be angry at your own sin first.  Too many people walk around with logs in their eyes, yelling about splinters in other people’s eyes.  You can’t press God for mercy for your sins while at the same time yelling for judgment for their sins.  God is just.  Sin must be dealt with.  But Jesus was willing to drink the cup of God’s wrath for us. So we can be part of the remnant that escapes from the final cups of wrath poured out in Revelation if we are willing to covenant with Jesus and join his kingdom.

1. There are 39 types of work that are forbidden on the Sabbath in the Bible.  Healing is not one of them.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   We will discuss the importance of this symbol of the cup of wrath when we look at Jesus’ final days. He repeatedly mentioned the cup he must drink, and in his prayer in Gethsemane, he asked if the cup could not be taken from him. Jesus is not making this symbol up but using a well-known Old Testament phrase.  If we don’t understand how Jesus uses it, we miss some of the richness of his message.  We see the cups of wrath again poured out in the book of Revelation.  Again, if you don’t understand Jeremiah, you can’t understand Revelation.

   
   
   
   

   For those who believe the Old Testament is about wrath and the New Testament is all about grace, you might want to read the last 1/3 of the Bible again.  The first three books all begin with John the Baptist warning people that the wrath of God is coming and they need to repent.  He is preaching the same message as Old Testament prophets Isaiah or Jeremiah: change your ways, or God will bring destruction.  He says the one coming after him (Jesus) has a winnowing fork in his hand and will separate the wheat from the chaff and burn the chaff in the fire.  He says the ax is already at the tree.  John expects you to know the story of how this has happened many times before in Israel.  And how does God bring destruction in the Old Testament?  He hands them over to some foreign nation.  Assyria, for example, is called the rod [of correction] of God’s anger.  (Isaiah 10:5). 

   
   
   
   

   In Jesus’ day, things haven’t changed.  Israel is still being disobedient, and God’s anger is coming to a point where he will hide his face as he did so many times in the Old Testament.  As before, a foreign nation will come in and bring destruction. But it doesn’t have to be that way.  As in Old Testament times, the prophet’s (John the Baptist and Jesus) attempts to convince the nation to turn and repent are largely ignored.

   
   
   
   

   And as you know, Rome is waiting in the wings to be the latest rod of God’s anger.  In 70 AD, Rome destroyed the Temple and, according to Josephus, killed 1.1 million Jews, and 97,000 were enslaved.  We have drawn too thick of a line separating the “Old Testament” from the “New Testament.”  God has not changed.  What he does in Jesus is the continuation and completion of what he has been doing with his image-bearers all along. 

   
   
   
   

   God does indeed get angry.  As God in the flesh, Jesus gets angry at the same things.  But God is ‘slow to anger,’ which tells us he is not only patient to a point but also very strategic in his response.  It is not a response of rage and rash action (though it appears God considered that response in the Golden Calf incident.)  But God’s action from his anger is measured and productive.  When God’s wrath is poured out on Israel, a remnant is always preserved, and the nation is never completely destroyed.  So Paul tells us:  “Go ahead, Be angry…” as we said, sometimes anger is not only justified but is necessary.

   
   
   
   

   Be angry about what Jesus is angry about.   I told you that Bob Pierce (founder of World Vision) famously prayed, “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God,”   Similarly, we need to pray, “Let us become angry at the things that make God angry.”  What made Jesus angry?

   
   
   
   

   Jesus got angry when the disciples wanted to keep children away from him.  He got angry when he saw the money changers taking advantage of the poor in the temple. He got angry when he saw people caring more about religious traditions than a beggar’s needs.  Notice that he didn’t get angry when someone personally attacked him.  He wasn’t angry when someone’s donkey was going too slow in the left lane or not moving fast enough at a traffic light.  He didn’t get mad at the tax collectors or the prostitutes.

   
   
   
   

   So be like Jesus. Be angry when the poor are taken advantage of.  Be angry at payday loan companies.  Be angry when children are abused or neglected or when unborn children are slaughtered.  Be angry at death; be angry at cancer.  Jesus hates cancer…it was not supposed to be part of the world he created.  Don’t be angry about a scene on television at the Olympics.  It is okay to be grieved about it but not angry.  Be angry about ethnic and economic injustice, abuse of any kind, sex trafficking, human slavery, adultery, refugee plight, or persecution.

   
   
   
   

   But look at the rest of Paul’s verse in Ephesians:

   
   
   
   

   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. 

   
   
   
   

   Be angry, but do not sin.  Respond strategically and measured. So much of our anger is rooted in our prideful, selfish, sinful nature.  Do not act in rage or retribution.  Vengeance is not ours to take.  If you feel the need to become angry at someone else’s sin.  First, you better look in the mirror.  Be angry at your own sin first.  Too many people walk around with logs in their eyes, yelling about splinters in other people’s eyes.  You can’t press God for mercy for your sins while at the same time yelling for judgment for their sins.  God is just.  Sin must be dealt with.  But Jesus was willing to drink the cup of God’s wrath for us. So we can be part of the remnant that escapes from the final cups of wrath poured out in Revelation if we are willing to covenant with Jesus and join his kingdom.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   1. There are 39 types of work that are forbidden on the Sabbath in the Bible.  Healing is not one of them.