Loved ones are mourning the deceased and Jesus gets angry? What?!

Did Jesus ever get ticked? I mean, was there ever a time when Jesus got so angry that those around Him noticed?

Some would immediately respond "Yes" and say that He was angered when He cleared the Temple of those who had turned it into a marketplace that distracted from worship. Yet, none of the four Gospel accounts tell us that Jesus was angry when He cleared the Temple (see Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46; John 2:13-17). In fact, the only emotion that Jesus was said to have as He cleared the temple was "zeal" (John 2:17).

So, did Jesus ever get angry?

Yes ... and it was at a place and time where we would have least suspected such an emotion.

It's found in John 11. Jesus was at the tomb of His dear friend, Lazarus.

John 11:31-33 (English Standard Version)

31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

Do you see the words "deeply moved" in verse 33? That word can also be translated "indignant." In fact, the New Living Translation says: "When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled."

Why in the world would Jesus get angry when people around him were sick with grief over the death of a dear loved one?

Well, if we go through the possibilities and check off those that aren't viable, we end up with this: Jesus was angry at sin and its consequences. If Adam had not sinned in the Garden of Eden, sin and death would not have spread to mankind. If that had never happened, Mary and Martha would have had no reason to cry. They would have had no reason to experience the unspeakable grief that only those who have lost a loved one can understand. I think Jesus' heart broke (John 11:35) for Mary and Martha as He saw them crying and He was angered at the havoc that sin had brought into the world.

Friend, that's why Jesus came to live, die, and rise again. He came to conquer sin and death (read 1 Corinthians 15). He came so that those who believe in Him will one day get to be with Him in a place where there is no more sin or consequences of that sin.

So, does it bother you that you live in a world that is so sin-sick? Does it break your heart when you see all of the sickness, pain, sorrow and death that has come to be a part of every human experience? Are you looking forward to the day when all things will be made new?

So is Jesus, my friend. So is Jesus.

"The God of the OT" vs "The God of the NT"

There are some folks who think "the God of the Old Testament" is different than "the God of the New Testament." They think that in the New Testament, God appears loving and compassionate while in the Old, He appears angry and vengeful.

Well, nothing could be further from the truth! God is the same in both. He has always been angry at sin but has also always been compassionate and willing to forgive an offense.

One such instance is found in the Old Testament book of Jonah. God told that reluctant prophet to go to Nineveh and warn the people in that city of the divine consequences of their sin.

After God made it clear that Jonah's only response would be obedience, Jonah went. Yet, Jonah hoped that the citizens of Nineveh would not repent. He didn't want them to experience God's mercy. He wanted God to destroy them!

Why? Probably because he predicted that God would use those people to bring consequences upon his own rebellious people ... the Israelites.

So, when Jonah warned the citizens of Nineveh of God's impending judgment they repented, as Jonah feared. And, as Jonah expected, God compassionately relented of what He had threatened to do to them and did not bring devastating, divine consequences (Jonah 3:6-10).

How did Jonah respond? Was he overjoyed at a people who turned back to God? Was he as compassionate as "the God of the Old Testament"?

Jonah 4:1-3 (New Living Translation)

"This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. So he complained to the LORD about it: 'Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. Just kill me now, LORD! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.'"

Anyone who thinks that "the God of the Old Testament" was a mean tyrant with a hard heart has obviously never read the Bible! God is infinitely more compassionate and forgiving than we are. Just look at the Cross!

Sermon (video): When God Gives a Nation What It Wants (Romans 1:18-32)

Click here to view the sermon.

So what happens when a nation rejects God? Romans 1:18-32 gives us a general model of
how a nation will decline and what the four specific steps are. It almost seems that this chapter was written with America in mind.

Was God angry at Jesus as He died on the cross?

Recently, Dr. Bob Terry, the editor of "The Alabama Baptist" newsletter wrote an article that has stirred up some controversy. Probably more accurately, he has created a degree of shock among those who held him and his theological paradigm in high regard.

Before I respond, I want to be clear that in no way is this blog post throwing stones at Dr. Terry. As the world around us erodes, Christians must find ways in which we can work together and quit all of the unnecessary infighting. Yet, I believe that what Dr. Terry was quoted as saying demands some responses from those who hold very different views of God's attitude and role in the atonement. Here are my thoughts...

The title of the online article is "Why Disagree About the Words of a Hymn?" (access full article here.) He begins with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s decision not to include the modern hymn "In Christ Alone" in their updated hymnal. The committee wanted to replace the lyrics of the second verse from "'till on that cross as Jesus died the wrath of God was satisfied" to "'till on that cross as Jesus died the love of God was magnified." The Gettys, the authors of the song, refused to allow the change and the song was therefore dropped from inclusion in the hymnal.

After his introduction, Dr. Bob Terry wrote: "The Bible speaks clearly about the wrath of God and warns that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God (Ps. 90:11). Yet there remains a question about whether God was an angry God at Golgotha whose wrath had to be appeased by the suffering of the innocent Jesus. Sometimes Christians carelessly make God out to be some kind of ogre whose angry wrath overflowed until the innocent Jesus suffered enough to calm Him down. It is the ultimate "good cop/bad cop" routine where God is against us but Jesus is for us. Some popular theologies do hold that Jesus' suffering appeased God's wrath. That is not how I understand the Bible and that is why I do not sing the phrase "the wrath of God was satisfied" even though I love the song "In Christ Alone."

Who did God pay off to purchase us?

I suppose that one of the biggest questions that comes to my mind after reading that is: "Who did God pay off to purchase us?" Because, very clearly in Scripture, we understand that a price had to be paid to save us.

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) 

"You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men." (1 Corinthians 7:23)

"knowing that you were ransomed (bought out of slavery) from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. (1 Peter 1:18-19)

"...the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28)

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'—" (Galatians 3:13)

I could keep going but you get the idea. God purchased us. But, from whom? Did he pay the Devil off? Did God buy us from Satan?

Absolutely not! God has never owed Satan anything! The last reference I gave in Galatians 3:13 lets us know. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law", specifically God's law. God, the lawgiver is the One who judicially expected complete compliance. He expected nothing short of complete holiness.

It was in His court that we stood guilty of breaking His laws. His justice demanded that payment be made for offenses committed. So, the payment to erase our sin debt was made to God's holy justice.

"Redeemed us from the curse of the law" (Gal. 3:13)

But, notice the language used in Galatians 3:13. It says "the CURSE of the law." Hardly tolerant, compassionate language. Cursed means to be condemned and experience the resultant consequences.

Who placed the curse on us before we were redeemed by Christ? In fact, who made Jesus a curse as He hung on the cross? Read Galatians 3:13 again and see that Jesus had a curse put upon Him as He hung on the cross. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'—".

All you need to do to see who placed the curse is to look at Deuteronomy 21:22-23 where Moses recounted the law that God gave to the people of Israel: "And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God..."
  Did you catch those last few words? "Cursed by God." When Jesus hung on the cross, He became a curse for us. To use the vernacular of Galatians 3:13 and Deuteronomy 21:22-23, He was cursed by God. He wasn't just paying our sin debt as a loving God watched. He was bearing our sin as He became our curse.

It's hard to understand how anyone could say that God was only expressing His love while Jesus died on that cross because on that cross, Jesus was bearing the curse of God. Of course God the Father loved His Son. Yet, He sent His Son so that His wrath could be poured out on Him and not us so that we could come into God's family. (The truth is, God expressed BOTH while Jesus was on the cross: anger AND love.)

Anger and Love Side-by-side

To show how these two attitudes (anger and love) were equally expressed by our incomprehensible God, I'll end with one final passage of Scripture. It shows very clearly how God, who was and is incensed at unbelievers is also a loving God who appeased His wrath and satisfied His justice by sending His Son to die as our substitute. (The beauty of the cross is that God sent Jesus to take the punishment we were due so that we could be completely forgiven and brought into His family.) Here's Ephesians 2:1-10 - 

God's wrath directed at us while we were unbelievers

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

God's love directed at us to draw us to Himself

4 But God (I LOVE those two words!), being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

God, sin and consequences

In my "Read Through the Bible Plan", I'm once again going through the first few books of the Bible. In them, God makes it clear that sin is to be dealt with harshly.

At first glance, it may seem that God is unspeakably mean in His instruction concerning sin. Yet, when we realize that the Bible also warns that "the wages of sin is death", we realize why God wants us to stay away from sin. Among other things, it's for our own good.

A good parent understands this. If a parent of a young child saw them playing in a road with a lot of traffic, their love for their child would demand that they threaten serious consequences if they played in the road again. Failing to provide serious consequences for a child who could potentially die from their poor choices would call into question the parent's love for their child.

Since God loves us, he threatens serious consequences when we sin. Any good parent would.

Recipe for the Demise of a Nation

Over and over in the Old Testament, we see how nations rose and nations fell. If we had lived in those cities/nations, we may have suspected (like we do today) that they declined because of poor leadership, or an inferior military, or bad fiscal policies, etc. Yet, through the vantage point that the Old Testament provides us, we realize that there is always a spiritual aspect to it. God tended to bless nations that complied with His commands and tear down nations that did not.

As we approach the New Testament, we come to a text that is incredible in regard to this topic. God essentially gives us the step-by-step process that nations take as they fall into anarchy (and thus their own demise). The four step process (that seems to be a 'general' rule) is as follows.

Ingredient 1: They serve other gods (Romans 1:18-23)

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things."

Simply put, people and nations who act as if there is no God who rules supremely cannot claim ignorance. Creation itself testifies to the fact that there must be a God. Yet, people/nations willfully choose to act as if He doesn't exist. Rather than have God as the One they enjoy and serve, they live their lives for themselves and go after other things (i.e. power, possessions, prestige, entertainment, gluttony, drunkenness, etc.)

But, once we throw off the restraints of God's commands, we begin to slide down the slippery slope of immorality that leads to our own destruction.

Ingredient 2: They participate in sexual immorality (Romans 1:24-25)

"Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."

In search of fulfillment and enjoyment, a society who has thrown off the restraints of God's Word will find itself in a sexual revolution (think 1920's and 1960's in America). Rather than valuing the human body, it becomes an object capable of satisfying one's selfish desires outside the confines of marriage.

Ingredient 3: They approve and practice homosexuality (Romans 1:26-27)

"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error."

Since in a deteriorating society, norms for what constitutes a right sexual relationship are increasingly non-existent, its citizens will continue to push the envelope. Homosexuality is approved and practiced by a growing number of people in that society. (Think America in the 1990's and beyond.)

Finally, Ingredient 4: They obtain worthless minds (Romans 1:28-32)

"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them."

 

The end result of this whole process is what one would expect. If truth and righteousness are abandoned, who makes up the rules? Society? Well, we've seen in American society that our rules/norms keep changing. What wasn't approved in the last decade is embraced in this one.

 

So, as society continues sliding down the slippery slope of immorality, anarchy becomes a very real possibility. Governments will need to take serious measures to maintain control. Does that sound far fetched? Then why does it seem that as our country has clearly made it to step 3 (embraced homosexuality) that we are also hearing that our country is talking about stricter gun laws for its citizens, drone flyovers of American cities, collection of citizen data from places like Google, etc.?

 

If we don't turn back as a nation soon, we will run full steam into the wall of God's wrath. The question remains as to whether enough of God's children are willing to apply the truths of 2 Chronicles 7:14 in time.  "If my people who are called by name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." Only then is there any possibility of hope!

 

Repentance and Judgment

I enjoy using the "One Year Bible" reading plan each day. Today's reading included Psalm 7 which contained an interesting and very true principle.

It's found in Psalm 7:12-13.

"If anyone does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has strung His bow and made it ready. He has prepared His deadly weapons; He tips His arrows with fire."

To be sure, this view of God isn't common or popular among the masses. Many, including some who proclaim themselves "Christian," want to believe in a god that is love ... and ONLY love.

While God certainly is loving (more than a few passages in Scripture make this clear), it is also true that He is holy and just.

The same Bible that tells us that God loves the world (see John 3:16; 1 John 4:8, 16; etc.) also tells us that He is incensed at those who engage in sin (see Ephesians 2:3; Romans 9:22; etc.). As sin is a violation of His holy law, He MUST exercise justice (Exodus 34:7; Numbers 14:18; Nahum 1:3; etc.)

Thus, we come to understand passages like Psalm 7:12-13. God is pictured as a warrior "preparing His deadly weapons."

Specifically, in this text we see who He is against. We see who He is out to get. We see who He will certainly overthrow. It's given at the beginning of verse 12: "anyone (who) does not repent."

The one who has sinned and refuses to make it right sets himself/herself at odds against God.

But the very clear implication in this text (and what is proclaimed in the rest of Scripture) is that when we repent, God is no longer against us. He is more than willing to cover the offense with the blood of Christ. He is more than willing to allow Jesus to take our punishment for us. (That's exactly what He did on the cross.)

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

That leaves each of us with a choice, doesn't it?

Does God have a temper?

So what about all of those "pesky" verses that talk about God's anger? 

 

We're hearing that people these days want to believe in a God that is love and ... well, pretty much, that's it. They just want a God that loves them. 

 

But the same Bible that tells us that God loves us also tells us that He is a God of anger and wrath. How can an "angry" God also be a loving God? And is His wrath a necessary component of His character? Can we simply overlook it to make God more "palatable" to the world around us?

 

Well, I'm glad you asked. First, let's look briefly at a few verses that plainly state that wrath is a part of who God is. Then let's look at why a loving God MUST be a God of wrath. Yes, if He is loving, He MUST get angry.

 

Ephesians 2:3 "We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and by nature we were children under wrath, as the others were also."

 

Romans 2:5 "But because of your hardness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed. "

 

Romans 5:8-9 "But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us! Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath."

 

Revelation 6:15-17 "Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the military commanders, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of Their wrath has come! And who is able to stand?'"

 

Now, to clarify. God's wrath isn't like our bouts of anger. When we get angry, it's usually an emotional reaction. It's a response to a wrong done against us. It has at least a small desire to exercise some form of revenge upon the one who wronged us. These are just a few of the ugly characteristics that surround our sinful angry moments.

 

God's anger isn't that way at all. It seems that God's anger is a response that is always directed at sin and sinners. It isn't an emotional outburst. In fact, it is held at bay by God's mercy and grace so that it is not always exercised when it would have been appropriate. (I could put some proof texts by many of the the previous statements but will assume that I'm writing to folks who already know and believe what I'm talking about.)

 

However, the issue is how a loving God can also be a God who is filled with anger/wrath. How can God get angry at sin and sinners and still be loving?

 

Well, God's love isn't just directed at you and me. Sure, "God so loved the world..." He loves the world in general and He loves you and me in particular. Yet, we aren't the only objects of God's affection. He loves us ... but He also loves holiness and justice. And a love for justice DEMANDS that He get angry.

Imagine that you are sitting in a court room. There is a murder trial taking place. A child has been killed and the murderer is sitting in that very courtroom. The child that was killed ... was your child. You sit there grieving over your unspeakable loss as you look across the room to see the murder weapon resting peacefully on a table. It is a knife.

As you look at that knife, you are fully cognizant of the fact that it was what the murderer used to plunge into your helpless child's body. It stole your child's life from you.

Now, let me ask you a question. As you look at that weapon, would you think: "Hey, I wonder what they're going to do with that knife after the trial. I wonder if they'll let me take it home, put it in a nice glass case and put it in a prominent place in my living room."?

Let me tell you that if you felt this way, I would immediately question your sanity or your love for your child. You simply could not remain so indifferent to the very thing that took something so precious from you.

So, how would you react as you looked upon it? Your pulse would rise. Tears would come into your eyes. You would become angry as you looked at that weapon that was used in such a senseless, painful tragedy, wouldn't you? You would love to think that the weapon would be destroyed and the sooner the better. That knife took the life of your child and it carries those memories.

You know, it's the same way with God.

Sin is the weapon that came into God's creation and destroyed it.
It caused mankind to be cast out of the Garden of Eden to live in a world where difficulty and tragedy would become the norm.
It severed the divine relationship that God enjoyed with mankind.
It also took the life of His own Son on the cross.

As God looks upon sin, He sees what brought such destruction to all that He held dear and He cannot help but become angry. If He never became angry at what caused and still causes such great destruction, we would question His sanity or His love for all of what the Bible says that He holds dear, right?

His love for us DEMANDS that He get angry at what brought such great harm to us. If he could tolerate sin and it never caused His nostrils to flare, could he really say that He loves us and mean it?

This discussion is so much deeper than what I have spoken. Maybe a later post will elaborate a little more.