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.