Righteous Anger

Mark 11: 12-17

“On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.

‭Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭11:12-17

After Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, what happens on those remaining days leading up to the Crucifixion and Resurrection? On Monday, Jesus returns to Jerusalem from Bethany where they are staying and curses a fig tree that they pass that had no fruit, catching the attention of his disciples. He then enters the temple and reacts with indignation to the hordes of moneychangers and vendors who are selling offerings of animals and exchanging Roman coins for Jewish money.

Jesus recognized that the Holy Temple, a dwelling place of God, had been turned into a carnival of noisy animal pens, along with the vendors and money changers who preyed on the worshippers and turned a profit on those seeking God’s presence. According to Crosswalk, righteous anger happens when we recognize something as an offense to God or His Word (such as sin, death, and evil) and this type of anger does not seek to harm, but to correct this offense out of love.

Christians should be mindful that anger does not veer into unrighteousness by becoming explosive, resentful or embittered. Anger at true injustice or a betrayal of God and His Word is tempered through prayer, self-control, and love.

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