Rev Andy Braunston
A Different View of Jesus
Today’s passage and reflection concern a face of Jesus we don’t normally think about, a side of him which doesn’t fit with what we think we know about Him. Jesus is angry, and not only is he angry but he looses his temper and clears out the money changers and traders from the outer courts of the Temple, turning over their tables, shouting at them, quoting Scripture and generally frightening people. This is more of an Old Testament image of God rather than a New Testament image. It’s a Jesus we don’t feel we know, a new face of Jesus.
Yet if we know our Bibles we know that there are many other times when Jesus presents a face that we find uncomfortable, other times when he shows us anger. He is angry with the Pharisees and calls them a nest of vipers and whitewashed sepulchres (St Matthew 23:27). He is brutal about those who would hurt or corrupt children (St Matthew 18:6). He makes rather sharp remarks, being rather rude to people who told him that his mother and brothers were waiting to see him, saying that his family were all those who obeyed God. (St Matthew 12:48), he curses a fig tree, and calls the Syrophoenician woman a dog! (St Mark 7:28) These are not aspects of Jesus that we are comfortable with, they don’t conform to our sense of him as being meek and mild!
The Temple
So why was Jesus so angry on this occasion? What had annoyed him so much? In order to answer this we need to understand something about the Temple, especially as it doesn’t exist now. Jews in the time of Jesus worshipped each week in their local Synagogues but could also travel to Jerusalem to worship there. The Temple was where animal sacrifices were offered to God, it contained the “Holy of Holies” a room so sacred that only the High Priest could enter, and then only on one day of the year. This sacred room was thought to be the dwelling place of God on earth. The Temple was where you went for special occasions, it was the centre of the Jewish world and the Jews had risen in revolt when the Greeks invaded and desecrated the Temple a few hundred years earlier. The Temple was the holiest place in the world for Jewish people.
There were various courtyards in the Temple, one reserved for gentiles, one for women, but the inner courts were for men. The traders would have worked in the outer courts and they were the problem. The Bible teaches that the animals offered for sacrifice must be perfect and without blemish – no doubt to stop people offering in worship an animal that wasn’t worth much. Worship should cost us, we give of our best, not our cast offs. But the Bible also taught that nothing unclean should come into the presence of God – hence all those laws about being ritually unclean. Therefore, it was argued, that normal money couldn’t be used, so normal money was changed into special Temple currency. Of course the rates of exchange were extortionate. With this Temple money animals would be purchased for sacrifice – again they were over priced.
Every Jew was taught about the holiness of the Temple and every Jew was taught of the importance of sacrifice. So they knew what their religion demanded, they knew that worship was only worship if it cost you something, but the extortionate rates of exchange and the overpriced animals meant that the poorest were excluded from the central acts of worship. The worship of God was limited to those who could afford it; the poor were excluded. Those who were in charge were making money out of worship, not money for the upkeep of the Temple, not money for the payment of priests, but pure unadulterated profit. Rampant profiteering and exclusion of the poor from worship do not honour God. This is what angered Jesus – “It is written that my house shall be a house of prayer for all people but you have made it into a den of thieves”.
Not only was Jesus angry, but he gave expression to that anger by harsh words and surprising actions, taking a whip he cleared the Temple of the traders and money changers, overturning their tables and generally causing a scene that would not be forgotten for a long time. Clearly such behaviour made the authorities turn against him – the poor would approve Jesus’ actions and the powers that be threatened by them; after all the Temple was a nice source of income for them.
Anger – a Source of Blessing?
Now often we as Christians have been taught not to be angry, we have been told that anger is somehow sinful. Yet this is not what Scripture says. St Paul tells us not to let the sun go down on our anger (Eph 4:26) which is good advice really, but he doesn’t tell us it is wrong to be angry in itself.
So is this an aspect of Jesus’ ministry we should emulate? I’d rather you didn’t turn over the tables at the back or beat Ian back when he comes to take the collection! Worship should cost us as it cost the Jewish people; Jesus wasn’t protesting about collections he was protesting about oppression! However, anger is not a bad thing – but like many emotions it is good in moderation and needs to be channelled.
Anger can be a just proper and godly response to the world and all its problems and injustice.
When we look at people who seek asylum in our country and how we treat them with suspicion, negative publicity, refuse to allow them to work and make them live in abject poverty we get angry.
Anger can be a means to bring
about change. Some of the most powerful social change has happened because
of anger. The modern gay rights movement started because a group of
transvestites and lesbians fought back against the police when they came to raid
the Stonewall Bar in New York in 1969. The riots that followed meant that
for the first time we said “no” to oppression. The righteous anger that
comes from oppression continues to motivate activists like Peter Tatchell and
the Outrage! group. Anger at injustice led to Stephen Whittle and Press for
Change to campaign for legal reform for transgendered people and led to the
Gender Recognition Act. The anger of Martin Luther King and a whole
generation of Americans changed forever the position of black people in America.
Using Our Anger
Anger is better out than in – expressing anger is healthy – how we express that anger is the tricky bit. If we suppress anger we can become ill, mentally and physically. It just isn’t good for us. But, at the same time, our faith and commitment to Jesus should inform how we express our anger. Simply shouting at people like the TV character Victor Meldrew isn’t particularly useful. Nursing anger and feeding it doesn’t do us any good, it just makes us bitter. That’s why St Paul’s advice not to let the sun go down on our anger is good advice – deal ith it, do something about it, don’t let it fester or it will disturb both your sleep and your soul!
So, if you are angry with how asylum seekers are dealt with – express that anger and do something about it. Give some money to the Immigration Aid Unit in our Smartie Tube collection. You’ve seen week after the week the type of work they do through the case studies in the newsletter. Those of you who have been around for a few years know how important their work was in getting Moses’ leave to remain in the UK as a refugee. If you are angry with how the press portray asylum seekers write to them and put the other point of view – use the case studies we have been putting in the newsletter – they are all on the web. If friends of yours make silly statements about asylum seekers challenge them and put them right. It’s a very good way to channel the righteous indignation we feel.
If you get angry with how the churches treat our people then do something about it! Tell more people about our church – a church where it doesn’t matter who we love or how we live; all that matters for us is the Gospel, everything else is irrelevant. Do you get angry that so many of our people are anti-religious because of how they have been treated – tell them about us. Tell them of Jesus who loves without hatred.
Do you get angry about how children are treated, at the level of sexual, emotional and physical abuse? Join the NSPCC and help put a stop to this dreadful treatment. Angry about injustice and prisoners of conscience? Join Amnesty, get involved with the campaigns we advertise here in church.
Do you get angry with how others treat you? Say something! Improve your self esteem and exercise your voice so that others treat you with respect – even if that other is your partner. Can’t do it? - find an assertiveness class – it will change your life.
Conclusion
Jesus expressed anger, righteous indignation at how the Temple was being used to oppress the poor. He expressed that anger through physical action and harsh words. Yet in the midst of the anger he told the truth. We can also express anger, truthfully. We can use anger to help us change the world, the church and ourselves. Anger can be a blessing.
(Rev Andy Braunston)
This sermon was first preached in the Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester. Click here for further information.