Jesus' Anger (Matthew 23 - P 60)

Have you ever known someone who was very even-keeled?  Didn't get angry often?  Was patient and kind to all around them?  Things just didn't seem to throw them out of balance ... they could go with the flow in any and all circumstances?  If you have ... when that person DID get angry ... you paid attention!

Jesus was such a person.  We stay amazed at his patience with the crowds ... with his own disciples ... with the complexities of life and people.  We stay amazed at how he did not get angry ... when you and I would have blown up!

In chapters 21 and 22 of Matthew, we observed Jesus as he entered Jerusalem for the Passover festivities.  His time and attention had been dominated with the malicious questioning by the religious leaders of his day.  When the badgering was finished ... he lets loose!  And we listen as Jesus blasts those "religious leaders".

What made Jesus angry?  He put up with so much during his short ministry on earth.  What was it that made him angry?  Today we will read an entire chapter.  Read it out loud if you can.  Identify the things that made our Lord angry.

Read Matthew 23

I have written in this series before about the fact that "religion" is not a dirty word.  In and of itself it is a fine word, even a beautiful word.  The Webster's dictionary definition is:

1

 (1): the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2): commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance

2

: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices

3

archaic: scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness

4

: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith 

Why do hundreds of thousands people in our own country claim faith in God and Jesus but want no part of religion?  Why are they leaving churches in droves?  This chapter in Matthew, these scathing words from Jesus give us insight into the "why" of the previous 2 questions.  

What made Jesus angry?  It was the abuse and misuse of religion.  It was the twisting of religion to meet personal agendas.  It was the perversion of religion.  I see six things about the way the Pharisees and scribes had used and misused religion that incited Jesus' indictment.  Do you see others?  

Jesus gets angry when ...

1. people turn religion into a burden.  It is to be a support and an encouragement and a connector, not a set of rules and regulations that are burdensome to try and carry.  
2. people turn religion into an ostentatious show.  It is not to be another American Idol show where individuals are the "stars".  It is not to be another system of political posturing where there are winners and losers, where I vote my way in.  
3. people turn religion into an exclusive sect ... for the few who are willing to march according to a humanly prescribed set of criteria.  More specifically, for those who "look and think just like me!"
4. people turn religion into a set of minutiae to bring honor and prestige to a few rather than principles established by God
5. people turn religion into a cover-up for uncleanness of heart and mind
6. people turn religion into an excuse for murder.

So what is religion TO BE?  It is TO BE a support system for followers of Jesus to become more and more like him.  It is TO BE the hands and feet of Jesus in our world today.  It is TO BE an avenue for people to experience the grace of God and the love of God.  

Matthew 22: 37 - 40     Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

Micah 6:8     He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

James 1: 26 - 27     If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.  Religions that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this:  to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Hebrews 10: 24 - 25    And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Are you religious?  How?  Examine your heart and mind under the microscope of Matthew 23.  Then, through prayer and perseverance, be religious!  But follow the religion of Christ ... alongside Christ followers for encouragement and strength.