We are in the midst of a short series on Jesus as the revelation of true God
and true man. One goal that I have for this series is to help you in your
Christian celebration of the Incarnation. But that isn’t my only goal. I
also hope to give you more to look for as you listen to the Gospel Readings
during worship. As you listen, ask yourself, ‘What is Jesus revealing about
the Father or about being really human?’ This will help you to get to know
your God better and to know yourself better. Now, on to our text.
I’d like to look at two things that stand out from our text. The first is
this: Jesus got angry. That is very significant. There is something here for
all of us to ponder. Let’s take this apart. Let’s start by taking a look at
anger. Don’t confuse anger itself with some ways in which it might show
itself, things like a temper tantrum or the like. Anger is an emotional
response to a perceived wrong that seeks to right that wrong. It can express
itself in different ways and at different levels. When Jesus entered the
Temple and saw what amounted to a flea market, He got angry. That anger
expressed itself very violently. Jesus flipped heavy tables and whipped
people. But in our text Jesus’ anger expressed itself differently. It wasn’t
expressed in the same way or at the same level that it was in the Temple. It
was not appropriate for Jesus to respond in the synagogue in the way that He
did in the Temple. In our text His anger would have shown itself say as a
stony glare or with a measure of intensity in His voice. But in both cases
Jesus perceived a wrong and was moved – with some emotion – to right it.
Jesus didn’t sin in these displays of anger. But we know that we often do
sin in our anger; not always but often. So, what’s the difference between
what Jesus did in His anger and what we so often do when we get angry? It’s
all tied up in the definition. You’ll remember that I used the phrase
‘perceived wrong’. Anger is an emotional response to a perceived wrong that
seeks to right that wrong. Imagine yourself driving along and someone in
another car abruptly pulls into your lane and cuts you off. You slam on the
brakes to avoid hitting him, and you get angry. Was that sinful or not?
Clearly, there was a ‘perceived wrong’. He cut you off and dangerously so.
But think a moment. What was wrong about what he did? If the root of your
anger includes ‘Look at what he did to me!’, then you’ve sinned. When anger
is used in a self-serving way, if the focus is on you and your well being,
then that is a sinful misuse of anger. The ‘perceived wrong’ was a wrong
against you. But anger, rightly used, comes out of a different concern. At
the root of a Godly use of anger is a concern for the law of love, the love
of God and the love of neighbor. When the concern behind the anger is rooted
in how this other person has refused to love God and neighbor, then it’s a
good and right anger. In our text, Jesus was angry because these Pharisees
refused to love. They refused to love God and they refused to love this man
who has so badly handicapped. As leaders in the Church they should have
known better. But they refused to love. And that called forth Jesus’ anger.
Do you see the difference? Is the anger about me and what I want or is the
anger about the law of love? That’s the question that you need to answer.
Let’s take this one step further. This is something to think about this
week. In a situation like our text you are not only allowed to be angry but
you are required to be angry. Your failure to be angry in a situation like
that in our text simply means that you don’t care if someone refuses to love
God and neighbor. Can that be right? Jesus perceives what is a wrong, a
refusal to love. And the result of this refusal affects the man and others.
Could He have just said, ‘Oh well’, and acted as if nothing wrong was
happening? Clearly not! There is a time to be angry, a time when you need to
be angry.
In light of all of this I think that you can see that your anger is a good
barometer of the heart. When you are angry you need to ask yourself why. Is
the focus on yourself or on loving God and neighbor? Wrongly motivated anger
reveals a heart that is still, to some degree, enslaved to self
centeredness. It reveals your sin. But if you encounter evil, as Jesus did
in our text, and you fail to be angry that reveals a heart that is not given
to the love of God and of neighbor. It’s still the same problem of self
centeredness, just expressed in a different way. It’s the same sin in
different clothing. So, my question at this point should be obvious. How are
you doing at being angry?
Now, we’re ready for the second aspect of our text. Did you notice that
Jesus was grieved? Let’s take a look at this. First, let’s be clear about
what this means. Jesus experienced a note of sadness or sorrow in that
synagogue. And why? What does it say? He was ‘grieved by their hardness of
heart’. Jesus saw what was going on with those Pharisees. He saw the
expression of their hard hearts and He was grieved by that. That fits
something we find elsewhere. I’m thinking of right before the flood with
Noah. Moses tells us that the earth is filled with violence and corruption.
And God has determined to act. Justice is coming. But listen to how the
Scriptures describe God before He sends this massive destruction. ‘And the
LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his
heart.’ [Genesis 6.8] That is simply amazing. Here we see God’s response to
rebellious sin: grief, sadness, sorrow. And do you see why? Man had fallen
so far. He had been created for great things: dominion, enjoying his calling
and developing this world, all in the context of a loving relationship with
God and neighbor. Instead, what does God see? Ugliness. Man has fallen into
violence and corruption. And God is grieved. This is what is going on in
Jesus. He is grieved at the hateful attitude of these men. There’s an
example for you to meditate on.
Now, we’re ready for the next step. Did you notice that Jesus is angered and
grieved by the same thing and at the same time? Here are these men who
refuse to love God or neighbor and Jesus responds both with anger and
sorrow. In this, He is truly the revelation of the Father’ heart: anger at
the perceived wrong joined with sorrow at the destructive power of sin. In
this, Jesus is also the perfect revelation of true humanity; not just angry
or just sorrowful because of sin, but both. He is our model, our standard.
And so, we see that Jesus’ life exposes our sin. For one thing, we are not
angry enough, not with the right kind of anger. We see the refusal to love
in others, we see how they have such hard hearts, and, so often, it barely
affects us one way or the other. This is not right. And that’s not saying
anything about how frequently we misuse anger for sinful ends. So often when
we do get angry, it’s all about ourselves. Beyond that, we are not touched
with the feelings of grief and sorrow enough. We see people all around us
who have fallen far from where they were created to be, people who are
enslaved by their sin and are being destroyed by that sin. Jesus was grieved
by that. Shouldn’t we be?
So, what are we to do? My goal for this sermon is not to discourage you. It
is to help you to see more clearly what the Incarnation is all about. One
part of what it is about is that Jesus has come to reveal to us what true
humanity is like. And this morning we have seen a little bit of that. In
seeing that, we stand condemned. We see ourselves a little more clearly. And
that is good. We are not as good as we so often think we are. But don’t
forget to take the next step! And this also relates to what the Incarnation
is about. The next step is to believe the Gospel. Your sin has been revealed
to your eyes. True faith responds to that, first, by repenting of that sin;
being grieved at that sin; maybe even getting a little angry because of that
sin. Repent and confess your sin so that you might be forgiven. Jesus has
come so that all your sins might be wiped away. All who confess their sin
and entrust themselves to Jesus as the Savior will be forgiven. That’s just
a fact. Believe that part of the Gospel. But don’t stop there. Believe this
other part of the Gospel. The Father has sent the Son so that you might
become like the Son. The Spirit is doing His work. He is showing you what
you can be. Believe Him for that and pray and strive to become more like
Jesus. This is not trying to do something extraordinary. You’re just trying
to be truly human. This is also why Jesus has come, that you might be freed
from your sins and become truly human, like He is. Listen to the Spirit.
Believe the Gospel. And become like Jesus.
