Angry Jesus

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Most of us picture Jesus as a calm and serene person who didn’t have a lot of emotion. But Jesus did have emotion, and He even got angry. What made Him angry then, and what makes God angry today? What makes us angry tells us a lot about ourselves, and what makes God angry tells us a lot about Him.

• What is one of your biggest pet peeves? Is it people who chew loudly, are chronically late, drive slow in the fast lane, or something else?

• Jeff said, “What we get angry about tells us a lot about ourselves—what we are passionate about or what really matters to us.” What makes you really angry? What does that tell you about what you’re passionate about?

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Discuss Together

Let’s read about what made Jesus angry. Read how both Mark and John describe a time where Jesus got really angry. It’s found in Mark 11:15-18 and John 2:13-17.

• What does Jesus do that surprises you in either or both of the accounts? Is this different than how you normally picture Jesus?

• What was going on in the temple that made Jesus so angry? Is it because they were selling stuff, or is it something else?

• Jesus got angry but didn’t sin. What is the difference between righteous anger and sinful anger? How would you know when you cross the line?

Now, read Isaiah 56:3-8.

• When Jesus said His house will be called a house of prayer for all nations, what does that mean?

• What can we learn about God’s heart from the Isaiah passage? How were the religious leaders at the temple working against God’s heart?

• Jeff said, “The gravitational pull of every church is to become an insider community, to spin the energy of a church inward, serving its members rather than those outside.” Do you think that’s true? If so, why do you think that happens?

• Have you ever sat through a church service with a person you invited, maybe someone who doesn’t follow Jesus, and it changed the way you evaluated what was going on? How did it change what you normally look for or care about?

• Have you felt the gravitational pull in your own heart towards making church mostly about you and your preferences? How do you need to fight that tendency?

• Is there a way you feel called to “make it happen” at church by serving somewhere? If so, where?

• Is there someone you’ve been thinking about inviting to church? Who? What challenges or emotions are you facing as you try to invite them?