Angry at the Right Things

Saturday, May 23rd, 2026

8:29 am

Good morning! Today I am in Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-19, and Luke 19:45-48. When Jesus and the disciples came back into Jerusalem, they went back into the Temple. Jesus began driving out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices, and He knocked over the tables of the money changers. He stopped everyone from using the Temple as a market place. He told them that the Scriptures say that the Temple will be a place of prayer, but they had turned it into a den of thieves. Luke tells us that everyday after that Jesus taught in the Temple. Matthew tells us that the blind and the lame came in to see Jesus, and He healed all of them. The leaders saw all of this and heard the children shouting praises saying, "Praise God for the Son of David!" The religious leaders asked Jesus if He heard what the children were saying, and He told them that the Scriptures say, "You have taught the children and infants to give you praise." After all this, the leaders were planning to kill Jesus, but they were afraid of Him because the people hung on every word He said.

When Jesus went into the Temple and saw the merchants in the Temple, taking advantage of the people, He became angry and drove them all out. The merchants had set up in the Court of the Gentiles, crowding it so much that the non-Jews could not come in and worship God. The merchants were taking advantage of the foreigners that had traveled long distances to worship God. They were exchanging money and selling animals for high rates. Taking advantage of the foreigners that did not know the exchange rates.

Jesus was angry, but He didn't sin in His anger. He was angry at the merchants for taking advantage of the people and for blocking their worship. It is okay to be angry, but God wants us to not sin in our anger. He wants us to be angry at the right things like injustice and sin, because when we are we can take action to stop it like Jesus did. But we must be careful not to sin while we are angry. And we must be careful that we are not angry at the wrong things. Many times we get angry over personal insults and petty irritations, and then sin by taking our vengeance out on the person or gossiping about them, and both are sins. When someone makes us angry, we are to turn the other cheek, but when we are angry at the right things, God can use us to help other people. We are not to sit passively by why people are being treated fairly or sinning. We are to help those who need help, and call out sin, in the right way. And God can help us every step of the way. God needs us in every place we go to stand up for Him and what is right. And when we do, we can guide other people to Him. Allow Him to help you see how you can help those that need Him today. Don't allow anger to cause you to sin, instead look for ways to help. Many times someone that hurts us or makes us mad, is actually hurting themselves. God needs us to help. He can give you the right words at the right time, and He can calm you, so you don't over react. Allow Him to use you today.