If Jesus Got Angry, Can I?

You know the symptoms of anger: your jaw tightens, your shoulders tense, your blood boils. The tension in your body tempts you to shut a door harder than normal or to raise your voice. Your words are sharper and sometimes hurtful. In moments of frustration or seasons of stress, anger is often sneaking up on you and erupting. Or perhaps anger sits just below the surface in a steady simmer, causing you to be irritable and impatient, to quickly identify the faults of anyone with whom you come into contact.

This is me when my preschooler wakes me up thirty minutes before my alarm goes off. A steaming cup of coffee isn’t enough to evaporate the frustration I feel and if I’m not careful, I can tail-spin into an entire day feeling angry at who knows what. And that’s just a tiny injustice done to me by a human I happen to love very much. Maybe right now you’re thinking of a person or a situation that causes you to feel angry. In fact, the very thought changes your breathing and  speeds up your heart rate. You are not alone.

The Bible talks about different men throughout history who got angry–even some of our heroes of the faith. The New Testament even describes moments when Jesus Himself was angry.

The Bible talks about different men throughout history who got angry–even some of our heroes of the faith. The New Testament even describes moments when Jesus Himself was angry. But more often in Scripture, we see warnings regarding anger. Sirens that alert us to the danger that lurks behind this emotion and how to stop it from ruining our lives, let alone our days.

If Jesus got angry, can I?

We read in John 2:13-16 that during Passover, “Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple, he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money- changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons. ‘Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.’”(ESV) Jesus approaches the temple and becomes angry with what he sees. He’s so angry in fact, that he drives everyone away, dumps out the money that was being collected, and flips over tables. Jesus displayed a moment of anger which shows us that anger is a real emotion we can express. But the important thing to consider is what made Jesus angry? John 2:17 says, “His disciples remembered that it was written (in Psalm 69:9) ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’” (ESV) The people selling animals for sacrifice were taking advantage of the people who had come to worship empty-handed. So, Jesus’ anger was righteous, stemming from his desire to protect His people from the sin and injustice of the money changers and his desire to protect the holiness of God’s Temple. 

We read of another example in the Gospel of Mark. Jesus is teaching in the synagogue and the Pharisees are refusing to answer Jesus’ questions. “And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart” (Mark 3:5, ESV). In this situation, Jesus’ anger derives from His great love for these men and sadness because of their lack of faith. After we identify Jesus’ motivation for His anger, we have to identify our own. Are we angry about the injustice we see in the world? Or are we angry because we feel slighted?

If you are angry about the evil you see in the world, then I encourage you to pray and ask God if He wants you to intervene in some capacity; in a way that points others to Him and brings glory to His name. Even Jesus’ response in the temple was aligned with God’s Word. He never harmed anyone nor reacted out of hatred for another person. If God wants you to step in when you’re confronted with the sinful behavior of someone else, you must make sure that your response remains in step with God’s Word. 

If God wants you to step in when you’re confronted with the sinful behavior of someone else, you must make sure that your response remains in step with God’s Word.

But most of the time, our anger stems from selfishness or jealousy, hurt or disappointment, fear or frustration. Identifying the root cause of our anger is critical. This is what we must train ourselves to do at the first symptom of anger. While we’re practicing our breathing techniques, may we train our hearts and minds to pray. To seek God’s wisdom and help us discern what’s really going on. Then, ask Him to show us what to do. If it’s not a righteous anger, then we look to the warning signs in Scripture.

What else does the Bible say about anger? 

Ephesians 4:26-27 -“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.”(ESV)

This shows us that anger is a valid and real emotion. We will be angry sometimes. But the instruction is not to sin when we do feel angry. When we stay angry, it will eventually turn into bitterness and that gives the enemy a foothold in our life. When we are listening to the lies of the enemy, instead of the truth of God’s Word, it becomes easier to justify our anger and, therefore, our responses to it. This is why Paul, the author of Ephesians, clearly states that when we do feel angry, we must practice self-control and not sin. 

Ephesians 4:31-32 “Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.”(CSV)

Just like Jesus looked on the Pharisees and was grieved because of His love for them, we must become more compassionate toward the people around us who make us angry. We can be angry at their sinful behavior, but we must pray and ask God to help us love that person. God wants us to guard our hearts from bitterness and outbursts of anger. 

Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (ESV)

When we feel angry, we will only escalate the situation by raising our voice or sharpening our tone. Instead, we are encouraged to let our words be gentle and do our part to diffuse the situation. Personally, this often means taking a break from the situation and biting back words that I know I’ll regret saying. 

James 1:19-20 “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (ESV)

This verse not only gives us the how, but the why to the dangers of anger. Rather than being quick-tempered and quick to jump to conclusions, this verse tells us to ask questions. We can more aptly slow down the symptoms of anger when we give the person with whom we are angry the benefit of the doubt, perhaps by allowing them the chance to share their perspective or even ask for an apology. We should be slow to speak, slow to accuse, and slow to condemn. Why? Because the anger that stems from our flesh (selfishness, hatred, etc.) and not from God’s heart never reflects God’s character and it will not make us more like Him. 

This is our goal as a follower of Jesus: to become more like Jesus every day. And so we echo Paul’s prayer in Philippians 1:9-11 and ask that our “love will overflow more and more, and that we will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding…so that we may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May we always be filled with the fruit of our salvation—the righteous character produced in our life by Jesus Christ—[so that we] will bring much glory and praise to God.” (NLT)

Amen.