April 1, 2007

What Makes Jesus Mad?

Matthew 21:1-17

Matthew 21:1-17     ¹As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."

    ⁴This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
    ⁵"Say to the Daughter of Zion,
      'See, your king comes to you,
   gentle and riding on a donkey,
      on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' "

    ⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. ⁸A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
   "Hosanna to the Son of David!"
   "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
   "Hosanna in the highest!"

    ¹⁰When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?"

    ¹¹The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

    ¹²Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³"It is written," he said to them,” 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.' "

    ¹⁴The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant.

    ¹⁶"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him.
      "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read,
   ”‘From the lips of children and infants
      you have ordained praise'?"

    ¹⁷And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Abraham Lincoln's secretary of war was Edwin Stanton. One day Stanton was angered by an army officer who accused him of favoritism. Stanton complained to Lincoln, who suggested that Stanton write the officer a sharply worded letter. Stanton did, and showed the strongly worded message to the president. "What are you going to do with it?" Lincoln inquired. Surprised, Stanton replied, "Send it." Lincoln shook his head. "You don't want to send that letter," he said. "Put it in the stove and burn it. That's what I do when I have written a letter while I am angry. It's a good letter and you had a good time writing it and now you feel better. Now burn it, and write him another letter." 

Aristotle once said, "Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy." Perhaps, that is Jesus’ story today?

Biblical experts tell us that Jerusalem exploded during Passover. The normal population of Jerusalem at this time in history was 250,000 people. During Passover it grew to 2,500,000 people. It was required that every Jewish male with a thirty mile radius come to Jerusalem to make a sacrifice but it was really unnecessary legislation. Everyone wanted to be in the Holy City. It was a time of reunion with both family and friends. It was a time to take a break from a hard life. Everyone looked forward to Passover. Missing Passover would be like missing Thanksgiving or Christmas in our society. In the scripture lesson this morning the city is alive and full of positive energy.

The city was also full of anticipation. Jesus is on his way into town. He had become the man of the hour. During that particular Passover, Jesus had become trendy. Everyone was talking about him. Everyone knew someone who had experienced Jesus. Those who believed in him talked about the Master’s miracles, teachings and presence. Their words fanned the flames of anticipation. Those who didn’t believe in the Master talked about his show down with leaders of the orthodox faith. Biblical experts tell us Jesus entered Jerusalem through a side gate but Jesus must have felt like the whole world was watching him. If you use your sanctified imagination you can imagine the scene. We can see this scene because we visit this story annually. That day was the being of a seven day period that changed the world.

According to the gospel of Matthew Jesus enters the city and goes directly to the Temple. It is there that he sees something that makes him mad. The crowd has come to make their annual sacrifices, which were required by the law. The leaders of the faith abused that law and charged large sums of money for the simplest sacrifice. It is not a case of people spending their disposable income for a ticket for the Mother-Daughter Banquet or buying a candy bar to help the youth go on a mission trip. It is a story of basic human need. They would go without food to buy those simple sacrifices. The leaders of the orthodox faith should have been helping the people but instead they were helping themselves. The purpose of why the Temple even existed had been lost. Verse 13 says, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'” Jesus gets mad every time he sees promise without performance.

What makes you mad? Does anyone here get mad when you discover that your tax dollar is being wasted or abused? Does anyone here get mad when you are told the amount CEO’s salaries and benefit packages in one breath and that retirement funds of hourly workers are gone in another? Does anyone here get mad when you hear the amount of our national debt? Does anyone here get mad at the announcement of another soldier’s death in Iraq? Is anyone here mad about the war in Iraq? Is anyone here mad about our local economy? Has anyone here ever gotten mad at your children because they left a light on? Has anyone here ever gotten mad at your children because they are still dependent on you at 40 years old? Has anyone here ever gotten mad at your spouse because you can no longer trust them? Has anyone here ever gotten mad at themselves for making the same mistake over and over again? Christian psychologist Dr. David Seamands has a helpful comment. “The person who cannot feel anger at evil is a person who lacks enthusiasm for good.” Being mad is all part of being human. Jesus was a human being and he got mad too!

Jesus got mad that day because the Temple had forgotten its very purpose. He saw the potential of the Temple being wasted. The Temple should have been something special. We are told that the temple was a magnificent structure. It soared fifteen stories above the Kidron Valley. It was 500 feet long and 400 feet wide. The outer court of the Temple compound equaled fifteen football fields. From a distance it was a magnificent structure but the closer you got the uglier it grew. Jesus was mad because the Temple’s basic purpose had been forgotten. It was a place of prayer, not profit.

I know this is Palm Sunday and it should be a happy day but I have to ask this question. Do you believe Jesus has ever been mad at us? Could it be that we are like the Temple? Could it be that we have forgotten why we are in this world? We exist to make disciples for Jesus Christ. We exist to prepare and remind people about eternity. If we do not do those things no one else will. Maybe Jesus is mad at us because we have forgotten our very purpose. We are too busy doing church work to remember the work of the church. Maybe that is why the world does listen to us. That is why so many people’s lives are out of balance. It is the world that has our attention.

The world tells us we are here to be consumers. The world tells us that happiness and possessions go hand in hand. Over the years Americans have purchased many things, more then any other country. We should be happy. Let me ask you a question. Would you describe our country as a happy place? We have many people who are out of balance. They are listening to the world. They are trying to buy their way into happiness and it just isn’t working. Their lives are out of balance because the church has failed them. Maybe Jesus is mad at us? I believe the church has forgotten why we exist.

The church doesn’t exist to keep dead traditions alive or to inhibit the fun. The church exists to be a house of prayer so people can make contact with God. So people can keep in balance. Life is both the temporary and the eternal. The world isn’t all wrong. There are certain things we must buy for the short term. Some of those things do bring temporary joy. However, the church does not deal with the temporary. The church specializes in the eternal. The church exists to tell people that the God of the universe cares for them. He knows your name. He knows your dreams and nightmares. He knows that your life is filled with the good and bad. He knows your life is not always easy, sometimes it is hard. He knows that you have some hard questions for Him. He knows that you want to live for eternity. Could it be Jesus is mad at church for the same reason he was mad at the Temple. We have forgotten our purpose. We are a place of prayer. The church specializes in the eternal.

Aristotle once said, "Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy." Maybe Jesus should be mad at us?