Hello, friends, and welcome back to Nations 4 Jesus. Today I want to talk about the only time in all of Scripture when Jesus is portrayed as passionately, actively angry.
If you've watched The Chosen, you might remember the powerful scene where Jesus clears the temple. It's dramatic, it's shocking, and it might have made you a bit uncomfortable. But friends, have you ever stopped to ask why? Why did Jesus get so angry that day? What was it about the temple that provoked such righteous fury in the One who came full of grace and truth?
[Setting the scene - the temple clearing]
All four Gospel accounts record this event—Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 2. Jesus entered the temple in Jerusalem and saw the buying, selling, cheating, and utter chaos that was going on. He took a whip and drove out all those who were selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers. He sent animals scattering. This wasn't a gentle correction. This was righteous anger on full display.
And I used to wonder at this. Why did He get so angry at the moneychangers and sellers of sacrificial animals? Shouldn't He be more angry about the injustice to people He saw every day—slavery, treatment of lepers, shunning of children, corruption of the religious leaders? But His righteous anger at the temple points to a truth that we need to understand.
[The primary reason Jesus came - God's glory]
Here's the truth: Jesus did not come to earth primarily for us, as we like to believe and are often taught. Now stay with me here—yes, He came to earth to show us God, to teach us how to live, and to die for our sins, purchasing salvation for all who would believe. But His primary reason for coming to earth was to bring glory to God.
Listen to Jesus's own words in John 17:4-6: "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." And what was the work? "I manifested Your name to the men You gave Me out of the world." Jesus's main concern was that His Father in Heaven might be worshipped fully and completely by those He had created.
Friends, God is the creator of all things. He is so incredibly holy, mighty, just, beautiful—truly beyond words. He made us and sustains us and deserves all our thankfulness, praise, wonder, and worship. Jesus recognized that more than any other human being on earth, and He was jealous for His Father's glory and worship.
[What Jesus saw in the temple - the Court of the Gentiles]
So when Jesus entered the temple that day—whose actual building was directed by God "to establish His name there for His dwelling" according to Deuteronomy 12—His anger was roused by what He saw. Now here's what many people miss about this story: All this buying and selling was happening in the Court of the Gentiles.
The Court of the Gentiles was the place set apart for non-Jews to encounter God, worship Him, pray to Him, and find relationship with Him. This was the only part of the temple where Gentiles were allowed. And what did Jesus find there? Noisy, smelly, deceiving distractions to relationship, prayer, and worship!
How could people encounter God and worship Him amidst the buying and selling of animals? How could they pray with hundreds of pilgrims yelling and arguing with money changers who were doing their best to make a profit and cheat country folks out of their meager earnings? Friends, it was impossible! The very place designed for Gentiles to meet God had been turned into a marketplace.
[The deeper issue - lack of concern for the nations]
And here's what really provoked Jesus's anger: The fact that all this was being done in the Court of the Gentiles showed the lack of concern and love that the Jewish leadership had for non-Jews. Time and again, Jesus had seen their lack of concern for the Gentiles surrounding them. Like Jonah—remember our last episode?—they hoarded their "privileged" status as followers of God and were not eager to see Gentiles coming to faith in the one true God.
This didn't reflect the mentality of all Jews, but it certainly seemed to be the mentality of the temple leadership who would allow such a cacophony of noise and corruption in the very place set aside by God for the prayers and worship of foreigners. This angered Jesus! How dare they prevent people from coming and worshipping the Lord? The Lord deserves all praise and glory, and anything that hindered that—anything that hindered the salvation of Gentiles—needed to be destroyed.
[No one challenged Him - they knew it was wrong]
Here's something fascinating: I believe that everyone who was there knew in their hearts that what was going on in the Court of the Gentiles was wrong, even before Jesus so publicly pointed it out. How do I know? Because no one challenged what He had done. No one tried to stop Him. He was justified in His anger and His actions, and they knew it!
God deserved every bit of praise and worship, and all people deserved an opportunity to meet Him, fall in love with Him, and worship Him. The religious leaders had forgotten this. They had made God's house into a house of commerce instead of a house of prayer for all nations—which is exactly what Jesus called them out for.
[Biblical foundation - a house of prayer for all nations]
In Mark 11:17, Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56:7 when He says, "Is it not written: 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'" Friends, did you catch that? A house of prayer for ALL NATIONS. Not just for Jews. Not just for the privileged. For all nations!
God's heart has always been for the nations. We talked about this in our Jonah episode. From Abraham to Israel to the temple itself—God designed it all with the nations in mind. The Court of the Gentiles was supposed to be a place where people from every nation could come and encounter the one true God. But instead, it had become a barrier to worship, a hindrance to the very purpose God intended.
[The application for us today - a challenging question]
Here's where this gets uncomfortable. I wonder what Jesus would do today if He stepped into some of our churches? Would He find congregations totally focused on prayer and the worship of Him? Congregations that welcome all who would seek Him, causing no hindrances to the worship of Him?
Or would He find churches eager to show off their wealth? Eager to sell the latest best-selling Christian novel in the lobby? Eager to entertain the congregation and the visitor rather than challenge them to serve God more wholeheartedly? Would He find red-hot worship of God—people whose primary goal in life is to glorify the Lord and find total satisfaction in Him? Or would He find lukewarm, self-serving, self-focused weekly gatherings of people who call themselves Christians but are living lives no different from the world around them?
[Modern barriers to worship - what distracts us?]
Let's get really specific. What are the modern equivalents of money changers in the Court of the Gentiles? What are we allowing in our churches—or in our own lives—that hinders genuine worship and keeps people from encountering God?
Is it the obsession with building programs and fundraising that overshadows prayer and missions? Is it the focus on comfortable seating and coffee bars while ignoring the unreached nations? Is it the celebrity pastor culture that draws attention to personalities instead of pointing to God? Is it the entertainment-driven services that tickle ears but don't transform hearts?
Or on a personal level—what's cluttering our own "court of the Gentiles"? What's taking up the space in our life that should be reserved for encountering God and helping others encounter Him? Is it busyness? Entertainment? Comfort? The pursuit of wealth? Friends, Jesus is still zealous for His Father's glory. And anything that hinders worship—anything that keeps us or others from glorifying God—should make us angry too.
[The global perspective - do we care about the nations?]
And here's the missions angle we can't ignore: The Jewish leaders didn't care that they were hindering Gentiles from worshiping God. Do we care that there are 3.4 billion people in unreached people groups who have never had the chance to encounter God? Do we care enough to do something about it?
According to recent data, only about 3% of missionary efforts and resources are focused on reaching unreached people groups. That means 97% of our efforts are going to places that have already been reached! If Jesus was angry about money changers blocking Gentiles in Jerusalem, how does He feel about our neglect of billions who have never even heard His name?
[Closing encouragement and prayer]
Friends, Jesus got angry—passionately, righteously angry—because people were being prevented from worshiping His Father. He cared more about God's glory than about keeping the peace or maintaining the status quo. May we have that same holy jealousy for God's glory. May we remove any barriers in our own lives that hinder worship. And may we be zealous to see all nations come to know and worship the one true God.
Let me pray:
Thank you for joining me today. May we never forget what Jesus was willing to get angry about—and may we share that same passion for God's glory among all nations.
Until next time, remember—keep your eyes on the nations remembering that God deserves all praise and glory, and all people deserve the opportunity to worship Him.
Episode Description: Only once in Scripture is Jesus passionately angry—when He cleared the temple. Why? The money changers were operating in the Court of the Gentiles, the only place where non-Jews could encounter God, blocking the nations from worship. Today, with 3.4 billion unreached people and only 3% of missions focused on them, what would Jesus do if He walked into our churches? Would He find passionate concern for the nations, or comfortable, entertainment-driven gatherings? Five ways to align with Jesus's zeal for God's glory and the nations' worship.
Scripture: Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17, John 17:4-6, Isaiah 56:7
Read more: nations4jesus.blogspot.com
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