WEBVTT 00:00:04.110 --> 00:00:06.690 Hello, and welcome to this week's episode of 00:00:06.690 --> 00:00:09.990 Trinity Sermons. This week we are continuing 00:00:09.990 --> 00:00:13.810 our sermon series titled The S Word, where we're 00:00:13.810 --> 00:00:16.789 taking a deep dive into the seven deadly sins. 00:00:17.489 --> 00:00:20.929 And this week we come to the sin known as wrath. 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:24.539 Wrath isn't a word that we use very often, but 00:00:24.539 --> 00:00:27.219 it's sort of like anger. And as you might know, 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:29.359 anger can be a bit of a double -edged sword. 00:00:29.539 --> 00:00:32.320 It can be really great to help us motivate and 00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:35.179 move forward into action, but it can also be 00:00:35.179 --> 00:00:38.920 really harmful. And so tune in as Rob unpacks 00:00:38.920 --> 00:00:42.179 the helpful and harmful sides of anger and how 00:00:42.179 --> 00:00:49.719 we can find a way forward. Today's reading is 00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:52.359 from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 11, verses 1 00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:57.039 to 11 and 15 to 19. As they approached Jerusalem 00:00:57.039 --> 00:00:59.640 and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount 00:00:59.640 --> 00:01:02.560 of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:05.319 to them, Go to the village ahead of you, and 00:01:05.319 --> 00:01:07.319 just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied 00:01:07.319 --> 00:01:11.719 there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it 00:01:11.719 --> 00:01:14.870 and bring it here. If anyone asks you, why are 00:01:14.870 --> 00:01:17.489 you doing this? Say, the Lord needs it and will 00:01:17.489 --> 00:01:21.109 send it back here shortly. They went and found 00:01:21.109 --> 00:01:23.709 a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. 00:01:24.069 --> 00:01:26.349 As they untied it, some people standing there 00:01:26.349 --> 00:01:28.709 asked, what are you doing untying that colt? 00:01:29.049 --> 00:01:31.670 They answered as Jesus had told them to and the 00:01:31.670 --> 00:01:34.430 people let them go. When they brought the colt 00:01:34.430 --> 00:01:36.709 to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat 00:01:36.709 --> 00:01:39.409 on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the 00:01:39.409 --> 00:01:41.549 road while others spread branches they had cut 00:01:41.549 --> 00:01:44.150 in the fields. Those who went ahead and those 00:01:44.150 --> 00:01:47.129 who followed shouted, Hosanna! Blessed is he 00:01:47.129 --> 00:01:49.870 who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is 00:01:49.870 --> 00:01:54.930 the coming kingdom of our father David. Hosanna 00:01:54.930 --> 00:01:59.189 in the highest heaven. Jesus entered Jerusalem 00:01:59.189 --> 00:02:02.170 and went into the temple courts. He looked around 00:02:02.170 --> 00:02:04.329 at everything, but since it was already late, 00:02:04.510 --> 00:02:07.590 he went out to Bethany with the twelve. On reaching 00:02:07.590 --> 00:02:10.050 Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and 00:02:10.050 --> 00:02:12.050 began driving out those who were buying and selling 00:02:12.050 --> 00:02:14.500 there. He overturned the tables of the money 00:02:14.500 --> 00:02:16.780 changers and the benches of those selling doves 00:02:16.780 --> 00:02:18.680 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise 00:02:18.680 --> 00:02:21.560 through the temple courts. And as he taught them, 00:02:21.620 --> 00:02:24.300 he said, is it not written, my house will be 00:02:24.300 --> 00:02:26.759 called a house of prayer for all nations, but 00:02:26.759 --> 00:02:30.080 you have made it a den of robbers. The chief 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:32.319 priests and the teachers of the law heard this 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:34.539 and began looking for a way to kill him, for 00:02:34.539 --> 00:02:36.960 they feared him because the whole crowd was amazed 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:40.289 at his teaching. When evening came, Jesus and 00:02:40.289 --> 00:02:43.229 his disciples went out of the city. The word 00:02:43.229 --> 00:02:47.110 of the Lord. I hope you guys don't mind if I 00:02:47.110 --> 00:02:51.490 brought my sword to church. No ordinary sword, 00:02:51.590 --> 00:02:55.250 actually a double -edged sword, and I like to 00:02:55.250 --> 00:02:59.909 keep the blades. Nice and sharp. And the reason 00:02:59.909 --> 00:03:02.370 I brought this to church is, no, I'm not planning 00:03:02.370 --> 00:03:04.750 on reenacting the book of Revelation right in 00:03:04.750 --> 00:03:06.870 front of you. And I'm not planning on actually 00:03:06.870 --> 00:03:09.590 reenacting our last board meeting here at Trinity 00:03:09.590 --> 00:03:12.250 Streetsville either. No, I brought this because 00:03:12.250 --> 00:03:15.530 we are now in week six of our teaching series, 00:03:15.629 --> 00:03:17.669 The S Word, where we're looking at the seven 00:03:17.669 --> 00:03:19.849 deadly sins. And the sixth deadly sin, the one 00:03:19.849 --> 00:03:24.129 we're looking at today, is the sin. of anger, 00:03:24.210 --> 00:03:29.069 or more specifically, the sin of wrath. The question 00:03:29.069 --> 00:03:36.259 is, is anger a good thing? Or is it a bad thing? 00:03:36.620 --> 00:03:38.900 You know, many people will say anger is absolutely 00:03:38.900 --> 00:03:41.840 essential. We have to have anger. In fact, if 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:44.159 you're not angry, then you're not paying attention. 00:03:44.520 --> 00:03:47.879 The good that happens in this world is fueled 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:51.819 by anger. And so anger is, in fact, our friend. 00:03:51.939 --> 00:03:54.520 That's what some people say. But there are others 00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:57.379 that say, no, no, no, no. You cannot fight fire 00:03:57.379 --> 00:04:00.039 with fire. There's already enough anger in the 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:05.169 world. You can't use it. resist anger. You need 00:04:05.169 --> 00:04:09.129 to resist it and put it away. And then, of course, 00:04:09.210 --> 00:04:13.310 we could listen to the monks who gave us the 00:04:13.310 --> 00:04:15.569 seven deadly sins to begin with. And some of 00:04:15.569 --> 00:04:18.149 those monks say that, no, yes, properly used. 00:04:18.410 --> 00:04:23.709 Anger is a tool that can attack evil and, in 00:04:23.709 --> 00:04:27.629 fact, can even be considered a holy type of anger. 00:04:27.870 --> 00:04:29.970 But there were other monks that said, no, are 00:04:29.970 --> 00:04:33.899 you crazy? Who can wield anger? without hurting 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:36.720 the people around them or even injuring themselves. 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:40.160 And then you have people like Martin Luther. 00:04:40.339 --> 00:04:43.740 Martin Luther once said that when he's angry, 00:04:43.879 --> 00:04:46.139 that's when he does his best writing, his best 00:04:46.139 --> 00:04:49.680 preaching, his best praying. It lights a fire 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:53.500 in him. And so anger was a good thing. But actually... 00:04:53.980 --> 00:04:56.899 Martin Luther, some of his worst writings, some 00:04:56.899 --> 00:05:00.079 of his most horrendous and anti -Semitic writings 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:03.199 that he ever wrote happened because of anger. 00:05:03.300 --> 00:05:05.279 So anger twisted it and made it into something 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:09.160 awful and destructive. And then what about, you 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:12.610 know, People like Moses. Moses comes down Mount 00:05:12.610 --> 00:05:16.509 Sinai. He sees the people of Israel worshiping 00:05:16.509 --> 00:05:19.050 the golden calf and he is angry. He breaks the 00:05:19.050 --> 00:05:20.889 Ten Commandments. And then, I don't know if you 00:05:20.889 --> 00:05:23.029 read the rest of the story, but he goes on to 00:05:23.029 --> 00:05:27.769 slay 3 ,000 of the Israelites. That's a lot of 00:05:27.769 --> 00:05:30.529 anger. But at other times, Moses is like, oh 00:05:30.529 --> 00:05:33.829 God, please turn from your anger. God, please 00:05:33.829 --> 00:05:37.230 have mercy on us. God, you know, turn back from 00:05:37.230 --> 00:05:41.000 your wrath. Or let's take, for example, someone 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:45.160 like Jeremiah. Jeremiah once said that I am full 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:49.959 of the wrath of God. It's bursting out of me, 00:05:50.079 --> 00:05:53.220 he said. But then, at other times, Jeremiah said, 00:05:53.339 --> 00:05:58.040 seek the peace and prosperity of the city in 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:01.000 which you live. Well, which is it, Jeremiah? 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:06.339 Let's talk about God. I mean, God says, vengeance 00:06:06.339 --> 00:06:10.790 is mine. God says, I will repay. I'm a vengeful 00:06:10.790 --> 00:06:14.870 God, he says. But then God also says that I am 00:06:14.870 --> 00:06:20.050 slow to anger, forgiving my people to a thousand 00:06:20.050 --> 00:06:25.029 generations. Or take the story of the flood. 00:06:25.089 --> 00:06:27.930 God was obviously so angry with humankind that 00:06:27.930 --> 00:06:30.310 he flooded the whole earth. It was so wicked, 00:06:30.350 --> 00:06:33.910 he wanted to strike them all out. And yet, after 00:06:33.910 --> 00:06:36.829 it was done, he hangs a rainbow in the sky. He 00:06:36.829 --> 00:06:39.430 lays down the sword and says, I will never do 00:06:39.430 --> 00:06:43.689 that again. And what do we do about Jesus, even? 00:06:44.110 --> 00:06:47.769 Today, Jesus goes into the temple and he starts, 00:06:47.970 --> 00:06:50.550 well, first of all, he makes a whip out of cords 00:06:50.550 --> 00:06:53.170 and he starts thrashing things about. He flips 00:06:53.170 --> 00:06:55.850 over the tables. The coins are all over the place. 00:06:55.870 --> 00:06:59.970 Jesus is good and angry in this scene. But actually, 00:07:00.009 --> 00:07:03.459 when Jesus came into Jerusalem, He was riding 00:07:03.459 --> 00:07:07.180 on a donkey, on one of the most innocent and 00:07:07.180 --> 00:07:10.279 gentle and meek and mild creatures you could 00:07:10.279 --> 00:07:15.339 ever imagine. So what do we do with this? What 00:07:15.339 --> 00:07:18.220 do you do with this? Because some of you, frankly, 00:07:18.459 --> 00:07:21.040 you're the type of people who don't hold back. 00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:24.439 Right? You're like, oh, I like to speak my truth. 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:27.759 I like to get it out there. I like to tell people 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:30.000 what I think. And I don't care if I burn the 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:32.079 whole place down when I do it. And then there 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:34.459 are others of you that will say, oh, no, I never 00:07:34.459 --> 00:07:38.000 get angry. Any angry feeling that comes to me, 00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:41.399 I repress. I shove it deep, deep down. It's always 00:07:41.399 --> 00:07:44.800 bad. And I just try to smile. And I just try 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:52.449 to be nice. So what gives? Is anger good or bad? 00:07:52.569 --> 00:07:57.790 Is it always sinful or can it sometimes be righteous? 00:07:58.589 --> 00:08:03.430 Should we be afraid of this sword or should we 00:08:03.430 --> 00:08:07.589 be grateful for it? Well, today what I want to 00:08:07.589 --> 00:08:11.829 talk about are, in fact, the two edges of anger. 00:08:12.379 --> 00:08:16.160 Like a sword, you see, anger cuts both ways. 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:21.579 It can either cut and destroy, or it can actually 00:08:21.579 --> 00:08:25.579 cut through things and provide healing. I mean, 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:29.759 when used righteously, we get people using anger 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:32.960 like William Wilberforce or Mother Teresa or 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:35.740 Desmond Tutu. They channeled their anger for 00:08:35.740 --> 00:08:37.940 the injustices that they saw in the world, and 00:08:37.940 --> 00:08:41.950 they caused great and positive change. But then 00:08:41.950 --> 00:08:44.330 there were other people who used the other blade 00:08:44.330 --> 00:08:48.090 of anger and they just mishandled it. And they 00:08:48.090 --> 00:08:51.789 wounded their relationships. They broke their 00:08:51.789 --> 00:08:54.330 families apart. And even whole countries fell 00:08:54.330 --> 00:08:58.529 into disorder because of unbridled anger of some 00:08:58.529 --> 00:09:01.309 of the leaders. So it really depends on who is 00:09:01.309 --> 00:09:07.230 wielding the sword and why. Because it cuts both 00:09:07.230 --> 00:09:11.070 ways. And the other thing that we therefore learn 00:09:11.070 --> 00:09:16.370 about anger is that it must be handled very carefully. 00:09:16.590 --> 00:09:19.789 It must be handled with great skill and care, 00:09:19.889 --> 00:09:22.669 just like handling a sword. You must have great 00:09:22.669 --> 00:09:25.389 skill and care to handle a sword, otherwise you'll 00:09:25.389 --> 00:09:27.830 cut yourself or you'll cut others. The same is 00:09:27.830 --> 00:09:30.610 true with anger. You have to have great spiritual 00:09:30.610 --> 00:09:34.070 maturity. You have to have great discernment 00:09:34.070 --> 00:09:36.190 to know how to use anger properly. Look, you 00:09:36.190 --> 00:09:39.820 don't just give a sword to a toddler. And yet 00:09:39.820 --> 00:09:42.399 many of us, spiritually speaking, when it comes 00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:48.639 to anger, we are like toddlers. So it must be 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:53.960 handled with skill and care. But thirdly, what 00:09:53.960 --> 00:09:57.340 anger does is it actually reveals what's on the 00:09:57.340 --> 00:10:00.960 inside of us. Just like a sword would cut through 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:05.779 me and reveal my innards, my insides, anger also 00:10:05.779 --> 00:10:07.899 reveals what's going on inside of our heart. 00:10:08.379 --> 00:10:12.039 And inside of our thoughts. Are we angry because 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:14.519 we see an injustice that has to be made right? 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:17.460 Or are we just angry because our ego got bruised? 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:21.139 And our pride is a problem. That all comes out 00:10:21.139 --> 00:10:25.220 when we get angry. So you see, when Paul wrote 00:10:25.220 --> 00:10:27.860 these words. When he said, be angry but do not 00:10:27.860 --> 00:10:31.840 sin. Do you see the tension there? Anger is both 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:36.820 good and it is bad. We are at our worst. When 00:10:36.820 --> 00:10:39.720 we are most angry, and yet some of the greatest 00:10:39.720 --> 00:10:42.620 good in this world has been done through anger. 00:10:42.919 --> 00:10:47.059 We need to learn the difference between these 00:10:47.059 --> 00:10:51.539 two edges. The edge that I will call the sinful 00:10:51.539 --> 00:10:57.340 edge of wrath and the edge of righteous anger. 00:10:58.220 --> 00:11:02.639 Let's start with the first edge. The edge of 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:09.149 wrath. The first edge of wrath, why is wrath 00:11:09.149 --> 00:11:14.590 considered a sin? Well, put simply, anger becomes 00:11:14.590 --> 00:11:18.429 a sin, becomes wrath when it's too hot, it lasts 00:11:18.429 --> 00:11:22.049 too long, and it's too misguided. What do I mean 00:11:22.049 --> 00:11:25.830 by that? First of all, When anger gets too hot, 00:11:25.909 --> 00:11:27.929 it turns into sin. It turns into wrath. It's 00:11:27.929 --> 00:11:30.750 too explosive. It's when you blow up in the car 00:11:30.750 --> 00:11:32.590 because somebody cut you off. It's when you're 00:11:32.590 --> 00:11:34.769 snapping at your spouse for no particular reason 00:11:34.769 --> 00:11:36.909 at all. You're barking at your kids and they 00:11:36.909 --> 00:11:39.029 haven't really done anything wrong, right? It's 00:11:39.029 --> 00:11:42.590 firing off an angry email. It's slamming the 00:11:42.590 --> 00:11:44.990 door when you leave the room just so everybody 00:11:44.990 --> 00:11:49.029 knows you are good and angry. Wrath is when our 00:11:49.029 --> 00:11:53.580 emotion, the heat of emotion overtakes us. It's 00:11:53.580 --> 00:11:57.940 okay to be intense, and having passion as a person 00:11:57.940 --> 00:12:03.059 is important, but wrath turns anger into a flamethrower, 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:04.919 and it burns up everything. It burns up your 00:12:04.919 --> 00:12:06.759 relationships, but more than that, it actually 00:12:06.759 --> 00:12:09.179 burns up your reputation, and you become known 00:12:09.179 --> 00:12:12.460 as that angry guy. You know, stay clear of him. 00:12:12.620 --> 00:12:15.759 See, when your anger is too hot, the sword cuts 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:19.039 too deep, or it cuts in the wrong direction. 00:12:19.500 --> 00:12:22.799 That's wrath. That's wrath. But the second thing 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:26.559 is, it's wrath when your anger lasts too long. 00:12:26.899 --> 00:12:29.220 Anger doesn't always explode. Sometimes it just 00:12:29.220 --> 00:12:32.820 simmers away for days and weeks and months and 00:12:32.820 --> 00:12:36.240 years, and it shows up in grudges, in resentments, 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:38.960 and it calcifies over time. You find yourself 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:41.620 replaying those scenes in your head over and 00:12:41.620 --> 00:12:43.940 over again. You find yourself thinking of great 00:12:43.940 --> 00:12:45.659 lines that you're going to say to someone whenever 00:12:45.659 --> 00:12:47.379 you come face to face. I'm going to let them 00:12:47.379 --> 00:12:49.159 have it. But you never actually do say anything 00:12:49.159 --> 00:12:51.090 to them. You just talk. about them behind their 00:12:51.090 --> 00:12:52.870 back, but you don't actually talk to them face 00:12:52.870 --> 00:12:55.629 to face. You see, wrath doesn't always destroy 00:12:55.629 --> 00:12:59.610 with heat. Sometimes it destroys through cold 00:12:59.610 --> 00:13:03.629 silence that just eats away at you and your community 00:13:03.629 --> 00:13:08.070 and even your church. So you see, wrath is too 00:13:08.070 --> 00:13:12.190 hot and it's too long. And thirdly, it's too 00:13:12.190 --> 00:13:16.080 misguided. Wrath is often aimed at the wrong 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:19.460 thing, right? We get angry and we lash out, but 00:13:19.460 --> 00:13:22.200 we lash out at the wrong person, right? We lash 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:25.039 out at a spouse or a friend or a colleague or 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:28.039 a coworker, some innocent bystander, but it's 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:30.919 not about them. The real problem was over here, 00:13:30.980 --> 00:13:34.059 but we lashed out over here. The real problem 00:13:34.059 --> 00:13:40.340 was in us, but we attacked someone else. So often 00:13:40.340 --> 00:13:43.960 we think we're standing up for truth, But all 00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:46.220 we're really standing up for is ourselves. So 00:13:46.220 --> 00:13:48.519 you see, when it's too hot, when it lasts too 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:53.720 long, and when it is misguided, that's when anger 00:13:53.720 --> 00:13:57.700 stops being righteous and becomes sinful wrath. 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:03.940 Question for you. When have you let wrath rule 00:14:03.940 --> 00:14:08.639 your responses in this way? Proverbs 29 .11 says, 00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:13.769 Fool gives full vent. to their wrath. Fools just 00:14:13.769 --> 00:14:16.470 let it fly. They've got no reflection. There's 00:14:16.470 --> 00:14:18.769 no restraint. They have no regard for the people 00:14:18.769 --> 00:14:20.889 around. They didn't care how they look, right? 00:14:22.250 --> 00:14:25.309 But let me ask you another question now. When 00:14:25.309 --> 00:14:31.409 have you felt anger? And instead of, you know, 00:14:31.450 --> 00:14:35.070 lashing out and burning something down, you actually 00:14:35.070 --> 00:14:40.090 let it build something up. You use that anger 00:14:40.090 --> 00:14:43.029 in a good way. You use that anger to speak up 00:14:43.029 --> 00:14:45.409 for someone who couldn't speak for themselves. 00:14:45.610 --> 00:14:47.850 You use that anger to stand up for someone who 00:14:47.850 --> 00:14:50.389 couldn't stand up for themselves. That is the 00:14:50.389 --> 00:14:54.470 difference between sinful wrath and righteous 00:14:55.210 --> 00:14:58.750 anger, right? One cuts down, but the other actually 00:14:58.750 --> 00:15:01.909 builds up. One wants to start a fight. The other 00:15:01.909 --> 00:15:06.710 wants to fight for what is right. If wrath, therefore, 00:15:06.850 --> 00:15:09.990 is anger gone wrong, then righteous anger is 00:15:09.990 --> 00:15:14.190 when anger is being used in the right way. It's 00:15:14.190 --> 00:15:16.409 not about ego when it's righteous. It's about 00:15:16.409 --> 00:15:20.269 justice. It's not about payback. It's actually 00:15:20.269 --> 00:15:25.610 about healing. It's about restoring. Anger should 00:15:25.610 --> 00:15:28.929 be your normal response to when you see this 00:15:28.929 --> 00:15:30.789 world gone wrong. When you look at the world 00:15:30.789 --> 00:15:32.509 and say, this isn't how it was supposed to be. 00:15:32.730 --> 00:15:34.450 When you look at the world and say, this isn't 00:15:34.450 --> 00:15:37.070 how God intended it to be. It's okay to feel 00:15:37.070 --> 00:15:40.139 anger. Actually, frankly, you should. feel anger, 00:15:40.220 --> 00:15:43.340 but the question is, how do I know if my anger 00:15:43.340 --> 00:15:48.500 is the bad edge or the good edge? Well, the first 00:15:48.500 --> 00:15:50.460 thing you should look for, the first question 00:15:50.460 --> 00:15:52.940 you should ask yourself is, am I angry for the 00:15:52.940 --> 00:15:57.799 right reason, right? Am I angry because the cause 00:15:57.799 --> 00:16:02.440 is just? Is there something really wrong in the 00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:05.320 world here, and that's why I'm angry, or am I 00:16:05.320 --> 00:16:09.929 just annoyed and tired and worn out? Is this 00:16:09.929 --> 00:16:12.350 about someone else's suffering and I want to 00:16:12.350 --> 00:16:14.370 defend them? Or is this really about my own wounded 00:16:14.370 --> 00:16:18.129 pride and I want to defend myself? Righteous 00:16:18.129 --> 00:16:23.070 anger says, how can we let this happen to them? 00:16:23.129 --> 00:16:25.990 We've got to do something about it. But sinful 00:16:25.990 --> 00:16:29.250 wrath says, well, how dare they treat me like 00:16:29.250 --> 00:16:31.669 this? We've got to do something about them. You 00:16:31.669 --> 00:16:33.870 see, if Jesus had gone to the temple and he had 00:16:33.870 --> 00:16:35.909 turned over all those tables and scattered the 00:16:35.909 --> 00:16:39.600 coins, all because someone butt ahead of him 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:43.200 in line, then that would not be righteous anger. 00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:45.759 That would be wrath. But in fact, Jesus had the 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:49.639 right reason for what he did. He saw that the 00:16:49.639 --> 00:16:52.639 poor were being exploited. He saw that visitors 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:55.000 were being excluded. He saw that the name of 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:58.679 God was being defiled in the temple. He had the 00:16:58.679 --> 00:17:02.039 right reason. He had the right cause. That was 00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:05.240 worth getting angry about. When you get angry, 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:08.470 are you angry? angry for the right reason. But 00:17:08.470 --> 00:17:11.369 secondly, when you get angry, are you angry to 00:17:11.369 --> 00:17:15.210 the right degree, right? You got to be angry 00:17:15.210 --> 00:17:19.430 sometimes, but what about how far do you go in 00:17:19.430 --> 00:17:22.150 that anger? Is your anger appropriate to the 00:17:22.150 --> 00:17:24.809 situation that you're in? Or do you just go nuclear, 00:17:25.049 --> 00:17:28.250 right, every time, even if it's a small matter, 00:17:28.369 --> 00:17:30.789 a small thing? That's where a lot of us get it 00:17:30.789 --> 00:17:35.470 wrong. It isn't because our anger is wrong. It's 00:17:35.470 --> 00:17:37.769 just that it goes to the wrong extent. It's too 00:17:37.769 --> 00:17:41.369 big. It's too loud. It's too quick. If you have 00:17:41.369 --> 00:17:44.069 righteous anger, the good kind of anger, it doesn't 00:17:44.069 --> 00:17:49.369 blow up. It doesn't escalate. It actually tries 00:17:49.369 --> 00:17:53.390 to heal. Its goal is to heal. Jesus' action in 00:17:53.390 --> 00:17:56.730 the temple wasn't a temper tantrum. Actually, 00:17:56.769 --> 00:17:59.470 a lot of people think it was a planned... It 00:17:59.470 --> 00:18:03.950 was a planned demonstration where he was trying 00:18:03.950 --> 00:18:06.210 to point out a problem with the temple and ultimately 00:18:06.210 --> 00:18:09.369 point people toward healing. But when our anger 00:18:09.369 --> 00:18:12.650 is too intense and it's too loud and too over 00:18:12.650 --> 00:18:14.509 the top, you know what? It actually even drowns 00:18:14.509 --> 00:18:16.849 out the point we were trying to make. Nobody 00:18:16.849 --> 00:18:19.750 even listens to us. When our anger is extreme, 00:18:20.049 --> 00:18:24.150 the volume overshadows the message, right? The 00:18:24.150 --> 00:18:28.740 rage overshadows. your righteousness, which means 00:18:28.740 --> 00:18:32.380 you can be right about a cause, but very wrong 00:18:32.380 --> 00:18:36.799 in how you respond. When you get angry, when 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:41.039 you get angry, is your anger measured and controlled, 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:45.079 or are you just swinging this thing all over 00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:48.559 the place? So anger is good when it's for the 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:51.660 right reason, and it's to the right degree, but 00:18:51.660 --> 00:18:55.660 it's also for the right duration. Righteous anger 00:18:55.660 --> 00:18:59.720 is always short -lived. The Bible never says 00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:02.460 you can't be angry, but the Bible does say you 00:19:02.460 --> 00:19:05.099 can't live there. You can't live in a constant 00:19:05.099 --> 00:19:08.059 state of anger. A lot of times married couples 00:19:08.059 --> 00:19:10.819 are familiar with this verse, do not let the 00:19:10.819 --> 00:19:13.839 sun go down on your anger. But this isn't just 00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:18.160 good relationship advice. This is spiritual survival. 00:19:19.400 --> 00:19:24.640 Anger can be good, but not when it hurts. So 00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:30.440 again, a question for you. What anger have you 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:35.380 carried through too many sunsets and sunrises? 00:19:35.940 --> 00:19:39.859 What would it look like for you to actually put 00:19:39.859 --> 00:19:44.740 that sword down today? So if I was to... put 00:19:44.740 --> 00:19:47.539 all of this in kind of a chart form, well, it 00:19:47.539 --> 00:19:50.039 would look like this chart that I made, right? 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:53.460 Righteous anger seeks justice and restoration, 00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:56.140 is motivated by love for others, is measured, 00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:59.880 restrained, and slow. Sinful wrath seeks revenge 00:19:59.880 --> 00:20:03.039 or control, is caused by a wounded ego or pride, 00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:07.700 and is explosive, reactive, and simmering, right? 00:20:07.779 --> 00:20:10.000 Put it this way. William Williman says, our problem 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:13.250 is not that we are angry. Our problem is that 00:20:13.250 --> 00:20:15.829 we're angry about the wrong things and in the 00:20:15.829 --> 00:20:19.650 wrong way. There is a right way to be angry. 00:20:20.329 --> 00:20:22.390 And if you're angry for the right reason and 00:20:22.390 --> 00:20:24.369 the right degree and for the right duration, 00:20:24.730 --> 00:20:30.410 that can lead to actually positive change. What 00:20:30.410 --> 00:20:33.299 about Jesus? Of course, it must be said at the 00:20:33.299 --> 00:20:35.180 outset that Jesus was not known for being an 00:20:35.180 --> 00:20:38.099 angry person. Crowds did not gather around Jesus. 00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:40.599 People did not follow Jesus because he was angry. 00:20:40.700 --> 00:20:43.359 That wasn't his M .O. Jesus' M .O. was that he 00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:47.119 touched lepers. Jesus' M .O. was that he welcomed 00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:50.740 children. He ate with tax collectors and sinners. 00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:53.799 He even forgave his enemies, even from the cross. 00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:58.259 That's the Jesus that we know. And today, as 00:20:58.259 --> 00:21:02.059 Jesus rode into Jerusalem, his arrival is not 00:21:02.059 --> 00:21:06.720 marked by heat or hostility, but just by humility. 00:21:07.019 --> 00:21:11.039 He doesn't enter Jerusalem on a war horse. He's 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:13.720 not that kind of king, right? He's not a donkey. 00:21:13.819 --> 00:21:17.099 And his followers aren't waving swords in the 00:21:17.099 --> 00:21:20.299 streets. No, he's not that kind of king. They're 00:21:20.299 --> 00:21:24.500 waving palm branches. But it must also be said 00:21:24.500 --> 00:21:28.599 that Jesus did get angry. And when he did, it 00:21:28.599 --> 00:21:31.259 was in the right way. For the right reasons. 00:21:31.299 --> 00:21:33.519 Let me just give you a little survey of some 00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:37.039 of the times that Jesus got angry. And maybe 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:38.859 we'll learn, you know, maybe the things that 00:21:38.859 --> 00:21:43.220 should make us angry too. So for one, Jesus got 00:21:43.220 --> 00:21:47.289 angry because of indifference. to suffering, 00:21:47.490 --> 00:21:50.369 right? There was this one moment where Jesus 00:21:50.369 --> 00:21:52.410 was in the synagogue on the Sabbath and he saw 00:21:52.410 --> 00:21:55.569 this poor guy. He had a withered hand and Jesus 00:21:55.569 --> 00:21:57.990 wanted to heal him. But the religious leader 00:21:57.990 --> 00:21:59.710 said, no, no, you can't heal him. I'm not on 00:21:59.710 --> 00:22:03.190 this Sabbath. And it made Jesus so mad. He looked 00:22:03.190 --> 00:22:05.809 around at them in anger at these religious leaders. 00:22:05.950 --> 00:22:08.970 He was distressed at their stubborn hearts. He 00:22:08.970 --> 00:22:11.670 couldn't believe how indifferent they were to 00:22:11.670 --> 00:22:13.910 the suffering that was right before him. Why 00:22:13.910 --> 00:22:16.990 was Jesus angry here? actually out of love. He 00:22:16.990 --> 00:22:19.470 loved this guy. He wanted to heal this guy. It 00:22:19.470 --> 00:22:22.269 was the religious leaders that made him so angry. 00:22:22.430 --> 00:22:25.589 Indifference to suffering made Jesus angry. Also, 00:22:25.650 --> 00:22:30.809 Jesus got very angry at death itself. At Lazarus's 00:22:30.809 --> 00:22:33.369 tomb, when one of his best friends died, Jesus 00:22:33.369 --> 00:22:36.279 was moved to tears. But it wasn't just because 00:22:36.279 --> 00:22:40.119 he was sad. It was actually because he was mad. 00:22:40.220 --> 00:22:44.019 The Greek word here, embromaomai, doesn't just 00:22:44.019 --> 00:22:47.599 mean sadness. It actually means a sense of anger 00:22:47.599 --> 00:22:52.180 or outrage. My friend has died. His anger isn't 00:22:52.180 --> 00:22:56.039 aimed at people. It's aimed at... Death itself, 00:22:56.119 --> 00:23:00.799 that made Jesus angry. Jesus also gets angry 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:03.380 when he sees vulnerable people being abused. 00:23:03.640 --> 00:23:05.619 Referring to children, he said, you know, it 00:23:05.619 --> 00:23:08.819 would actually be, if anyone causes one of these 00:23:08.819 --> 00:23:10.980 little kids to stumble, it would be better for 00:23:10.980 --> 00:23:14.640 them to have a millstone hung around their neck. 00:23:14.839 --> 00:23:17.700 That's some pretty serious verbiage, Jesus. He 00:23:17.700 --> 00:23:20.940 sounds like he's got the sword ready to go, but 00:23:20.940 --> 00:23:24.640 he's standing up. for the weak and the forgotten. 00:23:25.279 --> 00:23:29.359 Jesus also really got angry with religious hypocrisy. 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:31.519 When religious people pretended to be better 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:33.900 than others, he says to some of the religious 00:23:33.900 --> 00:23:36.799 leaders, he says, woe to you, you hypocrites. 00:23:36.980 --> 00:23:39.579 You clean the outside of the cup and you pretend 00:23:39.579 --> 00:23:42.119 to be so good, but inside you are full of greed 00:23:42.119 --> 00:23:46.700 and self -indulgence. Gosh, Jesus got steamed 00:23:46.700 --> 00:23:49.380 with people like this, the religious people. 00:23:49.740 --> 00:23:52.140 Oh, I look so good on the outside, but actually 00:23:52.140 --> 00:23:54.220 look at all the people that I'm neglecting and 00:23:54.220 --> 00:23:57.500 the hurt that I'm causing. But let's look at 00:23:57.500 --> 00:24:01.380 the moment we read about this morning. Jesus 00:24:01.380 --> 00:24:04.400 enters into the temple. It's the center of worship, 00:24:04.579 --> 00:24:06.819 right? It's a place where heaven and earth are 00:24:06.819 --> 00:24:09.519 supposed to overlap. They're meant to meet. And 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:11.319 when he goes into the temple, what does he find? 00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:16.680 He finds not reverence. Not prayer. He finds 00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:20.059 a marketplace. He finds a system that is set 00:24:20.059 --> 00:24:24.529 up for corruption. And exploitation. Money changers 00:24:24.529 --> 00:24:26.710 charging high interest rates on the exchange. 00:24:27.009 --> 00:24:31.109 People selling animals in the gouging prices. 00:24:31.549 --> 00:24:33.710 And the outer court of the temple, the court 00:24:33.710 --> 00:24:36.329 where the Gentiles are supposed to come to worship, 00:24:36.490 --> 00:24:39.769 it's basically been turned into a shopping mall. 00:24:40.009 --> 00:24:42.250 And so Jesus cries out. He says, you've turned 00:24:42.250 --> 00:24:46.970 my father's house into a den of robbers. Now 00:24:46.970 --> 00:24:53.279 Jesus was not throwing a tantrum. Again, he wasn't 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:56.359 flipping people. He was flipping tables, right? 00:24:56.480 --> 00:25:00.200 He didn't lose it, but he loved it. He loved 00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:03.019 that temple. He loved those people. And he loved 00:25:03.019 --> 00:25:07.880 God so much that he couldn't leave it that way. 00:25:08.180 --> 00:25:11.200 In a nutshell, Jesus does not appear to be angry 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:14.900 very often. When he is angry, his anger is always 00:25:14.900 --> 00:25:18.920 directed towards someone else's protection or... 00:25:19.240 --> 00:25:21.279 in defense of his father's house, his father's 00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:25.660 name. His wrath is calculated, confrontational, 00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:30.259 and loving. So those are the two edges of the 00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:34.119 sword of anger. There's a good kind, and there 00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:37.799 is a bad kind. There is the edge of sinful wrath, 00:25:38.099 --> 00:25:39.619 which we have to watch out for, and then there 00:25:39.619 --> 00:25:44.359 is the edge of righteous anger. Now, I want to 00:25:44.359 --> 00:25:47.920 end by actually holding out. A third possibility. 00:25:48.059 --> 00:25:51.660 There's another way we could go here. And that 00:25:51.660 --> 00:25:54.880 is not to use this side of the sword, for sure. 00:25:55.400 --> 00:25:58.740 And actually also not to use this side of the 00:25:58.740 --> 00:26:02.059 sword. But there's a third way to go, and that 00:26:02.059 --> 00:26:06.299 actually doesn't involve using the sword at all. 00:26:08.099 --> 00:26:12.440 One way to express our anger is to get really 00:26:12.440 --> 00:26:15.730 steamed and lash out. But another way to express 00:26:15.730 --> 00:26:21.369 our anger is just to pray it out, right? Anger 00:26:21.369 --> 00:26:24.910 needs to be expressed. We all agree on that. 00:26:25.029 --> 00:26:27.569 But the first place we should go to express that 00:26:27.569 --> 00:26:30.289 anger should be God. We call that prayer, by 00:26:30.289 --> 00:26:33.589 the way. God is strong enough. God is good enough 00:26:33.589 --> 00:26:36.910 and holy enough to receive whatever anger you 00:26:36.910 --> 00:26:39.930 want to throw at him and lob at him. He can take 00:26:39.930 --> 00:26:43.299 it. Injustice is not too much for him. Your sorrow 00:26:43.299 --> 00:26:46.099 is not too much for him. In fact, that's what 00:26:46.099 --> 00:26:50.339 prayer is in a way. Prayer is saying, God, we 00:26:50.339 --> 00:26:52.859 need justice. God, this world isn't the way it's 00:26:52.859 --> 00:26:55.859 supposed to be. God, I can't fix this situation. 00:26:56.480 --> 00:26:59.420 So what you should do before you get out your 00:26:59.420 --> 00:27:03.880 sword is to get on your knees and to pray. That 00:27:03.880 --> 00:27:08.559 is the best way to express our anger. We pray. 00:27:09.279 --> 00:27:13.220 our anger. But secondly, when we pray our anger, 00:27:13.319 --> 00:27:16.440 something very interesting happens. We actually 00:27:16.440 --> 00:27:19.779 then are entrusting our anger to God. We say, 00:27:19.819 --> 00:27:22.279 God, this is wrong. I'm telling you about it. 00:27:22.859 --> 00:27:27.119 God, now you deal with it. Because do you know 00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:29.339 that injustice that you see that drives you crazy? 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:32.619 God sees it too. And do you know that injustice 00:27:32.619 --> 00:27:37.039 that makes you so upset? It makes God angry. 00:27:37.740 --> 00:27:41.500 God is angry at the same things that make you 00:27:41.500 --> 00:27:44.519 angry, if they're the right sort of things. And 00:27:44.519 --> 00:27:49.079 of course, what kind of God would God be if he 00:27:49.079 --> 00:27:52.319 didn't get angry at injustice and war and abuse 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:56.680 and trafficking and racism and greed? You know, 00:27:56.700 --> 00:27:59.059 Miroslav Volf says, I wouldn't even want to worship 00:27:59.059 --> 00:28:02.480 that God. A God who is not wrathful at the sight 00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:06.680 of the world's injustice is not worthy of worship. 00:28:07.819 --> 00:28:10.599 But here's the thing. God doesn't just get angry 00:28:10.599 --> 00:28:14.819 at these things. He promises to do something 00:28:14.819 --> 00:28:19.380 about it. He is the God of justice. And one day 00:28:19.380 --> 00:28:22.779 he says, it's my job. It's my job. I will sort 00:28:22.779 --> 00:28:25.779 it out and I will make all this wrong right. 00:28:25.960 --> 00:28:30.220 But that is my job. It is not your job. That 00:28:30.220 --> 00:28:33.400 is why Paul says, beloved, never avenge yourselves. 00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:37.460 Leave it to God. Because God has said, vengeance 00:28:37.460 --> 00:28:41.259 is his. Let him work it out. Or there's this 00:28:41.259 --> 00:28:44.839 great moment when, you know, Egypt, the armies 00:28:44.839 --> 00:28:47.299 of Egypt are coming upon Moses and the people 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:49.400 of Israel. They don't know what to do. They feel 00:28:49.400 --> 00:28:52.619 like there's no hope. But God says, listen, let 00:28:52.619 --> 00:28:56.319 me fight for you here. You just be still. Now 00:28:56.319 --> 00:29:00.250 that is... the heart of it. If we pray our anger 00:29:00.250 --> 00:29:03.910 to God, if we entrust this stuff to God, then 00:29:03.910 --> 00:29:06.470 we have to believe God will sort it out. God 00:29:06.470 --> 00:29:10.509 will act justly in his timing, right? And that 00:29:10.509 --> 00:29:13.470 means we're free. We don't need this. We don't 00:29:13.470 --> 00:29:16.049 need this because God is going to look after 00:29:16.049 --> 00:29:20.130 it. He will be the one to mete out justice. We 00:29:20.130 --> 00:29:24.430 don't need to. And that means that we can actually 00:29:24.430 --> 00:29:31.140 put this sword away altogether, right? We can 00:29:31.140 --> 00:29:34.799 put the sword away. That's what, in fact, those 00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:38.500 ancient monks advise us. Rather than trying to 00:29:38.500 --> 00:29:40.539 figure out, ooh, which side of the sword am I 00:29:40.539 --> 00:29:42.700 using? Am I using this edge or am I using this 00:29:42.700 --> 00:29:44.359 edge? You know what they say? You know, it's 00:29:44.359 --> 00:29:48.160 better just to root out all anger than try to 00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:50.740 distinguish between the good kinds of anger and 00:29:50.740 --> 00:29:54.039 the bad kinds of anger. You know, sometimes even 00:29:54.039 --> 00:29:58.420 when our anger is justified, acting on it can 00:29:58.420 --> 00:30:01.220 be really dangerous because we're not as smart 00:30:01.220 --> 00:30:05.559 as Jesus. We're not as wise as Jesus. And consider 00:30:05.559 --> 00:30:10.039 this, just as we close. When the greatest injustice 00:30:10.039 --> 00:30:15.599 that ever happened was about to take place, when 00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:19.140 the most innocent victim ever was about to be 00:30:19.140 --> 00:30:23.289 abused, when the corruption and hypocrisy of 00:30:23.289 --> 00:30:25.849 the world was at its greatest, when it all came 00:30:25.849 --> 00:30:28.269 down on Jesus, when he was arrested and he was 00:30:28.269 --> 00:30:32.309 tried and crucified and killed. In that moment, 00:30:32.349 --> 00:30:34.589 we would think, okay, that's the moment to fight. 00:30:34.730 --> 00:30:37.109 That's the moment for anger. That's the time 00:30:37.109 --> 00:30:40.410 to say, let's make this right. Pick up the sword 00:30:40.410 --> 00:30:42.410 and let's go. But here's the thing. Even in that 00:30:42.410 --> 00:30:44.309 moment, look what Jesus says. He says, put your 00:30:44.309 --> 00:30:48.490 sword away. For all who live by the sword will 00:30:48.490 --> 00:30:52.789 die by the sword. Guys, this is the invitation 00:30:52.789 --> 00:30:58.710 of Palm Sunday. To follow this weird king, who 00:30:58.710 --> 00:31:02.130 on the one hand makes a whip, but on the other 00:31:02.130 --> 00:31:07.549 hand himself is whipped. Who on the one hand, 00:31:07.549 --> 00:31:11.130 he turns over the tables, but on the other hand 00:31:11.130 --> 00:31:17.720 he refuses the sword. Anger plays in your life, 00:31:17.799 --> 00:31:20.440 whether you're too angry or, frankly, whether 00:31:20.440 --> 00:31:23.000 you're not angry enough. But let's remember, 00:31:23.180 --> 00:31:27.579 always avoid the edge of sinful wrath at all 00:31:27.579 --> 00:31:31.720 costs. And yes, the other edge, there is a place 00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:36.559 for righteous anger in the face of evil. But 00:31:36.559 --> 00:31:40.599 you better be sure you're skilled enough to wield 00:31:40.599 --> 00:31:44.880 it without doing harm. Can you tell which edge 00:31:44.880 --> 00:31:49.819 is which? So maybe the best thing we should do 00:31:49.819 --> 00:31:54.660 is put the sword away, pray our anger to God, 00:31:54.819 --> 00:31:58.900 and trust that he will fight for us. And then 00:31:58.900 --> 00:32:02.039 to believe with all our hearts that his justice 00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:06.200 will actually be more holy and more healing than 00:32:06.200 --> 00:32:08.700 anything we could ever work out for ourselves. 00:32:11.140 --> 00:32:13.819 So thanks be to God. Amen.