"And when the Jewish Passover was at hand, Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple, those that sold oxen and sheep and doves and the changers of money sitting. And when he had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple and the sheep and the oxen and poured out the changers money and overthrew the tables: And said unto them that had the doves, take these things hence, make not my Fathers' house a house of merchandise". This same story is told again in Matt. 21:12

Many people have portrayed Christ or visualized Him in many different ways. Hollywood portrays Him often, as some long haired, way out, mind boggling thinker, who was a rebel and hung out with 12 men and run around all over the country of their day doing mysterious things, etc. Many people see Christ as the babe in Bethlehem or the crucified Christ, hanging on the cross at Calvary. Today, I wish to show you the other side of Christ that shows us He had a side that could get very angry at things, that cast doubt, caused people suffering or, caused religious rulers to make a mockery of God and His plans for mankind.

Agnostics and atheists see Jesus as a nobody, just a man. Some religions see Him as a teacher only, and yet, some historians just see Him as a figure of History. Oh, my friends, He was all of these and yet, so much more.

Some religions and cults today see Him as a great teacher but not Divine. Some see him as a rebel of a society, some add their own twists to what they believe about Him. They do not eat meat, they do not vote, they do not have electricity, they do not take blood transfusions, they do not believe He was God in the flesh, they do not believe in special holidays like Christmas, Easter, and Good Friday.

Back on Moses day, God gave Moses the 10 Commandments for Israel to follow and to show them their need of salvation through faith in God. These 10 commandments were the basis of moral values for an entire nation. Religionists come along and they add another 630 "dos and don's" to what God had given to Moses. This gave these High ranking religionists rule over the people. They were made up of the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The problem was, these sects could not, and did not ,abide by these dos and don't that they had imposed on the Jewish people. This is why Jesus referred to them as Hypocrites, blind guides and children of the devil.

This message today is focused on Jesus' Righteous Anger

As our scripture states, Jesus went up to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. This was a special week where the Jews celebrated the Passover of God Judgment on Egypt's first born and was the last act of God against the Egyptians before they released the Israelites from captivity.

When Jesus entered the temple, He saw things that made Him angry. The Sanhedrin ( the religious High court leaders in charge of temple worship and rituals) were allowing the sale of oxen, sheep, and doves for use in sacrifices as well as the exchange of money of foreign money for Jewish money.
A. Jesus made a whip
B. He drove out the merchants and the money changers
C. He turned their tables over, scattering their money
D. He drove out all the animals
E. And He told them why He did what He did.

Let's look now at 3 things that Jesus did when He cleaned house.

I. He entered the temple with Authority: vs-14-15

Jesus had been to the temple before and He knew what it stood for and it's use. He wanted the offerings in the temple, to be give by the people with a clean heart and out of worship and honor of His Heavenly Father.
These merchants were captilizing on the people and were making financial gains as well as deceptive animals being sold along with money being exchanged with gain in mind. Jesus had great boldness when it come to things of His Heavenly Father. By showing His authority and his disgust with what these so called "religious leaders" were doing, it angered them and they started a plot to kill Him and get rid of Him. Notice what Jesus said "make not MY FATHER'S HOUSE, a house of merchandise". He was declaring Himself as the Son of Almighty God!!!!!!

Jesus was the Lord of the Temple then and He IS still the Lord of the Temple today.

II. Jesus Displayed His Holy Anger: vs-16

Jesus saw greed and covetness here and He was not going to allow it to be done in His Father's house.
1. These merchants were inside the gates of the temple and they were blocking the people who were trying to gain entrance to the house of worship. This area was like a foyer or an entryway to the main temple and these merchants were 'hinderers" of those who were wanting to enter the main temple for worship.

2. If you look at Jesus' life, you will see many times where he was angered at those who hindered those who wanted to just have "pure worship" of God. You can read about this also in Matt. Chpt. 23.

3. It angered Jesus when the weak were oppressed by the strong.

4. It angered Jesus when the "religionists" hindered people from being saved and being healed.

If you look at Jesus life recorded in the 4 gospels, he was more angry and got more direct with the "religionists " of his day, than he did the down and out sinners. He called the Scribes and Pharisees, a generation of vipers, He called them hypocrites, He said they looked fine on the outside but inside, they were full of dead men's bones. You see, a hypocrite is one who professes one thing but, does not live what he professes. This false profession angered Jesus. These Religionists had put laws and restrictions on the people and they themselves did not and could not abide by what they expected others to do.

Jesus loved the oppressed but he was angry with the oppressor.
He loved the lost, and misguided but, he detested the hypocrites
He loved the sinner but, He hated the affect that sin had on mankind.

III. Jesus announced His Death:`vs-19

Jesus was asked by what authority He had done these things and He then said to them, "destroy this temple and I will raise it up again in 3 days"!!!!!! Jesus knew what they were planning to do and He knew what He would do. They were so blinded, that they thought he was referring to the temple building but, He was referring to his own temple, His body. This was prophecy being spoken to them. Had they have known the writings of the OT prophets, they would have known it was Him of whom they prophecied.

Closing Statement:

Sometimes, we as Christians have to take a stand against religionists, legalists, and those who oppose and contradict God's teachings. When Jesus displayed His righteous anger, He was not trying to win any popularity contest. Sometimes the stand we take, may not be popular but, if we stand for God, it will always be right.

By Jesus doing what He said "I will raise this temple in 3 days" we find our way to
salvation through Christ.. John 14 vs 6
'I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

By the church Christ established, we have:
1. We have salvation through Him
2. We have fellowship
3. We have love one for another
4, We learn from His word
5. We grow spiritually
6, We feel His Presence, His power and His Purpose for our lives
7. We see His Provision for us.
8. We are the dwelling place of His Holy Spirit within us.

It is time of us as Christians, to stand up for Righteousness, stand up against the unrighteousness of the leaders we have in this country and we must stand for Christ and His principles, whether they are popular or not. For years now, we have cowered down and acted like whipped pups. I love people. I care about where they will spend eternity. We as Christians must do all we can to win our families and friends to Christ before it is eternally too late. I am sorry to say this but, Life is not like Hollywood or the way TV portrays it. Not everyone goes to Heaven when they die. If you think so, read Luke Chpt. 16 of the rich man and Lazarus.

May this message bless those who read it.

Oldbiker