In the World/Not of the WorldSample

Put Down the Whip

Anger is a powerful part of the human experience. And too often, I have let it get the best of me.

In John 2, we see a side of Jesus that many are uncomfortable with. As He goes into the temple courts, “he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money” (John 2:14, NIV).

I bet this was not the first time He had witnessed this. It’s not that the commerce in the Temple suddenly popped up overnight when Jesus turned 30. It had been building for years to the point where the people simply accepted it as normal.

But this one day, Jesus had enough.

So He made a whip and began to make a mess.

And as He is flipping tables, He states something truly interesting: “Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” (John 2:16, NIV, emphasis added)

There are only two other times Jesus refers to His “Father’s house.”

The first is in Luke 2:49, when He is 12 years old and sits conversing with the priests in the Temple.

And second, in John 14:2, when He tells His disciples that His Father’s house “has many rooms.”

You see, the Temple was designed to be the image of God’s throne room on Earth (Hebrews 8:5), but over the years, the people, the leadership—the men—had begun to misuse and abuse it.

And Jesus, in His anger, was trying to get their attention and point them in the right direction.

For Jesus, being in the world means sometimes experiencing anger. But not being of the world means using that anger to point others to the Father.

I can just imagine that over the years of seeing the Temple commerce develop, Jesus’ anger was building, but since it was not His time yet, He had to control it, submit it to His Father’s will, and wait.

Too often, our anger defines us as men when we let it get the best of us.

Just maybe, the next time I feel my anger stirring, I need to stop myself, control it, submit it to my Father’s will, and wait to see what I want my anger to turn people toward. If it is not to my heavenly Father, I may need to put my “whip” down and let it be.

Prayer: Jesus, I confess that I have allowed my anger to get the best of me too often. Forgive me, and help me to stop, control, and submit my anger to Your will so that others can see You instead of me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Reflection: Think of a time when your anger got the best of you. If necessary, apologize, make things right with someone, and let them see more of Jesus in you.