Question description

When I read John 2:13-17: "Jesus put together a whip out of strips of leather and chased them out of the Temple, stampeding the sheep and cattle, upending the tables of the loan sharks, spilling coins left and right. He told the dove merchants, “Get your things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a shopping mall!” That’s when his disciples remembered the Scripture, “Zeal for your house consumes me.” 

Is this considered anger? If it is, in what situation we can have a righteous anger?

Answer description

Thank you for your question. You are correct (John 2:13-17) is an example of righteous anger. That passage, along with (Matt 21:12-13) where He takes similar actions earlier in His ministry are examples of Jesus exhibiting righteous anger. However, the examples are few, so we must assume that the times of showing His anger were rare. But what is righteous anger from a Biblical perspective ? I found several descriptions of this holy action, and I will try to put those in as simple terms as I can.

Righteous anger is an expression of grief over sin that we encounter. This could be in our own lives or others. Sin is bad wherever we find it. Righteous anger can be expressed by overviewing the evil that surrounds us. Righteous anger may be exhibited for wanting God's ways instead of the way of the world. However, righteous anger never hates people, only what they do or are involved in.

Now, how does righteous anger differ from unrighteous anger? The righteous is a response to sin, while the unrighteous is an attack on our pride. Righteous anger always seeks restoration as opposed to the unrighteous desiring destruction of the individual or his ways. And the Godly righteousness has God-centered motives but the unrighteous anger comes from prideful or selfish intentions.

There are many examples of God expressing anger in the Old Testament. Since they come from God Himself, they must be righteous. But those are difficult for us to relate to. So let us look at one of God's honored servants, Moses. In (Ex 32:19-20) we see Moses coming down off Mt Sinai to find the Israelites engaging in idolatry. He smashes the tablets of the law and proceeds to show rage against their actions. But in the end, we see God blessing him for these actions. Thus, it is an example of righteous anger. But then let us look at the same man in (Num 20:2-12). The people are complaining and whining because they do not have water. God clearly instructs Moses to speak to the rock and water will come forth. But Moses, frustrated and lacking in patience with the ungrateful people, instead hit the rock out of frustration. God still provides, but also deals with the disobedience of Moses by banning him from entering the Promised Land. This was unrighteous anger. Same man, each time being led by God, but when human emotion enters the equation the result is vastly different and has consequences.

So I believe this is a warning to us not to go around looking for places to express righteous anger. Jesus exhibited this outpouring rarely and in specific circumstances, so this should probably be an example for us as well. I believe a kind word of warning and forgiveness serves a much better purpose than open criticism, even if it is warranted.

So, while righteous anger is available, it should be used wisely and only at God's clear prompting to us.

Scripture references

Supporting resources

No available supporting resources.

Comments