“Anyone can get angry, but to do this to the right person, to the right extent, at the right time, with the right motive, and in the right way, that is not for everyone, nor is it easy.”
― Aristotle

This coming Sunday we’ll celebrate Palm Sunday in our churches.  Hosannas will loudly be heard and the alleluias will ring out in our music.  This is the day in the church year when our Lord and Savior, Jesus, entered the city of Jerusalem for the final time.

It was a day of rejoicing because Jesus had won the hearts of the people and they were convinced that He’d come to bring the Hebrew nation victory over their oppressors.  The Messiah, promised by the Old Testament prophets had come to be their King and give them their rightful place in the world once more.

For 33 years, Jesus had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.  This time He was coming to be the final sacrifice, the willing, unblemished Lamb, the King of Kings.

I wonder how He felt when He saw what had become of His Father’s house.  Upon entering the temple, Jesus was faced with a huge marketplace – people selling their wares and the temple treasury getting rich from the profits.  Many similar events have occurred though the course of history.

When we think of Jesus, it’s hard to imagine Him as anything but kind, compassionate and gentle, but this was like a slap in the face to Him – one that would sting as much as the lash that crossed His back later that week.  The religious leaders of the day had turned the most holy place into a den of thieves.  He certainly had reason to be angry.  He showed His human side when He became enraged yet Jesus was demonstrating God’s wrath when He over turned the tables.

God wants complete attention when it comes to our worship life.  He is jealous and rightly so.  He created us – loves us unconditionally – gave His life for us.   Is our worship life slipping away?  Do we revere God the way we should?  Is He first?  Have we turned our hearts to other things or is He at the forefront of our adoration?

Jesus was righteously angry at what had become of His Father’s temple.  How would He react to our worship today? Before we make judgments of this event, let’s stop and consider our own lives first.