WHY WAS JESUS SO ANGRY?

Jesus was so angry at the Jews, that He made a whip out of the chords and whipped them out of the Temple of God.
– “13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables.” – John 2:13-15

WHY WAS JESUS SO ANGRY? What made him become so violent in the outburst of His righteous anger? The key lies in the hearts – the heart of God, and the hearts of His chosen people.

The reason is revealed in the observation that Jesus made as he quoted the prophesy from Isaiah 56.
– “17…“Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a den of thieves.’” – Mark 11:17

HOUSE indicates about a single family. Family indicates the members. Family indicates oneness, and no division of superior or inferior members – all are one, and all have equal rights.

DEN of THIEVES, indicates that, the people to whom this responsibility was given to be God’s ambassadors, and His light to the nations, have themselves become thieves and robbers, and have turned the place of Light, into a den of robbers. Robbers and thieves have no concern for others. They, ruthlessly and heartlessly, rob and pillage others, and their goods, with no concern nor compassion for those being robbed. It indicates that it is an organised system.
– “6 “Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants— Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant— 7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” – Isaiah 56:6-7

The problem with the religious order, its custodians, and the people of God, at large were, denying this right of the Gentiles, to worship the One True God, YAHWEH, in His temple. They were deliberately, and with full knowledge, turned this place into a place of selling things, that are required by all who came to the temple. However, they cleverly and cunningly positioned these “shops” in the very place where it was intended to have an exclusive zone for the Gentile believers. 

The “Court of the Gentiles” as based on Isaiah 56:6-7, was not to make any physical demarcation, or some illusionary distinction of, a superior race, and inferior races. 
– “The Court of the Gentiles symbolized the openness of the Jewish faith, demonstrating that the Jewish God was accessible to all people, regardless of their background…The court was very large, estimated to be around 35 acres, and served as a meeting place for people from various cultures and regions…” – according to Southern Nazarene University, USA.

The concept of equality of all people, is seen even in the promises made to Abraham. God wanted to reach out to the whole world, through Abraham and his descendants. 
– “2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” – Genesis 12:2-3
– “18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” – Genesis 18:18-19
– “18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” – Genesis 22:18

The same promises were repeated to Isaac.
– “4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” – Genesis 26:3

The same promises were repeated to Jacob.
– “14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”* – Genesis 28:14

Solomon the wise, repeats the same in Psalm 72, while writing about the “Glory and Universality of the Messiah’s Reign.” 
– “17 His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed. 18 Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things! 19 And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.” – Psalms 72:17-19

Matthew records the birth of Jesus in Matthew chapter 1, wherein it is revealed the “SEED” of Abraham, who would be, and become, the blessing of all nations. What was promised to Abraham, in Genes in chapter 12:1-3, is fulfilled in Matthew 1:1.
– “1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:” – Matthew 1:1
– “34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor…38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.” – Luke 3:34;38
– “25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.” – Acts 3:25-26
– “8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.” – Galatians 3:8-9

Let us hear the verdict about who are the chosen, and who are God’s people.
– “6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” – Galatians 3:6

Now back to, “WHY WAS JESUS SO ANGRY?” Because those who are supposed to be the custodians of the promises of God, the law and the prophets, by virtue of they being chosen by God, to this very purpose, have not only, not doing it, but were actually, and actively, working against the very purposes of God, by preventing the Gentiles, in coming to the LORD God Almighty, the Light of the whole world.
– “17 Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a den of thieves.’” – Mark 11:17

The hearts of the people who were to be His chosen ones is revealed in the following verses.
– “18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.” – Mark 11:18

What about us, and our hearts? Is Jesus angry with us or happy? Are we being His true ambassadors? Are we welcoming others in the fold of God? Or, are we being the hindrance to others by our words and deeds?