10 things they never told me about Jesus|| Righteous Indignation

Let's do a little defining...

If righteous means virtuous, ethical, and legitimate, it also means: Justified... Justice, if you will.

If indignation means resentment and displeasure, it also means: anger.

So we're going to be figuring out how Jesus reacted to situations with Righteous Indignation.... Justified Anger

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This topic calls out something I've been thinking for a long time. Some people don't think Jesus could have ever been mad (probably the same people who were thinking that Jesus was undernourished as well!). My first response to that is always, "Sure, what about that time he turned over tables in the temple!" It isn't that hard... if you read scripture, you can see that Jesus was angry a few times. I mean, when he told Peter: "Satan get behind me!" he wasn't exactly calm. It's a human trait, but it's also a divine trait, right? God was angry with the Hebrew people way back when on a few occasions, so anger is nothing new. Besides, that anger is always coupled with unconditional love, and that's what matters.

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That's what happened in the temple. Jesus scolded them and told them to get out of the house of prayer because they were practicing unjust economics. Not only were animals to be sacrifice priced too high for some, but the rate at which money was managed was unfair. Have you seen the bumper sticker that says, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!" ? I finally get it. This is exactly what that bumper sticker is talking about... "To do nothing, to remain calm in the face of this iniquity would be to condone the discriminatory practices" (116). It's about standing up in the face of injustice. I think it was Bonhoeffer who said, "Not to act is to act." By not doing something about injustice, we are being bystanders... and bystanders are what allowed the Holocaust to happen. We cannot take refrain from expressing outrage because that means we are in agreement with those who allowed it to happen in the first place.

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Another instance when Jesus showed righteous indignation was when the lawyers "load[ed] men with intolerable burdens" but would not help them lift the load (Luke 11:46). Jesus did not show them a kind, don't do it again, kind of attitude... instead he became a "scathing advocate for the marginalized and persecuted, exposing the unquestioned cant and privilege of their oppressors" (118). Well said, John Bell, well said.

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Indifference is not an option in the face of injustice.

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It wasn't only these kinds of instances Jesus got angry, though. On a more personal level, Jesus got angry with people who KNEW better... particularly the disciples...

--"How little faith you have!" (Matthew 8)

--"How long shall i be with you? How long must I endure you?" (Matthew 17)

--"When Jesus saw it he was indignant. (Mark 10)

--"He turned and rebuked [the disciples]." (Luke 9)

Jesus showed exasperation to some people who he thought should know better... as far as I can tell, he simply spoke the truth in love... because Jesus' anger seems to be rooted in justice and/or love.... ALWAYS. And as said before, if this is true for God, we must model this as well.

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"Anger is not the opposite of love, just as doubt is not the opposite of faith. Indifference in both instances is the real enemy" (121).