Jesus was angry twice that we know of. The first time He made a whip out of cords and started driving people out of the temple. This is the other time. You won’t believe what made Him mad.
The first time we see Jesus angry it’s because the poor are being taken advantage of. The religious leaders are permitting (and maybe even participating) in price fixing, and market manipulation. They decided that you can’t bring your animal for sacrifice, you must have their animal…and it cost 5 times what yours did. So, I can see how Jesus is furious. People aren’t being allowed to express their guilt and be forgiven. But this time is different, isn’t it? A bunch of little kids are running around wanting to sit on Jesus’ lap and “play with Him” and the disciples stop them. I was reading the New Living Translation today and it says that Jesus was angry with the disciples for preventing the children from coming to Him. This really speaks to me today for some reason. This isn’t about children, it’s about access. Everyone is to be allowed access to Jesus, and anyone (even a disciple) who prevents access to The Lord is going to be chastised. Jesus doesn’t make a whip here, because the disciples are doing it unintentionally, and the fix is quick and easy. This isn’t premeditated bilking of the masses in the name of God, it’s an innocent mistake made out of ignorance. But make no mistake, Jesus is upset.
The lesson for me is to remember that God wants everyone to be able to approach Him, and I should never “get in the way” or created any structure that hinders, discourages or confuses people who want to reach out to Him.
We can’t leave this passage without talking about ole blind Bart. The lesson here is pretty straightforward. Don’t pay any attention to the crowd when they try and discourage you from crying out to Jesus. Yell louder. Probably the same people who were telling him to “be quiet” were saying “cheer up” a minute later. Forget the crowd….focus on Jesus. If we keep calling out to Him, we will receive what we ask for.
Crying out for sight,
PR