What Makes You Angry?

Mark 11:11-25

11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’

18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him,because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

19 When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

“What Makes You Angry”

Study Notes

‘The cry sets the juices of emancipation in motion, because it is the cry that evokes the first interest of the emancipatory God in the plight of those who suffer injustice.’ -Walter Brueggemann (God, Neighbor, Empire, 56)

Something massive is happening when Jesus approaches the ‘house of God’ in Mark. In the Hebrew language there is no word that clearly means ‘temple’. If you read a terse version of the Old Testament you’ll catch this as the translation will be ‘house of God’, ‘nave’, or ‘palace’. The word is a lone word from one of Israel's ancient neighbors. Many English translations go for ‘temple’ which helps the reader figure out just what ‘house’ the writer is talking about but misses the stories all throughout the Bible that portray God as perfectly happy living in a tent and in no rush to get settled in a house. The house of God is eventually built by slaves that King Solomon gets from Egypt as dowry from the Pharaoh. The irony is that the God who is defined as a rescuer of Egyptian slaves, now has to live in the house built by slavery! 

Now back in the time of Jesus, the ‘house of God’ was also the economic center of the culture. The king of Israel was appointed by Rome and collected taxes through the temple treasury. This resulted in a huge shift which enriched governing authorities and temple custodians like the priests and Levites. It was a corrupt unjust system that was structured to benefit Rome and it’s appointed governing benefactors. 

And so, when Jesus comes into his house and flips a table and all those coins with Caesar’s graven image hit the ground, desecrating the portico of the temple, we are sure those he critiques will respond (more on that in the next two weeks).  As you study the passages below, many bringing attention to God’s concern for justice, I invite you to ask these questions: 

What makes God angry?

How are these texts disruptive to me?

Why do I pay attention to what I pay attention to? 

What do I feel myself veering away from as I read?

Who is being called to justice?

How would I define justice?

__________

Genesis 18.16-21
Exodus 22.21-27 
Deuteronomy 17.14 -18.22
1 Kings 9.15-11.13
Psalm 72
Isaiah 1.17; Amos 2.6-7; Micah 3.1-3; Zechariah 7.10
Jeremiah 5.28
Jeremiah 7.1-11
Jeremiah 8.4-13
Jeremiah 29.1-17
Mark 13.1-31
John 2.13-22
Philippians 4.1-7
James 1.19-27
1 Peter 2
Revelation 21.22-22-1-7