In our study of Mark we are in Mark 3:5-6 where we see Jesus grieved at the Pharisee's insensitivity and rigid application of their manmade rules and their anger at him for refusing to conform to them because their religion and ceremonialism was incompatible with the grace that it was supposed to represent.
Based on this we started a brief study on the doctrine of anger where we are in Eph 4:26;
Those with arrogant subjectivity look down at others and hide their anger until one day when they explode at the slightest provocation. This is a hidden anger instead of an outburst of anger. This is also what the Pharisees did in our passage in Mark.
In Eph 4:26; the believer has already become angry and is warned to stop immediately before his loss of integrity does more damage. Anger is the motivation for many other sins that are violations of integrity love.
As an irrational sin of emotion, mental attitude anger expresses antagonism, hatred, and resentment. It often expresses itself in slander and even violence and murder.
Anger violates integrity love under the principle that two wrongs do not make a right. Anger plus another sin is never right.
You cannot build your happiness on someone else's unhappiness. This is what retaliation attempts to do. No one ever becomes happy by getting revenge.
To take revenge on someone with verbal sins or violence is to obstruct God's punishment and blaspheme God's justice. Rom 12:19;
Anger becomes involved with arrogance and opens the gate to all of the manifestations of arrogance and sin resulting in motivation for murder.
We must understand the difference between righteous indignation and anger.
Righteous indignation may appear to be anger but it is not the emotion of anger.
Righteous indignation is a clear understanding of a bad situation. Righteous indignation is response to unfair treatment by concentration on your relationship with God. Reaction from righteous indignation can lead to anger and sin.
When it says in Mark 10:14; that Jesus became righteously indignant with the disciples when they forbad the children to be brought to Him, it is not anger. It is an understanding of a wrong, and not being pleased with it.
Jesus expressed what might be called righteous indignation in Matt 23:13-36; against the scribes and Pharisees. He wasn't angry when He chewed them out, but He was expressing righteous indignation. This is the "anger" He exhibited in Mark 3:5;
Jesus wasn't angry in Matt 16:23; when He said to Peter "Get behind me Satan, you (Peter) are a stumbling block to Me. You are not focused on the things of God, but on the things of man."
Anger is used as an anthropopathism in two phrases that are found many times in the Bible:
"The anger of the Lord." Num 25:4; Num 32:14; Deut 29:20; Judges 3:8; Judges 10:7, Judges 2:14, 20; 2Kings 24:20; Lam 4:16; Jer 4:8; Jer 25:37; Jer 30:24; Jer 51:45; Jer 52:3; Zeph 2:2-3; Psa 2:5;
"The wrath of God." or "The anger of God" 2 Chr 28:11; Ezra 10:14; Psa 78:31; John 3:36; Rom 1:18; Eph 5:6; Col 3:6; Rev 14:10,19; Rev 15:1,7; Rev 16:1; Rev 19:15;
These phrases simply indicate that the punitive action from God's Holiness (righteousness and justice) will appear to be anger or wrath to those who are under it.
Some concluding principles regarding anger:
Anger destroys virtue in the subject so it destroys the function of impersonal love.
Righteous displeasure or righteous indignation that may look like anger, Psa 4:4; does not destroy the virtue of the subject. Impersonal love maintains the virtue of the subject, but sinful anger destroys the function of impersonal love.
When the sin of anger is perpetuated, it becomes the motivation for many sins. Therefore "never let the sun set on your anger."
"To be angry and sin not" is righteous indignation. But too often righteous indignation is an excuse for the function of self-righteous arrogance and legalism.
All unbelievers in their status of spiritual death are described as being in the status quo of "wrath." In Rom 9:22; all unbelievers are called, "vessels of wrath."
In Eph 2:3; unbelievers are said to be, "by nature the children of wrath." The future of the unbeliever is said to be "under the wrath of God" in John 3:36;
This is because the perfect Holiness of God has no option but to condemn unbelievers to the lake of fire because they have rejected God's love that is expressed in his grace. John 3:16; that is the only way for God to have a relationship with them.
Like arrogance, anger is a sin that leads to other sins. Angry people fragment their own life. Arrogance motivates emotional sins like jealousy, bitterness, vindictiveness, hatred, implacability, revenge, and self-pity.
Anger is on the other side of the coin with jealousy. Criminal activity is the function of the arrogant and angry person. Anger always compounds wrong with wrong and sin with sin.
Most people who spend their time in anger have a temporary loss of self-esteem or it may even be an indication that there is no self-esteem at all.
Mark 3:7-10; Summarize Jesus' activity following the Jewish leaders' rejection of Him.
Crowds of people, not only from Galilee but also from Judea and even from as far south-east as Idumaea, the land of Edom, and others from the north-west from the regions of Tyre and Sidon followed him.
Jesus' fame had spread far and wide. It was a time of expectation and speculation among the Jewish people who were anticipating the predicted appearance of the long-desired Son of David who was to bring freedom and salvation to Israel.
The hope was that Jesus might actually be the Messiah was in the hearts of the multitudes that came from all over to hear His words and to see His miracles.
The crowd was so dense as they gathered around Jesus where He stood on the narrow beach that He told his disciples to have a fishing boat ready to be anchored offshore for Him to use as a pulpit.
He healed everyone in the crowd that was sick, and that was the message He sent back to the Pharisees who had rejected him. Look: the one who is here is the God-Man, the unique person of the universe, undiminished deity and true humanity in one person forever, the only saviour, the only way of salvation who is fulfilling all of the prophesies.