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Mark 3:5-6; Jesus was grieved, the Pharisees sought to kill Him...The doctrine of anger Part 1

In our study of Mark we are in Mark 3:5; where we see Jesus grieved at the Pharisee's insensitivity toward the man with the paralyzed hand.

Knowing their hypocrisy "He looked around at them with anger." This is righteous indignation because of their pretence of honoring God while simultaneously exhibiting their lack of interest in helping anyone but themselves.

This is the only explicit reference to Jesus' anger in the New Testament. It was nonmalicious righteous indignation coupled with deep grief at their obstinate insensitivity and disregard for the man's situation.

The hardness of their hearts grieved Jesus. He then commanded the man to out his hand and He healed it. Net note 12

Jesus then demonstrates the fact that He is God and proceeds to heal the man. "Then said he to the man, Stretch forth your hand." Undoubtedly there are other people in the synagogue who were sick but He doesn't heal anyone else. "He stretched it out; and his hand was restored"

Remember the principle: Jesus performed acts of healing not to alleviate suffering but to demonstrate who and what He was, because the most important thing is not how you feel in time but where you spend eternity.

Every miracle performed by Jesus or the disciples was designed to focus attention upon the person and the work of Christ, so that people might believe in Him and be eternally saved.

Mark 3:6; "Then the Pharisees went out, and began plotting with the Herodians about how they might destroy him."

His authority confronted and overwhelmed their authority, so He must be killed. Their problem was how.

They couldn't refute His arguments. He met them with scripture; He met them with miracles; He met them with logic, and they just simply couldn't face it and they refused to accept Him so they proceeded to try to find a way neutralize him. Net note 15

So the Pharisees, who were rigid inflexible religious people entered into collaboration with the Herodians who were the corrupt licentious politicians of the day, regarding how they might capture Jesus and kill him.

Here we have men of entirely opposite views, men who generally opposed each other, the legalists and the licentious, agreeing together in their mutual rejection of Christ and consulting with each other regarding how they can destroy Him.

This is what all arrogant self righteous people do when they are faced with irrefutable truth that they refuse to believe. John 8:44;

This brings us to the Doctrine of Anger under the principle of James 1:20; where it says "the anger of man does not accomplish the righteousness of God".

Jesus' "anger" was not sin but the Pharisees' anger was. Anger is a mental attitude sin and is used as an anthropopathism when it is related to divine judgment. Anger in man is a sin. In God it expresses a change of policy in terms of human frame of reference.

As a mental attitude sin, anger expresses antagonism, hatred, exasperation, resentment, and irrationality. It can be mental or emotional or both. The Greek word "orge" refers to mental anger, "thumos" emotional anger. In Eph 4:31 both types are related to bitterness.

Anger is a sin that motivates other sins like gossip, judging, and maligning others and results in chain sinning.

Anger is a mental attitude reaction. If it is unjustifiable it becomes a reaction of antagonism that makes it a sin, the reaction of irritation, exasperation, and irrationality. Justifiable response is never irrational.

The Bible distinguishes between mental and emotional anger. If your thinking is dominated by anger you can react in mental anger (orge). If your reaction is from emotional revolt, then it is emotional anger (thumos). Both are unjustifiable reactions.

Anger motivates jealousy and cruelty, Prov 27:4; A person can't be angry without being cruel and unfair. Anger is related to stupidity, Eccles 7:9. "Do not be hasty to be angry in your thinking; for anger resides in the bosom of fools."

Satan had anger against God and his arrogance turned his genius into stupidity.

Anger can make anyone stupid. A person is never smart when angry, which is why angry people often do things they regret later.

If you have to deal with a problem you must have your senses about you so don't lose your temper.

Anger is a sin that arises from the old sin nature, Gal 5:20;
Anger is never an isolated sin, Prov 29:22; "An angry person stirs up strife, and a hot tempered person abounds in transgression."

Anger destroys a nation, Amos 1:11. "So decrees the Lord, `For three sins of Edom, even for four, I will not revoke its punishment. Because he pursued his brother with a sword, stifling all compassion, because his anger raged continually and he maintained his anger forever.'"

This passage describes the consequences of Esau and his descendants' unrelenting anger toward Jacob and his descendants because of the birthright. Gen 27:41;

Anger is associated with grieving the Holy Spirit, Eph 4:30-31; "Stop grieving the Holy Spirit, the God by whom you have been sealed to the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and slander be removed from you, together with all evil."

Anger is the enemy of integrity love, Col 3:8; "But now you also put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth."

Anger hinders effective prayer, 1Tim 2:8; "Therefore, I desire that men in every place pray, lifting up holy hands without anger and without dissension."

Anger results in self-induced misery, Prov 22:8. When you fail to properly interpret history or your circumstances and become frustrated because of unrealistic expectations and then envious and angry because you can't get what you want, it results in self-induced misery.

Anger is the source of chain sinning, Heb 12:15; Net note 20 This is hidden, hypocritical anger.

Anger causes misery to those in your periphery, Amos 1:11; Prov 21:19; Prov 22:24; Prov 25:24; Prov 29:22;

Eph 4:26-27;The verse is more accurately translated, "Although you may have become angry, in spite of that stop sinning do not give the devil an opportunity."

This is quoted from Psa 4:4; that teaches David's righteous indignation at the revolt of his son Absalom, his temptation to anger being checked. "Tremble with anger, yet do not sin."

David was tempted to become angry with his son Absalom because he used his personality to start a revolution against his father. If David had continued in his reaction, it would have become anger and a sin. But David was able to stop the temptation with his occupation with Christ.

Anger is an emotional sin, and therefore, always irrational. David never became angry with Absalom; in fact he asked the army to spare Absalom, 2Sam 18:5;

If anger continues and you have bitterness or vindictiveness, your vindictiveness will come out either verbally or as some form of retaliation or revenge. This is what the Pharisees did in our passage. Mark 3:6;

It is possible to respond to unfairness apart from sin. You can be angry because of maltreatment or gossip from others, and yet still put the matter in the Lord's hands.

When maltreated, never let reaction to maltreatment become sin. If you retaliate, then your reaction becomes anger. Never let reaction to maltreatment become sin.

The New Testament emphasizes righteousness maintained in spite of unfair treatment. In this verse the emphasis is on anger as the motivation for loss of integrity love.

There is no reference to righteous indignation 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.

 

© Copyright 2007, Michael Lemmon Bible Ministries. World Rights Reserved.  This document was created on 8/14/2013