Yesterday we focused on "justified anger".  Today, let's look at a snapshot from Jesus' life and see an example of justified anger in action.  The event took place in the Gospel of Mark.  It was early in Jesus' ministry and He had the opportunity to heal a man on the Sabbath.  Here's what happened:  ¹Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. ²Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. ³Jesus said to the man, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” ⁴Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him.  ⁵He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! ⁶At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.  Mark 3:1-6 NLT

Jesus looked around at them ANGRILY and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts.  The man had undoubtedly suffered a great deal in his life, because of the deformed hand.  Since it was a basically "blue-collar" world, a deformed hand meant great challenges and difficulties.  Before Jesus healed the man, He gave the religious leaders the opportunity to come on board with Him, by asking whether the law permitted good deeds on the Sabbath, whether it was permitted to save life.  The religious leaders knew the law permitted such tasks, but had "rearranged" it to make virtually any kind of "work" on the Sabbath a sin.  Jesus waited for a response, but none came.  This aroused Jesus' anger.  This was an injustice--the religious leaders using the law of Moses as cause to permit human suffering to continue.  Jesus’ anger combined with deep sadness, because of the hard hearts of  the religious leaders.  He did the right thing.  He healed the man's hand. 

Note that the Pharisees didn't take to Jesus' "upstart" ways.  They went to find the Herodians--the Pharisees' natural enemies--to develop a partnership that would lead to Jesus' murder.  Religion sometimes stands in the way of justice.  When it does Jesus gets angry, and He calls us to be like Him.  That means we need to be certain our following Jesus never becomes religion--rituals and traditions that can deny people God's wholeness in the name of propriety.

Read today's Scripture again, and consider whether there's anything in your relationship with Jesus that has degenerated into religion--rituals and traditions for their own sake.  If there is, ask God's forgiveness, and take some time to consider how to restore that area to a vital relationship with God, in and through Jesus.

Let's pray:  Heavenly Father, Thank You for showing us that Your will must be done no matter what.  Fill us with Your Holy Spirit that we may live boldly and confidently in Your will!  This we pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.