Summary: We get angry about many things, but usually we are angry because things are not turning out the way we want. The problem is not with our anger. The problem is with our desires. Jesus fought to give us what we really need, free access to God.
Big Idea: Jesus fought to give you free access to God.
Read: John 2:13-17
Ice-breaker question: Think of the last time you were angry. What were you angry about?
Observation (What does the passage say?)
1. What was happening in the Temple area?
2. What did Jesus do when he saw this?
3. What did Jesus say to the merchants?
Interpretation (What does the passage mean?)
The court of the Gentiles was where the merchants had set up shop to sell livestock for sacrifices and to change money into the currency used to pay the Temple tax. This was the only place where Gentiles (non-Jews) could worship the one true God and the Jews had turned it into marketplace. Other descriptions of Jesus clearing this area imply that the merchants were taking advantage of Jewish pilgrims who came to the Temple from far away for one of the three festivals that Jewish men were required to attend. (Passover was one of the three and the other two were Pentecost and Tabernacles.)
4. Why was Jesus so angry? (List as many possible reasons as you can.)
5. In Ephesians 4:26, we read, “In your anger do not sin.” What is the difference between anger that is sin and anger that is not sin?
6. How are the reasons for Jesus’ anger different from the reasons we have for being angry?
7. Why was Jesus so passionate for his Father’s house?
Application (What does the passage mean to me personally?)
8. Did Jesus’ passion for Father’s house result in good things for us? If so, how?
9. Anger is usually a secondary emotion. What emotion(s) is/are under your anger?
10. What aspect of God’s love do you need to receive more of and apply to your areas of emotional concern?
Farewell to Shadowlands 