Angry Jesus

John 11
33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them.
They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”
38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. 39 “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”
40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” 41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” 43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

I had to go back to yesterday’s reading to get a few verse so I could keep this in the context needed for my thoughts today. In Verses 33 and 38 we read that Jesus is ANGRY! With whom is Jesus angry? Martha? Mary? The crowd of mourners? NO! Jesus is angry because His friend Lazarus has had to suffer physical death. He is angry because Mary, Martha and the crowd are in such deep sorrow. He is angry that sin has done its work in this world, and that the work of sin has yet to be overcome. Oh, it will be overcome when Jesus resurrects from the dead, but for now, sin still has its hold on the world. The effects of sin angers Jesus. Not the sinner, but the sin. God is glorified when that sin is overcome. Sin is overcome ONLY when Jesus is present, and active in our lives. Sin is overcome ONLY when we give our lives over to Jesus. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.