Jesus Angered

In the account of Jesus' raising of Lasarus in the Gospel of John, an imprtant phrase is often over looked. In John 11:33, some versions of the Bible translate that Jesus was "troubled", and others that he was "angered" in his spirit. Regardless of the exact word used to translate this verb, the truth remains that Jesus was deeply bothered at this point, bothered to a degree that represents a greater emotion and response than sympathy. Jesus was not bothered because the people were crying or upset, after all he too was moved to tears and "Jesus wept." Jesus' indignation went deeper.

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The anger of our Lord here shows the love he has for his children. Jesus was indignant, not at the people, but at the root cause of all of this. Jesus was angered at the sin that brought about this event and such remorse. It is no accident that this anger is manifest at this time in Jesus life. He was fixing to enter Jerusalem for the very last time; the time for his crucifixion was at hand. Surely, the Lord understood what it was that he had to do, and he had great reason to have anger toward sin.

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In Luke 9:51, we are told that Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem, he knew what had to be done and he was focused on his goal...salvation for us through his death. Jesus must have been incredibly angry at sin by the time that he saw its effects on the people he loved so dearly and in light of the consequence of sin that he would bear just a few days later on the cross. We do not serve a soft Savior, but a Mighty King who was not only angered by sin, he overcame it. Thanks to him we can cry out with the apostle Paul, "O Death, where is your victory, O Death, where is your sting?" It has been erased with the blood of an angry savior on a terrible cross. A Savior who hated sin enough and loved us enough and was obedient enough to do the will of the Father, even when it cost him his own life. What an amazing Savior.