Angry People - Part 11

Luke 15 is something like a detective story—you have to read the end to find out what the beginning really is all about. And so we'll start in Luke 15:25. The brother has come home now, the prodigal son who's been out living a life of riotous sin. He's come home, and the father's throwing a party.

Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

Now we would wish that there were a verse 33 there, but there is no verse 33, because how you and I respond to this brother determines what verse 33 would say. It's like the end of Jonah. In Jonah 4, Jonah is angry at God, and God speaks, and there is no verse that says, "and Jonah repented and said I have sinned, forgive me." We hope that that's what happened here. We hope the elder son said, "Well, father, I've been wrong, my heart is wrong, forgive me," and that the boy went in and enjoyed the fellowship in the party and welcomed his brother home. We don't know. You have to determine that in your own heart.

Now the beginning of this chapter tells us why our Lord gave these parables. Then drew near unto him all the tax collectors and sinners to hear him, and the Pharisees and Scribes murmured, saying, "This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them." You see, the tax collectors and sinners are illustrated in the prodigal son, but the elder brother is the illustration of the Pharisees and the Scribes. Two groups of people, and he has a message for each of these groups.

You know, there are many things about this elder son that are quite commendable. He certainly was a faithful worker. He was a hardworking, moral man. He never left home and disgraced his father's name. But the problem is he was an outsider—in the family but outside the fellowship. He was outside of the joy and the fellowship and the liberty. And this was the problem the Scribes and Pharisees had. They thought they were inside the family; they had never really trusted Christ as their Savior, but they were religious people, and yet they were outside of all the things they could be enjoying. The elder brother was outside because of the inside—what was in his heart. God looks on the heart, and this boy's heart was really sick.

Now to understand the elder brother and his anger, we're going to try to answer some rather pointed questions. Number one, why is he outside? Notice he would not go in. Why is he outside? Well, to begin with, he's outside because he's angry at his father. Oh, this business of anger can create so many problems. The father forgave the younger brother. By grace, in his love and mercy, he forgave that younger brother. When that boy even got near the village, the father ran out and threw his arms around him and hugged him and kissed him.

By the way, he did that not only for love, but for protection. You see, this boy had brought disgrace upon the village, and you don't do that. And if the boy had entered the village, they would have stoned him. That was the law. And the father ran out and met him outside and he threw his arms around him as though to say, "Go ahead, throw all the stones you want to throw, if you throw one you're going to hit me." That's all right, I'm going to protect my son. You say, "Well, I wouldn't have done that," but God did that for us. He not only took the stoning, he took death on the cross, and he took our sins on his body. Jesus, when he died for us, threw his arms around us and welcomed us home.

Well, the father forgave the brother and the father killed the fatted calf. Now that—that's an expensive thing to do. A lot of families would keep a calf, fattening it up for a special occasion like a wedding feast or something like that. I suppose this elder brother, this elder son, was really hoping in his heart that one day the father would say, "You know, I've been fattening up this calf, bring in some of your friends, let's just have a party together." That's not what happened. He used it for this brother who came home. So he was angry at his father. He didn't like what the father did to his brother.

And you know, I've met people who have grudges against God. They're angry at God. I've met pastors who are angry at God because some fellow preacher had more blessing than they did, and yet they worked harder and they studied harder and they had better grades in seminary. I've met Sunday School teachers who have grudges against God because another class got privileges they didn't have, maybe a better classroom in the church building. I've met Christians who have grudges against God, maybe because of their children or their lack of children or some problem. Oh, here's a boy who's angry at his father and that keeps him outside.

Secondly, he was angry at his brother. Now keep in mind, as long as that boy was away from home, the elder brother had everything. He looked good. The younger brother living in sin made the righteous elder brother look good. But when the boy came home repentant and started living a better life, it didn't show up the righteousness of the elder brother. He was happy at his brother's failure. Oh, that's tragic. He was happy at his brother's sin. He wasn't even looking for his brother to come home. He's out in the field working, and the brother comes home. You'd think that every once in a while he would lift up his eyes and put his hand over his eyes and look and say, "I wonder if my brother's coming home?"

Are you concerned about a brother who ought to be coming home, a sister who ought to be coming home? Or have you just written them out of your heart, say, "Well, if they want to live that way they can live that way and I hope I never see them again"? Angry at his brother. His brother's coming home was a threat to him. He was afraid now that the father would not give him what he really wanted. Perfect love casts out fear. Our Father in heaven is able to love all of his children and be gracious and kind to all of his children. There is no competition in the family of God. 1 John 4:18 says this: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love"—that means mature love, grown-up love—"casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." If you'd ask this boy, "Do you love your father?"—"Of course I love my father." Then why don't you love your brother? Well, that's another story. He did not want the boy to come home. He was angry at his father, angry at his brother, and angry at himself.

You say, how could he be angry at himself? Well, he'd made a bad bargain, you see. He was out working in the field, he had not disobeyed the father, but why was he doing this? Was he doing this because he loved his father? Of course not. He was not sincere. He was working only to get something. He had the far country in his heart. He didn't have to leave home; he had the far country right in his heart. He had a hidden agenda. And the father would say, "Well, son, thank you for working so hard in the field today," and the boy would say, "Well, that's all right, father, that's why I'm here," and deep inside he would say, "And I wonder when this fellow is going to break down and do something for me."

Now all he had to do was ask. If he'd come in one day and said, "You know, father, I've been working hard and I need a couple of days off, why don't we just kill the fatted calf and have a party and enjoy ourselves?" The father would have said, "Fine, that's wonderful, let's do it." But he never asked, you see. He worked only to achieve his hidden agenda. "Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment."

That sounds like the Pharisee, doesn't it? Proud of their righteousness. "And yet thou never gavest me a kid,"—so much as a little goat—"to have a party with my friends. But this disobedient rebellious boy comes home and you kill for him not a goat, but the fatted calf." Oh, that was worth money. That was an expensive thing to do. He was angry at himself. He had had a bad bargain—worked hard, but he wasn't sincere. He did his father's work, no question about that, but he was not doing his father's will. He was a drudge. He was in bondage. There was no joy in it. He was not obedient from the heart. Ephesians 6:6, "doing the will of God from the heart." He was like a little child.

In fact, that's what the father called him. The father said to him in Luke 15:31, "Son, thou art ever with me," and the word for son there means a little child. It's not the word for a grown-up mature son. He's saying, "Child, you're acting like a child. You're acting immature." Nothing hurts worse than wounded self-love. Here was a boy who loved himself. Here was a boy who worked hard to get something for himself. He pretended like he was doing it for others. Why is he outside? Because of his anger. Anger always puts you outside. Anger puts you in prison. He was angry at his father and angry at his brother and angry at himself.

Now let's ask a second question. What did it cost him to be outside? It cost him dearly. Oh, you can nurture your anger, you can sit in the corner and pout, you can stand outside with your arms folded and your eyebrows scowling, and you can enjoy nurturing your wounded self-love, but you're paying an awful price for it. It was costing him fellowship with the father.

He turned his father into an employer. He was working just for gain, not for love. He could have asked for so much from his father, but he never did it. He lost his joy. He'd never really had any joy out there in the field working. He was just doing his job, a drudge day by day. He lost his brother. You say, "Well, the brother hadn't been home for a long time anyway." That should have made his heart even more desirous to welcome his brother and say, "I forgive you, come on, brother, let's go to work for the father and let's do it together." He lost his brother. He would talk to a servant boy, but he wouldn't talk to his brother. And yet you can't separate—you can't separate love for the father and love for the brethren. They go together. That's what the word of God makes very clear.

Well, he lost his fellowship with the father, he lost his joy, he lost his brother, he lost his character. I keep using this word character in our Bible studies; it's so important. Phillips Brooks used to say that the purpose of life is the building of character through truth. And that—that is true. The truth of the word of God. What is God doing? Building sons and daughters of whom he can be proud.

Now here's this father. On the one hand was the younger son who disgraced the father's name, but he came home and he repented. He said, "Father, make me—make me into one of your servants. Here I am, I want to do your will." And then here's the older brother who, obedient on the outside, was not really obedient on the inside.

You see the contrast between these two boys is rather obvious. The prodigal son was guilty of sins of the flesh, but the prodigal son's brother was guilty of sins of the spirit. He had not wasted his substance in riotous living, but he was wasting his energy in unrighteous anger. Here was a boy who would not have gone to the far country, but he had the far country in his heart, out in the field with him, dreaming of having a party. The elder brother was losing his character. He didn't have love. He didn't have faith. And he lost his opportunity to help other people.

Nothing is more devastating than the bad example of a good man. You know, if a bad person does something wrong, we expect that. We say, "Well, it's too bad, he shouldn't do that, but after all look at what he is." Here's a good man. Here's a man that people trust. They said, "Oh, he's a hardworking man. He's a moral man. Never once disobeyed any instructions from his father." And yet when a good man does a bad thing, oh, what a devastation that brings to others. He stayed outside, and the neighbors said, "You know, that boy that we thought was such a good boy, he's had an argument with his father. He's angry because his brother has come home."

Why, this elder brother could have gone out and filled the house with people and he could have preached a sermon about the grace of God, but he didn't do it. Pride. The bad example of a good man. You see, when you and I harbor anger down inside—anger against God and anger against the father, against our brother, anger against ourselves—then we are paying a terrible price in our own character and in our opportunity to serve and love others.

This leads us now to the third question, and perhaps the most important: How can he come in? Well, to begin with, he has to see himself honestly. There are sins of disposition as well as sins of dissipation. He has to see himself. The Pharisees and Scribes who are illustrated by the elder son never really saw themselves. "I thank you, God, that I am not like other men. I'm especially grateful I'm not like this publican here." And that's the attitude that self-righteous people have. Have we ever really seen ourselves?

You see, the elder son was too proud to admit his own sin. He thought that sin was something external. Sin is something internal. It would be interesting to hand the elder brother the Beatitudes and say, "Read these Beatitudes and see how they apply in your life." He either would have gotten angry at you or he would have repented. There are sins of the flesh and there are sins of the spirit. Disposition can be bad.

You and I may not even dream of going out into the far country and getting involved in horrible sins, but what about our attitudes? Criticism, gossip, slander, backbiting. Oh, how this elder brother dragged up the sins of the past. "This thy son,"—not my brother—"was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots." Hanging all the dirty wash out in public. How do you come in? Well, first you have to see yourself.

Secondly, you have to yield to the father and confess, "I have sinned." Now the—the younger brother said that. "I have sinned against heaven and before thee." You don't find this elder son saying, "I have sinned." Oh, he had to get the poison out of his heart. He had to yield to the father. Thirdly, he had to be reconciled to his brother. That's important. So often we think we can come privately to God and confess our sins and everything is all right. No, Jesus says you'd better leave the altar, go see your brother and get reconciled with him. I have a suspicion that the two boys were not getting along even before the younger boy left home. Reconciled to his brother. I've had to do that.

I can recall times in my life when I've had to go to a brother and say, "I'm sorry. I sinned against you. My attitude was wrong and I want you to forgive me." And finally, if he wanted to get in, he had to be thankful. Joy is the key that opens the door. Here he is, he sees himself, he admits what he is. He comes to the father and says, "I have sinned." He goes to his brother and he's reconciled. Then he says, "Let's go in and rejoice and give thanks to God."

Well, he's outside the door—he's so near and yet so far. He can hear the laughter, he can hear the singing, he can smell the good food, but he's on the outside. At the judgment, when they open to your page, what will the charge be? Will the Lord Jesus Christ have to say to us, "Why wouldn't you go in? Why did you stay outside the fellowship and outside the joy when you could have come in and been a part of the feast?" Anger locks the door. Surrender opens the door.

Have you ever studied the emotions of the Lord Jesus Christ as recorded in the four Gospels? Of course, at the top of the list would be compassion—compassion for the fallen, compassion for the lost, the afflicted, the sorrowing, the helpless. He is the compassionate Christ. But we must not forget also his courage and his holy anger. Yes, God is love—we know that. But God is also light, and light means holiness, and a holy God must express indignation at sin. You see, conviction without love makes bigotry. Love without conviction makes sentimentality. But when you have love plus conviction, then you have ministry. And that's what the Lord Jesus Christ displayed when he was here on earth. "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil," Psalm 97:10. Jesus did not get along with everybody. There were times when his holy anger had to be revealed against sin in the lives of people.

Now what sins in particular aroused his holy anger? We're going to look at a number of passages of Scripture, beginning at Mark 3. Here's the first sin that aroused the anger of the Lord Jesus Christ: the hardness of men's hearts. Mark 3: And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a paralyzed hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man who had the paralyzed hand, "Stand forth." And he saith unto them, "Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life, or to kill?" But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, "Stretch forth thine hand." And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored as sound as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea. Hardness of heart.

Actually, the word "hardness" in Mark 3:5 is the word "hardening." Being grieved for the hardening of their heart. The process was then going on, and it was grieving the Lord Jesus and he was angry.

Now let's consider these Pharisees. Luke 6:7 tells us that these people who were watching Jesus were the Pharisees and the Scribes. Here they were on the Sabbath day in the synagogue. They were showing respect to a tradition, but they had no concern for a needy man. Here is a man made in the image of God; the man had a paralyzed hand. And the Lord Jesus Christ saw this man, had compassion for him, and healed him. The Pharisees sat there watching, using this man as bait to trap the Lord Jesus.

It's a terrible thing when you treat people as a means to an end and not as an end in themselves. Oh, these Pharisees would have bragged about their religion. They fasted, they prayed, they tithed, they were faithful in their attendance at the synagogue, but they had no love for needy people. They had no compassion for those who had problems. They came to watch, not to worship. Their motive for being there was a wrong motive. Their attitude was a wrong attitude. They had already rejected him back in Mark 2. You find this same crowd in Mark 2:6, sitting and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?" They did not come to the house of God to worship God. They didn't come to hear the word to be humbled, to be cleansed. No, they came to see what they could criticize.

By the way, people still do that. It was Joseph Parker, the great British preacher who was preaching in the City Temple in London, and after the service someone came up to him and said, "Dr. Parker, you made a grammatical error in your sermon," and he told him what the error was. And Joseph Parker looked at the man and said, "And what else did you get out of the message?" That to me was a perfect rebuke. I've had similar experiences. You've preached your heart out—sure you make mistakes occasionally, this is a part of life.

James 3 tells us that if we don't occasionally say the wrong thing—well, we're not as normal as other people are. But you know, the important thing is to get the message from God, not to sit in church and be critical of the preacher, critical of the choir, critical of the soloist, of the ushers, and of the way other people behave. This is the way the Pharisees were acting. And when the Lord Jesus confronted them, they were silent. Mark 3:4, but they held their peace. They would not answer his question. A hard heart.

By the way, this is explained over in the book of Zechariah. The prophet Zechariah 7:8: And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, "Execute true judgment, show mercy and compassions every man to his brother"—well, they certainly weren't doing that—"And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the sojourner, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart." They were certainly doing that, weren't they? But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yeah, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets.

This is exactly what happened in that synagogue service. They had no compassion for the needy man, they were critical of the Lord Jesus in their heart, hoping to find something they could criticize. They would not listen to the word of God, and they were hardening their hearts. This was the sin of the nation of Israel. Today, while you hear his voice, harden not your heart. And the result of course was judgment. The Lord Jesus just left. Mark 3:7, "But Jesus withdrew himself." He didn't argue with them. He didn't stand and have a debate with them. If you don't want his truth, he goes someplace else. If you don't want to listen to the word of God and be set free, then stay in your bondage. They were hardening their hearts, and oh, this grieved the Lord and it made him angry—angry at the way they treated the man, grieved at the way they were treating themselves and treating the Lord. In Mark 3:5 it says, "And when he had looked round about on them with anger."

Now the tense of the verb there means momentarily—he quickly looked about, and quickly his anger was aroused, a righteous indignation. The word "being grieved" is a present participle—a continuous, constant grief because of the hardness of their hearts. The Lord Jesus Christ today is still grieved at the hardness of people's hearts—people who listen to the word of God just to find something to criticize, people who are not concerned about the needs of other people, people who sit in the house of God pretending to be the people of God, and yet their hearts are hard, and our Lord is grieved and angered.

In Mark 10 you have a second sin that the Lord Jesus gets angry at. Mark 10:13: Pride. Pride that is born of selfishness. And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, "Permit the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter into it." And he took them up in his arms, and put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

What a beautiful scene this is. It was customary for parents to bring their children to the rabbis and ask the rabbis to bless them. We must point out that this is not a scene of baptism. They did not bring these children to the Lord Jesus for him to baptize them. You say how do we know that? Well, the answer is very clear in John 4:2: Jesus did not baptize anybody. And the apostles did the baptizing, according to John 4:2. Now if these people were bringing children to be baptized, Jesus would have received them and the apostles would have baptized them. Instead, the apostles said, "Get away from here. The Lord doesn't want to see these little children. Move on, move on." They brought the children to the Lord Jesus that he might bless them. We still do that today.

One of the things I miss about my pastoral ministry now that I am no longer pastoring a local church is the privilege of dedicating children and parents to the Lord. It was always such a delight to watch the young men and young women fall in love and follow the will of God in marriage; I'd have the privilege of performing the marriage ceremony. And then a few years later they'd come and say, "Pastor, we're going to start having a family," and such a joy to see those children come into the world, and then you would dedicate them. And now I'm visiting some of these former places and finding these children have grown up, and they're serving the Lord. That's a great joy. They brought the children to the Lord Jesus for his blessing.

By the way, the word "those" in Mark 10:13 is masculine: "His disciples rebuked those that brought them." Most of the Sunday School picture books show the mothers bringing the children, but that's a masculine word. It's the fathers! Oh, I thank God for fathers who love the Lord enough and who love their children enough to bring their children up to know the Lord. If you've had a godly father, a godly grandfather, you ought to lift your heart in praise to God. One of the greatest blessings in all the world is to have a father who knows the Lord, who prays, and who wants his children to come to Jesus.

The disciples were proud. They opposed the children coming to Jesus. Why? Well, to begin with, they had a false view of the Lord's ministry. They thought that the Lord was going to set up a kingdom—you don't need children in your kingdom. They did not understand the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. He had taught them. He had opened the Scriptures to them. He had told them: except ye become like a little child, you'll never make it.

Now he wasn't talking about being childish. He was talking about being childlike—humble, dependent, believing, clinging, looking for the wonder and the joy of life, going through life knowing that your Father will care for you. They had a false view of Christ's ministry. The next thing that happened was the rich young ruler came running up and Jesus refused him. Imagine that! He accepts these poor little children and he turns down a rich young ruler, someone with influence and money. And the disciples said, "Oh my, what's going on here? He's confused." No, he wasn't.

By the way, we today accept the rich young ruler and we turn down the children. I was preaching in a church one day and there were a lot of children in between Sunday School and church running around having a good time, and the pastor apologized to me. He said, "Brother Wiersbe, I'm sorry for all that commotion." I said, "Don't apologize, Jesus loved it." Because he's the one who threw the adults out of the temple and told the children to stay in and sing their praises to God. The disciples had a false view of the children. They thought that children were not important to the Lord Jesus. Children are very important to the Lord Jesus. I wonder what God is going to do with child abusers? I wonder when people stand before the throne of judgment who have done such wicked things to children, what are they going to say? God's going to deal with them. The Lord Jesus still loves the children—all the children of the world.

By the way, what are you doing to reach the children of the world? Not just the children in your neighborhood and in your church families—the children of the world. Do you pray for children who live behind the iron curtain? Are you praying for the children in China? Are you praying for children in Africa? Are you doing what you can do to reach the children of the world? The Lord Jesus says they want to come. He didn't say bring them to me. He said get out of the way and they will come to me. "Permit the little children to come to me and forbid them not." Don't stand in their way. Oh, no wonder the Lord Jesus became angry when he saw the pride of the disciples. They had a wrong view of our Lord and a wrong view of the children, and they had a wrong view of themselves. They thought they could tell people to come and go. One of the worst things you can do is to get in the way of a child who wants to come to Jesus. I think of parents who don't know the Lord Jesus Christ and their children want to become Christians and they want to serve the Lord, and those parents get in the way. Oh, what is God going to say to them at the judgment?

There is a third sin that makes our Lord angry. It's found in Mark 11, beginning at Mark 11:15: And they came to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple and began to cast out those that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of those that sold doves; and would not allow that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And he taught saying unto them, "Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? But ye have made it a den of thieves." And the Scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people were astonished at his doctrine.

Our Lord is angry at hypocrisy. He came to the temple. And here is the house of God—"My house." When he called it "My house," he was affirming his own deity. My house. The temple where God's glory should be revealed. Instead, what do you find? A supermarket—a religious supermarket. I think of all rackets, religious rackets are the worst. I think of all rackets, those who try to use religion, the name of Jesus, the Bible, just to get power and money and influence—those are absolutely the worst. I'm sure the greatest judgment is reserved for religious racketeers who pose to be holy and spiritual, but they're just using their position and their opportunity to gain for themselves. The Lord Jesus came into the temple and he cleaned house.

Now the sad thing is this religious supermarket was in the court of the Gentiles, the one area where the Gentiles could go. You'd think the Jews would have been in the court of the Gentiles trying to win the Gentiles—showing them the glory of God, opening to them the word of God, pleading with them to receive the love of God. But no, they were doing business.

I think that many lost souls have turned away from the truth of God because they've seen religious business. We are worshipping a golden calf and God is going to bring judgment. This whole enterprise was run by the high priest and his family for their own personal gain. Now the Lord Jesus Christ quoted to them from Isaiah 56:7: "For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all people." Not a house of business—a house of prayer. That means faith and worship and glory to God. A house of prayer for all nations, all people—not just for the Jewish people, but for everyone. He also quoted from Jeremiah 7:11: "Is this house which is called by my name become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord."

What is a den of robbers? It's the place where robbers run to hide after they have robbed. They were turning the temple into a place to cover up their sin. You see, they'd come into the temple and they'd make money off of the other people who had come in—Jews who had come from foreign lands who had to buy sacrifices and exchange money—then they'd go in and say their prayers and go through their service, covering up their hypocrisy with religious worship. Read Isaiah 1. Read Matthew 23 to find out what God thinks about hypocrisy. The Lord Jesus Christ is angry at hardness of heart. He's angry at pride that gets in the way of people who want to come to Jesus. He's angry at hypocrisy that turns religion into a racket, a business, and then tries to cover it up with prayers and songs. One of these days he's going to get angry at a lost world and people are going to cry out: fall on us, hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. Today the Lamb is loving. Tomorrow he may be angry. You had better trust him.