“He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” –1 Peter 2:22-23
It’s interesting to juxtapose these passages in 1 Peter 2 with the account of Jesus overturning tables in the temple. They don’t contradict each other, by the way. Both are fundamentally a “for them” action. But I think they need each other.
Imagine if 1 Peter 2:22-23 wasn’t the general tenor of Jesus’ life. Picture Jesus as a man burning hot with anger. At the drop of a hat he’d call down fire and judgment from heaven. He’d pick fights with his enemies. He’d comment on every outrage of the day. If anyone was off just a little bit theologically he’d be quick to muscle them back into conformity. What kind of impact would his overturning the tables have had?
Not much affect at all.
It would have just been like any other day. “Oh, looks like Jesus is mad about something again. I wonder what has gotten him so stirred up this time.” But that’s not how folks responded to Jesus overturning tables. It shocked them. Why? Because it was so out of the norm for him. He wasn’t a rage monster, and that’s why when he did show that outrage it made such a powerful statement.
I said earlier that both his silence and overturning were “for them” actions. Why’d he turn over the tables in the first place? It was certainly to defend the honor of His Father’s house. But it wasn’t because God is brittle and needs a passionate defense when His truth is dragged through the mud. We get a clue from his quotation of Isaiah 56.
God’s heart has always been for the nations. And this table-turning happened in the court of Gentiles. Isaiah 56 was all about the nations coming and seeking the Lord. But there was no place for this to happen because the temple had been overran by those who co-opted it’s mission for personal business. The lighthouse had become a marketplace. So Jesus cleared the deck of Israelite prosperity so the nations could come in.
Jesus saved his outrage to clear the way for others. And in the same way he quietly endured suffering “for others”. When he could have called upon legions of angels to preserve His life he maintained silence because it was His innocent blood spilled which held more power than any angels could muster.
We have much to learn here. There is much to be outraged about. Truth does matter. But if we’re outraged at everything then our overturning tables isn’t going to do much good. The general tenor of our life needs to be tracing the steps of the Suffering Servant. Otherwise our overturning of tables is just going to be another day of outrage swallowed up by every other day of outrage.
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