He Gets Us: Jesus Had to Control His Outrage?

Continuing on with the He Gets Us commercials, this one in particular was one of the two that were played during this year’s Superbowl. In it, the narrator details the following among pictures of people getting angry with each other. Here is what the narrator says:

"There was this controversial figure. 
Everywhere he went, people challenged him. 
They questioned his ideology, 
trolled him, 
called him ugly names. 
But he never took the bait, 
never raised his voice, 
refused to retaliate: 
because he believed he could change the world by turning the other cheek." 

Jesus had to control his outrage, too. 
He Gets Us, All of Us. 

At first glance, and while watching it live on television, I didn’t really see anything inherently wrong, but the more I mused over what was shown, the narration, and watched the clip — things didn’t sit well and left a bad taste in my mouth.

Jesus was controversial

The narration starts off well. “Jesus was a controversial figure,” and still is. People did challenge Him, and questioned His ideology. They still do. They trolled Him and called Him ugly names. The and they still do that even today.

But why?

He was a controversial figure because of the things He said and did. Things that on the surface didn’t seem very kind. According to the Harmony of the Gospels and the Bible, there was a first cleansing of the Temple in John 2:13-22 where Jesus made a whip of cords overturned the money changers tables, and drove out the sheep and oxen they were selling at an outrageous price yelling, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” (John 2:16) Whether this event was first, or last as recorded in Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19; or Luke 19:45-48, it was the things Jesus said and did that turned heads. It was then the religious leaders spoke up and asked for a sign of His authority, and Jesus was on their radar. In essence they were saying, ‘Shut your hole; know your role!’

Even if the cleansing of the Temple wasn’t the first thing, In Matthew 9:1-8 Jesus heals a paralytic and forgives his sins. The Scribes present accused Him of blasphemy (a very serious crime worthy of death). In Matthew 9:9-13 Jesus went to Matthew’s house to eat with him and his guests and was accused by the Pharisees dining with sinners. Some of Jesus’ first words were, ‘Repent and believe the gospel.’ (Matthew 4:12-17; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:14,15) Something that even today stirs up strife in people. People proclaim their own goodness (Proverbs 20:6), and believe that they are good. To repent? For what?

They trolled him and called him ugly names

When the religious leaders couldn’t get Jesus and His disciples to stop, they trolled Him and called Him names to discredit His ministry. They said He was working with Satan and casting out demons in the name of Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24; Luke 11:15). Not only that, but He was called a glutton, a drunkard (Matthew 11:19), an illegitimate child (John 8:39-41), a blasphemer (Matthew 12:31; 26:65; Mark 14:64; John 10:33), and a madman (John 10:20). The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes followed Him everywhere trying to get something on Jesus to nail him to a cross or stone Him. These religious leaders stopped at nothing to shut Him up. They tried to trick Jesus into saying things to condemn Himself against the Law or with Caesar.

Jesus never retaliated

It’s true that Jesus never retaliated: do something harmful or negative, fight back, or respond in kind. For all those things in the above paragraph, Jesus did not retaliate. He did not return evil for evil (Romans 12:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 1 Peter 3:9). But when is ‘raising one’s voice’ negative or unkind? It’s not a sin to raise your voice, and sometimes that’s necessary. Parents raise their voice to their kids all the time for various reasons. Why is that so wrong? We raise our voices to get someone to stop and think, warn them, and sometimes we raise our voices when we think we are not being heard. Why is that so bad? If Jesus is God incarnate, Creator of all, and has total authority and sovereignty — why then is He not allowed to raise His voice; especially when the religious leaders should be pointing people to Him are in reality driving them away? Oh, that’s right, because from what we have seen so far, He Gets Us ignores His divinity. Jesus Christ is not the baby in the manger anymore; for many, that’s a hard pill to swallow.

But there were times, like when He cleansed the Temple, that He raised His voice and in a sense, ‘had enough’. In Matthew chapter 23, Jesus pronounces judgment on the Scribes and Pharisees calling them, “hypocrites,” “blind fools,” “whitewashed tombs,” “blind guides,” “serpents,” and “brood of vipers.” He called them that because that’s what they were, and explained in detail as to why He is saying those things. They were not without merit — they deserved it.

Jesus wanted to change the world by turning the other cheek?

We must remember that Jesus’ ministry on earth was multi-faceted, and entailed many aspects of why He came to earth. If Jesus was only here to die on a cross for the sins of humanity and save them, then he did not need to stay for three years teaching, preaching, healing, raising the dead, casting out demons, or building His church. What does the Bible say why He was on earth?

To save people from their sins

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:20-21 NKJV

To seek and to save the lost

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke 19:9-10 NKJV

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved

. – John 3:17 NKJV

Testify to the truth

Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

John 18:37 NKJV

Build His Church

Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

– Matthew 16:17-19 NKJV

His mission on earth was also wrapped up in the roles He performed in as well. Each one could be expounded upon in great detail; but for lack of time, here are some highlights into His roles as Prophet, Priest, and King.

He was a Prophet

Moses predicted that God would raise up a prophet like himself (Deuteronomy 18:15) who Jesus identified with and who the Apostle Peter preached about (Acts 3:22-24) on Solomon’s porch. The Lord also claimed to be a Prophet (Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24; 13:33; John 4:44) and deliver God’s message to man (John 8:26; 12:49-50; 15:15; 17:8).

He was a Priest

The book of Hebrews paints a great picture of Jesus Christ as the perfect High Priest, that is a perpetual High Priest over His church even to this day. Jesus Christ is our compassionate High Priest who can sympathize with us, yet in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

– Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV

Why couldn’t He Gets Us do a video about this point? He is our compassionate High Priest that lives forever and offers up prayers and supplications to God on our behalf (Hebrews 5:1-11). How amazing of a video would THAT be? In fact, the book of Hebrews goes through many of His roles on earth, and in Heaven.

He was a King

The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that her baby living inside of her would have the throne of David and reign over the house of Jacob (Luke 1:32-33). Wise men sought Him out as a King born of the Jews (Matthew 2:2). Jesus even claimed indirectly that He was the King of the Jews (Matthew 27:11), and even a sign was placed above Him on the cross describing Him as such (Matthew 27:37).

I am sure that I may have missed several. I am human like you. But, please let me know in the comments and I can add them. If I need to be corrected, I should be humble enough to accept it.

Jesus was meek and humble

I don’t necessarily think that Jesus had to control His outrage, because His Word says that Jesus was meek and humble. There are so many definitions out there for the word, meek.

Meekness is not wimpy, spineless, or passive. Meekness in the Bible is closely linked to gentleness, but it’s even more than that.

MEE’KNESS, noun Softness of temper; mildness; gentleness; forbearance under injuries and provocations.

1. In an evangelical sense, humility; resignation; submission to the divine will, without murmuring or peevishness; opposed to pride, arrogance and refractoriness

https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/Meekness

Meekness is in a sense, power under control. It’s not that Jesus had to control his outrage, but that outrage was never a problem. Like Webster’s 1828 Dictionary is is forbearance under injuries and provocations while submission to the divine will of the Father.

What is outrage? Fury, anger, and uncontrollable rage associated with violence. According to the same dictionary:

OUTRAGE, verb

1. To treat with violence and wrong; to abuse by rude or insolent language; to injure by rough, rude treatment of any kind.
2. To commit exorbitances; to be guilty of violent rudeness.
3. noun: Injurious violence offered to persons or things; excessive abuse; wanton mischief. Rude abusive language, scurrility, or opprobrious and contemptuous words, may be an outrage to persons, or to decency and civility. A violent attack upon person or property is an outrage

https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/Outrage

Since Jesus is God, outrage would be so far out of the character of God, therefore not a problem for Jesus because He was fully God, and fully man. Jesus never had to “bite His tongue”. His “yes” was yes and His “no” was no. Not only that but remember, Jesus came to save sinners, whom were also the very people who came against Him. He allowed the ultimate punishment being crucified on the cross and killed so that many would be saved and set free. He always lived according to the Father’s will and plan.

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I hope this helps. More to come. In the meantime, consider subscribing below to get the latest articles when they are published.