Re:Verse passage – Mark 1:36-45 (day six)
Moved with compassion (anger), Jesus reached out and touched him. Mark 1:41
Some early greek manuscripts replace compassion with anger. It makes for an easier scene when we see Jesus respond to a broken man with compassion. It’s the Jesus we want.
What if Jesus responded in anger? How would that equally make sense?
Anger is an emotion that can forcefully tell us things are not as they should be. At its best it moves us to act for the good of others. We see it when Jesus enters the Temple courtyard and turns over the money changers’ tables saying, “You have turned my Father’s house into a den of thieves!” Or when we get angry at cancer, or a son’s drug addiction.
Jesus wasn’t angry at the man, but the man’s condition, his brokenness and isolation. It shouldn’t be like this! And busting through every social norm, he touched him, and the leprous man was made well.
Both compassion and anger should move us to act for the broken. Be angry and act (and sin not)!
Amen!