Jesus Mad!

To snort with anger.


That’s literally what Jesus did when he warned the leper not to say anything to anyone before sending him away.

So why the anger?

And what’s even more interesting is the fact that an alternate reading in some manuscripts has “he was angry” rather than “he was moved with compassion” in verse 41. Scholars are always trying to figure out the reason(s) for different readings in the various manuscripts, and in this case it just doesn’t make any sense. The words aren’t even close in spelling, and it’s much easier to see how “moved with compassion” would be substituted for “he was angry” than the other way around. Nevertheless, most translations stick with “moved with compassion” because, well, why would he have been angry?

It’s clearly not that he was interrupted or that the leper violated etiquette (please!). Some suggest that perhaps (regardless of what the original word was) what we have is a glimpse at the two sides of the same “kingdom” coin: anger and angst at such suffering, at such treatment of leper exiles and the consequent movement of compassion as the hand is stretched out to touch the exile.

I like that and the connection it makes — compassion is offline when we’re unable to get angry at the mess.

Regardless, the anger that seems to bracket this encounter with the leper perhaps hinges on the fact that this does function as a hinge, and Jesus knows it.

The Galilean party was coming to an end.

It was the most popular party on the block — you couldn’t even fit all the partygoers in (next thing you know they’ll be tearing a hole through the roof or something!). If they could just keep it down! And then this partygoer with all the issues gets liberated, and does he quietly exit to get himself a pronouncement of a clean bill of health at the local priestly clinic? No! He goes banging on every door in the apartment complex. He texts all his friends. He posts before and after pictures on Facebook, for crying out loud! Jesus didn’t release those images—not for that. And now there are so many partygoers that Jesus can’t even get into the room.

And worse, now it’s not just partygoers. All the ruckus and commotion has attracted the authorities. The religious police are mixing in the room, looking for code violations, quietly interviewing partygoers, carefully watching what happens next, ready to read the riot act and break out the cuffs.

I’m guessing Jesus became privy to all this as he beheld that leper kneeling before him. As he helped him up, he didn’t just warn, he didn’t just counsel or caution. His face grew flushed. I see him grabbing the former leper by his unclean tunic. I see him breathing hard and hot as he spat out the words, “DON’T...SAY... A WORD!” —knowing that that is exactly what he was going to do. The first “Christ evangelist.” Jerk.

And now he was between the Scylla of popularity and the Charybdis of official opposition. (Forgive me, I've always wanted to include Scylla and Charybdis in a sentence!)

And the party was over.