And the Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers sitting there. And having made a whip out of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, as well as the sheep and the oxen, and He poured out the money of the moneychangers and overturned their tables. And to those who were selling the doves He said, Take thee things away from here; do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise. His disciples remembered that it was written, “The zeal of Your house shall devour Me.”

-John 2:13-17

I was happy to come across this passage in the Book of John. It was a scene I was somewhat familiar with, as it does get mentioned an awful lot. It was also one of my favourite moments in Christopher Moore’s novel Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal. In the novel Jesus is depicted as quite aggravated, running the whole lot of filth out of the temple, and pretty much losing his temper in a fit of rage. It showed a very human side of Jesus (as does the rest of the novel) and proved a very convincing argument against consumerism in the church. But I didn’t get quite the same vibe when reading the actual source material.

At first glance Jesus seemed to be disarmingly calm about the whole situation. Even though there is something inherently antagonistic about going at a crowd of people and animals with an improvised whip, John makes it seem like Jesus was gently suggesting that they should clear out, as it was Passover after all and they would probably need a bit of sacred space to practice their religion. Even in acts of aggression, it seems like Jesus is doing it with a smile, like he was using the cords to just show the moneychangers the door.

Looking over the passage however, I can see how there is room to interpret Jesus has having been more than a bit miffed. It doesn’t say that he yelled or cursed but the description lets you imagine it easily enough. But why am I even bringing this up? Why is it important that Jesus be angry at the people defiling the temple? It’s because it would help me to identify with Jesus and the Christian religion if I can conceive of Jesus as less of a divine being and more as a human being. He is after all of the flesh, like the rest of us (though his flesh knew no original sin nor evil) so it makes sense that along with his miracles and divine knowledge, he would have some human characteristics like anger. Imagining Jesus going through this whole scenario without so much as getting irritated, with a peaceful smile and calm demeanor, is more unsettling than imaging him chasing after oxen and hurling insults as if they had just stolen his sandals. I’ve heard enough sermons and discussions to know that Jesus being perfect is kind of important to many Christians, and probably to Christianity as a whole. But if I can’t think of Jesus as being in some ways just like me and my friends then I have trouble believing that he actually existed at all.

In another scene earlier on in the second chapter of John, Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding, so that the celebration may continue with plenty of alcohol. What’s missing from this section? Jesus getting drunk. We see plenty of evidence of Christ, of a Godly figure who will be the savior. What we see less of, or rather what I have yet to see, is Jesus, the guy who had a mother and siblings, and at some point had to grow up, go through puberty, maybe get a job, and come to terms with the fact that he was God’s only son.

I haven’t read the whole New Testament, but I hear that there is a significant portion of his life that is not included, namely the period between Him as a child and Him appearing as an adult, perfected and divine. I suppose I would appreciate being able to read Jesus’ autobiography rather than reading other people’s gospel about him. I’d like to see the spelling mistakes, because without them he seems more like a perfect machine than a man.