Monday | 09 February 2026
Bearing witness to the commencement of this ministry, following Christ’s anointing with the seven Spirits of God by the Holy Spirit, John the Baptist declared, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’ Joh 1:29. John was identifying Jesus as the Lamb-King. He was also identifying Him as the great and final Prophet; the source and substance of the Elijah ministry. John said of Jesus, ‘He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose’, and ‘He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all.’ Joh 1:27. Joh 3:30-31.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus confronted various groups of people as the King. Christ’s wrath was exercised towards these people as He confronted their disbelief and rebellion. For example, in response to Mary’s weeping over Christ’s failure to meet her expectations regarding the death of her brother, Lazarus, John recorded that ‘He groaned in the spirit and was troubled’. Joh 11:33. Numerous commentators agree that this is a poor translation of the Greek text, which actually communicates a sense of indignation, and even rage. For example, in his Commentary for English Readers, Ellicott suggested that the groaning of Jesus revealed a ‘sharp admonition, in words of anger against a person, or in a physical shudder, answering to the intensity of the emotion’.
The Gospels recount four other occasions when Christ’s majesty and wrath were manifest in this same manner. These included the rebuke of the disciples for their faithlessness and perversity, which were exposed by their inability to heal the boy who was oppressed by an evil spirit (Mar 9:14-27); rebuking those who were forbidding the children to come to Him (Mat 19:13-15); rebuking the Pharisees for the hardness of their hearts in relation to the healing of the man who had a withered hand (Mar 3:1-6); and driving out the traders and money changers from the temple who were impeding the access of the Gentiles to the house of prayer (Joh 2:13-17).
Further Study:
John 2
References:
Joh 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’
Joh 1:27
It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.
Joh 3:30-31
He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
Joh 11:33
Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.
Mar 9:14-27
And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. And He asked the scribes, ‘What are you discussing with them?’ Then one of the crowd answered and said, ‘Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So, I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.’ He answered him and said, ‘O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.’ Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. So He asked his father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ And he said, ‘From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’ When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, ‘Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!’ Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
Mat 19:13-15
Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’ And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.
Mar 3:1-6
And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. So, they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. And He said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Step forward.’ Then He said to them, ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
Joh 2:13-17
Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, ‘Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!’ Then His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Your house has eaten me up.’