“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Acts 2:37
This Post was first published on 05/07/2025. It is revised with additional words describing how Jesus spoke and identifying a second time that Jesus was described as being angry.
A major aspect of Jesus’ character that I love is His capacity to breathe life into the people He spoke with. Even with those whom He provided physical healing, there were often more powerful words that provided deeper spiritual and emotional healing. His speech was a demonstration of God’s Spirit and power, displaying God’s loving goodness, righteousness, and truth. And that is why I had to take a closer look at some Gospel episodes that seemed to show another side of how Jesus spoke.
Many of the words Jesus used to attack the Pharisees come across as insulting and filled with venom. How was this speech justified?
The Gospels mention over twenty occasions when the Pharisees conspired against Jesus and treated Him very poorly. In response, Jesus strikes back with a vengeance, yelling at them, embarrassing them in front of the crowds, and calling them “fools” and other names. He seems justified. Isn’t Jesus giving us an example of righteously defending yourself while exposing religious falsehoods, bigotry, and injustice?
On one occasion, Jesus’ words were described as being offensive, even scandalous (Matt 15:12). In another episode, his words were described as reproachful, even as hubris (Luke 11:45). Was Jesus’ speech used to embarrass, shame, and hurt others? That does not seem very nice or Christ-like. Yet, was that Jesus’ intention?
If Jesus was always displaying the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), we know that this fruit rests upon the foundation of three things: goodness, righteousness, and truth (Ephesians 5:9). On these two occasions, Jesus is highlighting things that are good and right and true by contrasting it with things practiced by the Pharisees that are bad, wrong, and false. The fact that they were offended by the truth does not mean that Jesus was intending to be hurtful and mean.
What Were the Words Used to Describe HOW Jesus Spoke?
I firmly believe that in God’s sight, how we do things is as important as what we do. There is no indication in the descriptive language that Jesus was saying these things in any demeaning way.
For instance, in Luke 11:39, the Greek word used to describe how Jesus spoke to the Pharisees was epo, indicating that Jesus was simply speaking to them. One of the lawyers was described as responding using the word lego, which may indicate a little stronger language, that the lawyer was instructing Jesus, pointing out something, or trying to correct Jesus when he said in verse 45, “Then one of the lawyers answered and said (lego) to Him, ‘Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also.’”
When Jesus responded, it simply used the word epo again, indicating that Jesus was likely conversing calmly as he spoke. Then the description of Jesus’s language, just as the lawyer’s language, switched to lego as he began instructing the Pharisees and lawyers. But while Jesus was instructing, what were they doing? The language shows a marked difference. In verses 53-54, it says, “And as He said (lego) these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.”
The Greek phrase for “assail Him vehemently” suggests that they likely jumped up and yelled very animatedly over one another at Jesus. Nowhere do we find this kind of descriptive language used to describe how Jesus spoke.
The Word’s Words
Let’s look more closely at the Greek words used to describe how Jesus spoke. As I see it, there are three categories of “harsh” language Jesus uses when addressing the issues with the Pharisees:
- Descriptive language, i.e. “Whitewashed tombs full of dead men’s bones”
- Plainly speaking, i.e. “They say, and do not do—they bind heavy burdens”
- Name-Calling, i.e. “Fools”; “Blind leaders of the blind”; “Sons of hell”; “Serpents—brood of vipers”; “Hypocrites”
If what was being spoken holds to the foundation of the Fruit of the Spirit, then what Jesus said represents what is good and right and true. Then we ask, how is he saying it? Is it being expressed with anger and intended as insults to exact revenge?
The third category of name-calling warrants a more in-depth study, so I will reserve that for another time. But, suffice it to say that the above question remains: what was being communicated, and just as importantly, how was it communicated?
Earlier, I touched on a few words in the Greek used to describe how people spoke in the Gospels. Below is a list of the Greek words I found that are used to describe their speech. (Certainly not exhaustive)
- Epo: Say—to speak, say, bid
- Lego: I Tell You—to say, to speak, affirm over, maintain, to teach, to exhort, advise, to command, direct, to point out with words
- Apanggello: Declare—to bring tidings (from a person or a thing), bring word, report, to proclaim, to make known openly, declare
- Keleuo: Command—to command, to order
- Diastellomai: Charge—to order, to set forth distinctly, to admonish
- Boao/Eboēsen: Cry Out—to raise a cry of joy or pain
- Keleuma/Keleusmati: To shout an order—an order, command, or a stimulating cry
- Erizo: Quarrel—to wrangle, engage in strife
- Anakrazo: Raise a cry—from the depth of the throat, with an element of fear
- Krazo: Or Kraxas, Kraugazo, Ekraxen – Cry aloud, call out, speak with a loud voice
- Enecho: Assail—to be held, entangled, to be engaged, quarrel
- Deinos: Vehemently—terribly, grievously, vehemently
- Prosphoneo: Called out—to call to, to address by calling out, to summon
- Epiphoneo: Shouted—to call out to
- Stenazo: a sigh—to groan (with grief, grudge)
- Didaskōn – To teach, direct, admonish
- Epēren – To raise, lift up
- Phōnēn – voice. disclosure; a tone; by implication, an address, saying or language.
- Akousate – To hear, listen, comprehend by hearing
- Exon eipein – It is permitted for me to speak or say
- Parrēsias – Confidence, frankness, bluntness, assurance
- Ekraxen – Primary verb. To ‘croak’ or scream, i.e. to call aloud
- Ekraugasen – To cry aloud, shout, exclaim
For Jesus, the words used to describe his language indicate that he said, spoke, taught, declared, warned, told, called, exhorted, advised, directed, commanded/instructed, and occasionally called out with a loud voice.
There is no record of Jesus doing any of the following – angrily shouting, yelling, cursing, swearing, screaming, quarreling, or assailing vehemently, but with these exceptions:
- Only once did Jesus shout or cry out—eboēsen (from boao) meaning to raise a cry of joy or pain. This was recorded in Mark 15:34 when Jesus cried out in agony from the cross. He involuntarily cried out in excruciating pain, not in deliberate anger. Also, in Luke 23:46, Jesus cried out with a loud voice from the cross at the moment of His death (I think we can give Him a pass on these).
- Jesus was described as raising his voice (Ekraxen) on several occasions while teaching in order to be heard by the people, to emphasize His identity as the Messiah, and when he “yielded up the ghost” at his death in Matthew 27:50. (Let’s give him a pass on these, too.)
- Jesus did cry aloud (Ekraugasen) in John 11:43 when He called Lazarus out of the tomb. Perhaps not just for Lazarus to hear, but for the benefit of the crowd around Him.
- In addition, the writer of Hebrews acknowledges that Jesus in Gethsemane offered up loud/strong cries/prayers to God the Father as he faced the wrath to come. (I’ll give Him a pass on this one, too.)
- Jesus is never described as shouting (keleuma) an order, command, or a stimulating cry, but he will, according to 1 Thessalonians 4:16: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout (keleuma), with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” (Can’t wait to hear that one!)
We find that the Gospel description of how Jesus spoke is consistent with the prophecy in Isaiah 42:1-4 that Jesus quoted in Matthew 12:18-19: “Behold! My Servant (child) whom I have chosen, my Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare (apaggello) justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel (erizo) nor cry out (kraugazo), nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.” In fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, Jesus was never described as having quarreled (erizo) or as having cried out in anger.
Furthermore, in perhaps the most famous prophetic scriptures about Jesus, it says in Isaiah 53:7, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.” It goes on in verse 9 to say, “And they made His grave with the wicked—but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.”
If these prophetic words are true, then Jesus never spoke just to defend himself; He never acted or spoke with the intention of being harsh or violent, nor did He ever say anything to bully or deceive anyone. Now, lest we all become depressed at how far we fall from Jesus, I am happy to report that according to the Gospel, Jesus did get angry. Whew! But, only twice that I could find.
Angry Jesus?
In and of itself, we know that anger is not wrong or a sin. “Be ye angry and sin not” (Ephesians 4:26). Anger is an important part of our emotional makeup. There is certainly a time and place for anger. One of the two occasions when Jesus is described as being angry is found in Mark 3:5, where it states that he looked at the Pharisees “with anger, being grieved.”
But wait you say, I thought you said Jesus never yelled or argued with anyone? That still holds true in this instance. The full description of the episode is Mark 3:1-5: “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.”
The Greek word here translated as anger is Orgēs, which comes from the word Oregomai, meaning desire, or justifiable violent passion, abhorrence; by implication, punishment.
In this scene, the Pharisees sought to trap Jesus, intending to accuse him of sinning. However, Mark shows that Jesus turned the tables on the Pharisees by asking a question to which everyone in the synagogue knew the good and righteous and true answer: yes, it is lawful to do good, even on the Sabbath.
Here was a man with a painful deformity that, in all likelihood, came to the synagogue where Jesus was teaching hoping to be healed. Jesus called him forward. He was excited that his faith would be rewarded and his hand would be restored. There he stood, anxiously awaiting the Pharisees response so he could be healed and they said nothing, condemning him to this affliction by their silence.
It is interesting to me that of all the difficult and harsh words and those spoken to entrap and destroy Jesus by the Pharisees, it is at this time when they refused to speak that actually angered Jesus. The truth was so painfully evident that the Pharisees could not admit it, but just stayed silent.
The account also says that Jesus was angry and grieved. For me, this describes painful disappointment by Jesus. Much like parents whose children they have taught and tried to instill their values in, but then see them morally fail. The emotions are a mix of anger, disappointment and grief. We taught them better! Where did it all go so wrong?
The Greek word for grieved is sullupeo, meaning to be affected with grief together. It means a shared grief, like when people gather at a memorial to share their grief over the loss of a loved one. So, with whom is Jesus sharing his grief? Likely, everyone in the synagogue knows the right answer, but their leaders won’t say so. But more than likely, the poor man with the withered hand, standing there this whole time anxiously wondering if he would be healed. Now, fearing that he may never be healed because of the Pharisees’ hard-heartedness.
I love this particular episode in the Gospels for several reasons. Firstly, that it clearly identifies Jesus in his humanity as experiencing anger. Secondly, it only describes him as being angry this one time with the Pharisees, although they had given Jesus much reason to be angry. Thirdly, I appreciate the example He set for managing anger.
Jesus did not explode into a righteous rant to justify himself or to explicitly confront the Pharisees. He didn’t try to defend himself or fight back, but simply acted to do the right thing —to be a source of God’s healing. He said nothing but simply did the right thing. This Orgē’s anger indicates an exertion of justifiable passion leading to the infliction of some kind of punishment. How did this occur? The man was healed, but the Pharisees, rather than rejoicing, were scorned and exposed as despicable frauds. They were then only more driven to destroy Jesus.
Jesus’ Indignation
Now, in Jesus’ full humanity, there are two other occasions in the Gospels and in certain translations that describe Jesus as being Indignant; In Mark 1:41 and Mark 10:14. In Mark 1:41, it says, “Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” But the Greek word here is splanchnistheis, which means to feel compassion, have pity on, be moved. It is not that He was angry.
However, the other use in Mark 10:14 says, “When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Here, the Greek word is ēganaktēsen, which means to be angry, incensed, or to be greatly afflicted. Here, Jesus was likely very angry. Why? Because the Disciples were keeping the children from Jesus, and the children were the perfect example of who would be received by Jesus into His kingdom.
So, the two occasions when Jesus is described as angry using the words orgēs & ēganaktēsen are instances when people desire to come to Jesus for the goodness He offers, but someone is restricting them. Jesus was angry at those who would inhibit access to Him – the Pharisees and even His Disciples.
Jesus Perfectly Displayed the Fruit of the Spirit in All He Said and Did
How Jesus spoke is not only important in addressing his enemies, but it is just as critical in how he spoke to his followers. When Jesus taught his followers, he had no need to coerce and convince by yelling or theatrical histrionics. He is the living Word of God, and all He said and did was by God’s Spirit and Power.
Paul follows Jesus’ lead acknowledging this in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 saying, “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
Speaking the word of God is more powerful than anything we could add to it. In fact, anything that is of us may detract from its raw power. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
What Kind of Sword is This We Wield – Swashbuckler or Surgeon?
Ephesians 6:17 confirms that the Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. The question is, What kind of sword is this we wield? We can wield it as a Swashbuckler or as a Surgeon.
The idea of the Swashbuckler is so appealing. Imagery of Errol Flynn moving with swagger and daring – striking and parrying with bold and dramatic acrobatics to inflict pain and win the duel. The Surgeon, though, is slow, methodical, studied, cutting with precision and with the purpose to heal and restore.
Based on Hebrews 4:12 mentioned above, I am certain that any way we choose to wield this sword, if our heart is in the right place, it will prove to be powerful and effective. However, if we desire to be imitators of Jesus and let God’s word do the battle, I would argue that it is the Surgeon who is the more accurate imitation of the Jesus I see described in Scripture.
Jesus declares in Matthew 10:34, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” Aha! Sounds like a bit of the Swashbuckler! But, in the Greek, this is the same sword referred to as the Sword of the Spirit – the Machairan. It is more of a longer knife. The kind of knife that could have been used in the crude surgery of the day. Jesus didn’t just come to sprinkle peacenik niceties or to inflict pain, but to lovingly cut to the heart of the matter. It is the Word of God that does the cutting to heal and restore. We are merely the mouthpiece as imitators of Jesus.
We find further instruction on how to wield this Sword in 2 Timothy 2:24-25. “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition,” and in 1 Peter 3:15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;” Certainly, what is described in these scriptures is not the image of the Swashbuckler but that of the skilled Surgeon who has been trained to cut to the heart of the matter.
In Acts 2, the fisherman, Peter, preached his first sermon. The Greek indicates that he simply lifted his voice and spoke out, calling to the crowd and asking them to listen to what he shared with great confidence. No histrionics. The response is recorded in Acts 2:37. “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?” With that, thousands gladly stepped forward, received his word, and were baptized.
Sometimes we desire the to be the daring Swashbuckler but what may be more effective is the skilled Surgeon rightly dividing the word of truth – striving to do what Jesus did.
Tucked In and Lamps Burning 