Jesus told jokes
I’m not really sure why, but most – if not all – of our descriptions of God have an ominous, somber, super-serious tone. We imagine God sitting in Heaven, looking down on Earth, being constantly disappointed. Worse yet, we think that God is always mad at us…with an itchy trigger finger to punish us the moment we step out of line. To even think of God having a sense of humor or even comedic timing? Yeah, right…
When we look at Jesus’ ministry, we do see times that He doled out just punishment (John 2:13-22), but we don’t see Him walking around as a grouchy sourpuss ready to flame-spray all the bad people. Instead, He’s often charged with being a “friend of sinners” and one who “eats and drinks with sinners” – those who were seen as low-brow and low-class in Jewish society. If Jesus was as pious and solemn as our modern depictions go, I can’t imagine Him being invited to many parties…let alone being called a partier’s friend. When you enjoy a meal with others, there are stories told, jokes made, and much laughter. “Stoic Jesus” would have been left alone in a corner somewhere…instead, the “sinners” knew who He was and often invited Him in.
While that’s an indirect proof of Jesus’ use of humor, there are other examples found in Scripture. I think we miss them because most of the time when we read the Bible, we’re looking for serious, life-changing truths…and we gloss over the tangible descriptions of everyday life.
The most obvious joke Jesus told was illustrating the hypocrisy we often have in our relationships.
Matthew 7:3-4
Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye?
As a skilled speaker/teacher, Jesus would have paused to let the absurdity of the situation play out in their minds. If you have a beam of wood sticking out of your head, how in the world are you able to see the splinter in another’s eye? And then you offer to “help” them with their issue…but when you get close enough to reach their eye, they are taken out by the beam sticking out of your head. Ironic situation, meet slapstick comedy. Or to put it in a more modern setting: imagine going to a blind optometrist. How helpful would the appointment be if he can’t see the letters either, let alone walk around the exam room without crashing into everything? How funny would this be to watch as an SNL skit?
Jesus also used humor to chastise those who were “religious” but also full of themselves. While reprimanding the Pharisees, He said
Matthew 7:23
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These things should have been done without neglecting the others.
In all honesty, Jesus could have stopped there. Instead, He furthers His point by using this humorous illustration:
Matthew 7:24
Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel!
Both gnats and camels were considered “unclean” in the Mosaic Law. Neither should be eaten. There is some evidence that the very pious would run their wine through a strainer in order to make sure that no gnats or bugs had landed in their drink. Jesus’ contention is that the scribes and Pharisees have been missing the point of the Mosaic Law. They’ve been “majoring on the minors” so much that while they scrutinize everything for a gnat out of place that they miss the fact they were willing to eat an entire camel!
Although there are other ironies and humorous stories I could reference, in this last Scripture example, I can envision Jesus using “air quotes” as He talked. The day after feeding 5,000 men (plus the women and children present), many of those who ate the loaves and fish tracked Jesus down.
John 6:26-27
Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, you are looking for Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal of approval on Him.”
They worked to find Him – not because they realized that the signs/miracles Jesus performed demonstrated He was the promised Messiah – instead they spent their energy to seek Him out for another free meal. When Jesus pointed out their true motivations, they keyed in on the word work in relation to eternal life and performing miracles for themselves:
John 6:28
“What can we do to perform the works of God?” they asked.
They were asking how they could earn up enough favor with God so they could manifest their next meal. Sounds familiar, right? “If I follow the rules, give to the synagogue, do the right sacrifices, God will give me stuff…right Jesus? Just tell me all the good things I need to do to earn the outcome I want.” They also thought that there were many things they needed to do, since they asked about works – plural. Jesus’ reply is tongue-in-cheek, correcting their use of the plural works and pointing them to the air quote singular “work” they would need to do to obtain eternal life:
John 6:29
Jesus replied, “This is the work of God – that you believe in the one He has sent.”
Just like they missed the point of the miracle – it was evidence that Jesus was the promised Messiah – they also completely missed that eternal life was something He would give you. You can’t do enough works to earn a gift…eternal life is a gift free of charge, no “work” necessary…you only have to believe in Jesus for it.
Remember, when you read stories in the Bible…these aren’t made up fairy tales, they actually happened. The people in them didn’t know the next verse, they simply lived it out. Of course, there were serious moments, but there were also times of fun, laughter, and joking. Some jokes were even told by God Himself.
Keep Pressing,
Ken