Did Jesus Laugh?

[411]

"Hey, where you from? Nazareth? Hey, me too."
—A quote from Jesus' stand-up act.

There's a famous quote by Erma Bombeck where she's been told by a church lady, "We know that Jesus never laughed because it does not say so in the Bible." Ms. Bombeck's response was that neither does it say that Jesus wet his pants, but if he was ever two years old we can assume that happened.

Jesus had to laugh. He must have. Did Jesus tell jokes? Well, for him they were probably jokes. Try watching re-runs of the old Ed Sullivan Shows and see stand up comics like Larry Storch. (If that name rings a bell, you spent too much time in front of the TV growing up.) Larry would come on and say, "A man walks into a church with a duck under his arm..." He would tell a joke, wait for the laugh, and then tell another joke. That's how comedy worked then. You can't compare Larry Storch to, say, Robin Williams.

Humor in Jesus' day was probably different. Although I'm sure the one that started with "Two Pharisees walk into a bar..." had them in the aisles.

Jesus did have some good lines. "You strain out a gnat and swallow a camel." That one sounds like a straight line to me. There must have been a punch line after that, which probably got edited out by the Nothing-Funny-in- the-Bible Committee.

Here's another, "If a man asks for a fish are you going to give him a snake on his plate?" What a funny guy Jesus must have been! Can't you just see him? "Okay, Judas, whaddya have? Catch of the day? Sure. Here it is. Surprise!"

You can't tell me that a group of 13 guys could hang out together all the time and not have a scene right out of Blazing Saddles. "Hey, Jesus, do we have any more beans?" "I think you've had enough, Thomas." (And wasn't it James and John who were called the Sons of Thunder?)

I also believe Jesus knew full well how his powers were perceived. He knew the value of a practical joke. "What, guys? No fish? Try casting on the other side of the boat." He had to be rolling on the beach with that one. Quick impression of Jesus at a wedding—"It's water. It's wine. No, it's water. No, it's wine." *laughter*

When Jesus walked into the garden of Gethsemane, it's said that he prayed so intently that blood seeped from the pores of his skin. If a man can experience this sort of agony to the point where his sweat is mixed with blood, then this same man must be able to experience joy at a level we can't possibly comprehend.

For the entirety of your career you'll run up against people who say "How dare you! How dare you play games in the sanctuary! How dare you use that music for bible study! How dare you use Veggie Tales for senior high! How dare you teach that! How dare you wear that!"

Jesus went up against these people all the time. He called them Pharisees. (Actually he called them something like white washed tombs with dry bones inside; tell me that doesn't remind you of the Ladies' Quilting Circle.)

Jesus had more fun than any guy on the planet. The more laughter that's coming out of the youth room the better. The more fun they can have, the better.

It's that God, the author of joy, who's going to get the kid through when the girl he's been wanting to ask out all year makes the gag sign to her friends when she thinks he's not looking. It's the joyful Jesus who'll be there when a daughter is carrying around the unspeakable thing that dad did. The Pharisees don't see you when that kid sits in your office and says, "I need to talk to somebody."

You have noise and giggles and chaos coming from the youth room? Good for you. Help your kids hang onto it. Relish it. Remember it. They're going to need it someday when it's their turn to pray in the garden.

[K0NfUzIoN]

interesting post, just not much of an audience for it here...

youre right, a common misconception is that Jesus was a super serious man, and that he never laughed

but there are several verses that made me laugh, such as the snake one u listed (i'll try to find them and put up the references)

Jesus was sarcastic at times, yet without being arrogant

If you believe fun is a sin, im thinkin ur catholic

[Diabolical]

Why wouldnt he laugh he was a normal guy, he worked as a joiner.
He also hung around with prostitutes.

[K0NfUzIoN]

ppl misunderstood the bible's lack of verses showin jesus laughin
 not that this is the authority on christ, but The Passion Of The Christ had an interesting scene where jesus was being playful with his mother, and was laughing

[Miss NWA Whoorider]

I would have loved to see jesus laugh and yall are right the people that think jesus is serious all the time need to get it straight

[J Bananas]

who gives a shit

[white Boy]

of course jesus laughed, that nigga smoked more chronic than me,

[Wessia4LiaNia Chieee Chieee]

of course he laughed..laughin is good and Jesus was good so...

[Macaframa]

I would have loved to see jesus laugh and yall are right the people that think jesus is serious all the time need to get it straight

[Ðøšïå]

why wouldnt he laugh?