The Laughter of God
Introduction: For many, the idea of humor in the Bible is a non sequitur. The gravitas of the faith and the seriousness of the God of the Bible should not be dismissed. Offhanded and dismissive jokes concerning the Lord and his message are a grave offense and shall in the last day bring the just recompense upon their purveyors. Nevertheless, laughter and humor are creatures of the Almighty and as such, we should expect them to be found in Scripture especially in connection to humanity and human actions. Laughter is a good that is unique to humankind and insofar as humans image the Living God, the making of humor and comedy speak something of the Creator himself. How is it then that we so often miss the humor in God’s word? Perhaps it is because we do not “have eyes to see.” Pray then we must, the sight-giving Lord to open the eyes of the blind that we may see ourselves and may laugh the holy laughter of God.
Hebraic Humor
“The Chosen People”
Being the Chosen People is a special designation of favor that God bestowed upon the Hebrew nation Israel. The exact nature of this “chosenness” has been debated by Hebrew scholars for centuries. That it is a designation of favor (grace) is normally not in question. Scholars from the Christian perspective unanimously agree on this point and hold that this special blessing has now been opened to all nations because of Israel’s greatest scion, Jesus. This aside, it has been remarked somewhat wryly by those within the Jewish community that being “chosen” may not be all that is cracked up to be. That there is a down side, even a kind of dark humor to being chosen in that it places the spotlight upon not only the glories of the God of Israel, but also upon the foibles and goofs of his people. In other words, its hard to live down (or should we say up to) this “Chosen People” designation.
Jewish Comedy and Comedians
Perhaps it is no accident that so many in comedy, writers and comedians, have come from the Jewish tradition. The ability to see the other side, to turn the phrase, flip the dialogue is essential to comedy. To have lived both sides of the chosen blessing – its glory and its agony must lead to either despair or a healthy sense of humor.
“By Jove”
“He sits in His heavens and…”
“Laughs” - God laughs according to the Psalmist (Ps. 2:4). The same root word that is used to name laughing Sarah’s baby boy Isaac (he laughs, Gn. 21:1-7) is used here. And indeed there is much here for the Almighty to jest about even deride in human behavior, as our author would have us know. Of course we should guard against any anthropomorphic tendencies to view God as a sneering tyrant, but it should not surprise us that there is in God such a thing as holy mirth. Indeed it is not a foreign notion to even pagan theologians that the high god should be happiest/most blessed. The Romans saw him so. Ju-piter (god the father) was also known as Jove from whence we get our word “jovial.”
The Comedy of Love
Is anything in human experience more sublime and more bizarre, more earthy, base even, and yet at the same time more indicative of supernatural reality than love? Gravely serious unto death and also comedic and full of folly, the stories of human love are nearly impossible to relate and in fact impossible to recount without exclamatory language. “This thing called love – I just can’t handle it!” sings Freddy Mercury. He couldn’t and didn’t - his life comic and tragic at one and the same time. Solomon, the wisest man of his time, some say ever, and yet a fool for love and the ridiculous trouble multiple women bring. He had it all and yet brought his kingdom to the point of permanent division (which in fact happened on his son’s watch) because the multiple women he bedded seduced him from zealously following God. And this same story of losing it all for love is repeated time and again over the centuries in every culture and generation, dare we say, even to some degree in every life? Since Adam chose to lose it all by listening to his wife, by choosing to hang with her, the story has been passed on almost as if it is in our genes! Is it any wonder that some of the ancient thinkers considered “love” a form of madness? But, oh, the depths of love, the heights of its infatuation! Love’s ecstasy partakes and bespeaks of the wonders of heaven, and the goods it produces when rightly channeled are unparalleled. Again, is it any wonder that the Scripture speaks of God as love? How can we possibly miss the humor in God here?
Name Calling
We teach our children not to name call and rightly so for they are not adept enough to know the line between a humorous nickname and a hurtful taunt. Right from the beginning it seems, however, God was into humorous nicknames. We are told in Gn. 2:7 that God made Adam (Man) from the dust of the earth (adamah). Another possible Hebrew cognate is the word for red (edom) perhaps derived from red clay. God apparently is playing on words as he names the first man “Red”, “Dirt” or more loosely “Dusty.” The dust connection returns again in the curse of the fall, “For dust you are and to dust you will return!” (3:19). Is not the whimsy of God as well as his dark humor evident here?
Babel
Places too become the object of sport. In Gn. 11:8-9 we read, “That is why it is called Babel – because there the LORD confused the languages of the whole world.” Many a stuffy scholar has pointed out that the writer was mistaken here in connecting the name Babel, which means “Gate of the gods” and comes from two root words (Bab/El) with the word for confusion which comes from an entirely different trilateral root, BLL, in Hebrew. How about a little humor here fellas? Might not it be better to see the writer and ultimately the Author (aka Holy Spirit) as making a joke? And in fact a kind of useful pun, for it would aid the memory as a sort of mnemonic device where these stories would be recounted in a more oral culture than ours! Think of it, small time Israel making sport out of Babylon, that great and historically significant empire! Kinda like people in “Fly-over-country” making jest of the “Bi-coastal” megalopolises of CA and NY – “They’re all just confused!” (Having lived in both CA and IA, you don’t really get the joke unless you are truly “Midwestern.” It is 2017 and President Trump has just taken office. Need I say more?)
Nicknames and New Names
Consider the Divine name calling of Jacob, whose name meant “supplanter” or “crafty”. You’ll recall he was the second born twin who came out grabbing his slightly older brother’s heal as if he had been wrestling with his sibling. Mother Rebecca had been worried as she felt the boys moving in her womb that they had been fighting. She was told that the two would indeed struggle with the younger prevailing over the older. The older twin, Esau, would bare the nickname Edom (from edom – “Red”). This name may be related to the name Adam (earthy). Edom did indeed turn out to be a very “earthy” sort of fellow but the color connection is the primary point of reference as is indicated by the pronunciation of his name, his red hair/complexion and his delight in a certain red bean chili, Jacob would later craft.
As a subsequent event, Jacob is involved in a preternatural phenomenon where he winds up wrestling with the Angel of the LORD (aka the Second Person of the Trinity). In an hilariously gracious reversal, this Person allows Jacob to wring a blessing out of him, which turns out to be Jacob’s renaming – Israel – “he who wrestles with God!” In all his crafty, even devious attempts to wrestle with men and God, Israel would indeed prevail. Not without wounds, but he would prevail even, may we say, over the older Edom/old Adam. The second/last born will be first! Just as generations later the Second Person would wrestle and prevail over the old Man/first Adam, beating sin and death and tricking Satan and all the Devil’s host! Not without wounds and only through allowing himself to lose to his own creatures would he triumph over all. But, oh what a triumph, what a Divine joke!
God Rocks
Then there was Simon. Jesus nicknames him Peter. Simon means “he hears,” yet Simon Peter often seems to talk more than listen. Remember that Mount of Transfiguration thing where God had to interrupt Peter’s shrine construction lecture by saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Mt. 17:4-5) Or the time Simon tries to argue Jesus out of his stated mission (16:21-23). So what do we make of Jesus naming someone he knew would deny him in the crunch, the Rock (Peter)? It is the unmitigated joyously funny, strangely wonderful, hilarious grace of God! Only God could make such a joke because only God could deliver such a punch line. Peter can’t deliver Jesus; he can’t even deliver himself. Peter is no fortress of stone, but God is a bulwark never failing and he has Peter and all the elect – all his laughable punch lines – safe, safe, safely in his hands.
The “BA Brothers”
“Boanerges” was the name for those “Bad Attitude Boys”, the Zebedee sons, James and John. They had wanted to call down fire from heaven like Elijah on a Samaritan village that would not receive Jesus. Jesus gave them the nickname “Sons of Thunder” (boanerges in Aramaic). Wow! And what is really funny is that later the apostle John (along with Peter) was sent to Samaria as a representative by the church in Jerusalem to call down the true fire from heaven, the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-17). Thunder and lightening, O my! Can you hear the Divine laughter?
“Grasshopper”
“Littlefaiths” might be a better translation than the rather stuffy and not so funny, “Oh, ye of little faith.” Jesus name called his disciples this on multiple occasions. It is one word (oligopistoi) and that gives weight to it being used as a nickname. The word is not to be found among non-religious writers suggesting Jesus may have coined it or co-opted it from a more Hebraic source. Pointed jest? Surely, but not mockery for Jesus speaks of the power of even a little faith (Mt. 17:20). This is the Master, the Teacher gently prodding his student disciples with humor. Remember the wise master’s name for his protégé in the TV show Kung Fu? - Grasshopper!
Dissing the Competition
Beelzebub/Beelzebul – what is the correct spelling? In 2 K. 1:1-16 we encounter the Philistine idol Baalzebub of which Beelzebub is a simple spelling variant. But the Gospel references all have a Bee(l)zeboul as the most likely reading, with Beelzebub as a variant (Mt. 10:25, 12:24-27; Mk. 3:22; L. 11:15-19). Baal/Beel means “lord” or “master.” The question centers around what the trilateral root ZBL means. In Hebrew it can mean an elevated or lofty abode, or verbally, to exalt or honor (Cf. the name Zebulun, Gn. 30:20). Originally it may have been an epithet of the proscribed Canaanite deity Baal, hence, Baal the “exalted” or “Lord of the lofty abode.” Jesus may have been playing off this last use in Mt. 10:24-25 when he speaks of the name as referenced to him by his enemies: “If the ‘head/lord of the abode’ has been called Beelzebul….” So, Baalzebub/Beelzebub may have been an intentional jibe at this “exalted” use for the Philistine idol by way of exchanging zebul for zebub (ZBB), which means fly. “Baal (lord) of the flies” would certainly be a put down from the very highest to lowest. Talmudic literature has ZBL in use for dung or crap, perhaps a metonym, since flies are the “inhabitants” of such. Maybe it was a way of saying, “Baal’s shrine is crap!” (See 2 K. 10:27 & BAR Nov./Dec. Vol. 43 No. 6 p. 59). Plays on words, punning, are very much in use in the word of God.
Saul’s son, who inherited the throne of the northern tribes was variously called Eshbaal (1 Ch. 8:33) and Ishbosheth (2 Sm. 2:8). Baal as an approved term for “lord” was becoming increasingly proscribed in the fight over Adonai YHWH and the idol Baal. Eshbaal means “the Lord’s man” while Ishbosheth means “Man of shame,” a pun perhaps on multiple levels, since not only had the name Baal become shameful at the time this record was made, but the house of Saul had come to a shameful end as well.
Just Ask!
Saul’s name also was used in a pun (1 Sm. 10:11) “Is Saul also among the prophets?” may also simply be translated, “Ask also among the prophets?” for the name Saul means “ask” or “inquire.” Then there was the other Saul, not much of an inquirer either, until the Lord knocked him off his high horse. Only then was he willing to ask, “Who are you, Lord?” (Acts 9:5). Soon and ever after he was known as Paul, which means “little” – what a name for a man with such a healthy ego!
Trickery and Deception? – The Joke is on You!
Really? God is involved in trickery and deception? Yes, indeed, but not in the sense of an outright lie. God is much more like that canny lawyer who maneuvers his subject into confessing and condemning himself. We have only to hear the prophet Nathan’s words to the august David, “You are the man!” to recall an example of this trickery. Actually, David had fooled himself. It is the Divine “deception” hidden in a story related to him that revealed David’s guilt to the world and to David as well (2 Sm. 12). To be sure, a rather tragic joke, but consider another more astonishing Divine deception – one where pigs take a bath! Bath is the word and a good one since it may mean “deep.” In the synoptic Gospels we read of an incident where some demons go off the deep end, literally. Matthew gives us a brief account of a certain crowd of demons pleading to be sent into a herd of swine if they are to be cast out. Jesus allows it and the herd promptly goes mad and dives into the sea where the pigs drown (8:28-34). Mark adds a detail in the plea. He tells us the demonic legion begs not to be sent away from the area/region (Mk. 5:10 – xwpas). The Greek term is connected to a tract of land as in contrast to a region of the sea (Acts 27:27). The demonic hoard wanted to stay in the realm, what were they afraid of? Being sent to another country? Luke, good Pauline theologian that he was, gives us the meaning when he says that they were begging not to be ordered “to go into the Abyss” (Lk. 8:31). Of course this should be understood as the deep dungeon of hell. But the deep/abyss is associated with any large body of water. The sea was understood to be a portal to the underworld. Did Jesus know that the pigs would go mad and commit suicide by jumping into the abyss when he granted the demonic wish? I think so. Here as in the case of David, God lets the offender condemn himself by his own choice! The difference is that in the case of the elect (David) God does not meat out the punishment so aptly deserved but pays the debt himself, whereas in the case of the reprobate (Legion) he allows the offender to have it his way.
The sacrifice of Christ may also be seen as a kind of trick from a certain demonic point of view. There is a legitimate theological concept that holds that Christ in his incarnation was a kind of poisonous bait that the Devil swallowed. In so doing Christ passed as it were into Satan’s interior regions and killed him (i.e. rendered him powerless). Satan thus being tricked into killing Christ became his own bane. His demonic kingdom destroyed, Death has no more claim on us.
Notice please too the symbolism of David and Bathsheba’s infant son dying as it were for their transgression, not in actual fact but symbolically pointing to a greater Son of this very same pair who would die for us all – Jesus, Messiah, the Son of David (and Bathsheba)! Finally, it comes down to this: if God were to give us what we asked for, we should all perish. But God is gracious, he does not give us what we want, what we think is right, but gives us the righteousness of Christ.
Sarcasm and Irony
Literary irony involves a statement which straightforward meaning is opposite of the actual and intended meaning. Difficult at times to discern without a knowledge of the context and tone of voice, ironic statements can be missed by readers and even hearers who are not in the right frame of mind. Sarcasm is a form of irony with a bite – the word meaning, “to tear the flesh” – it has an “ouch,” or “wake up” response as its intended result.
Those Wacky Prophets
The Hebrew prophets are often engaged in irony in their battles with an idolatrous people, including Israel itself. When Elijah on Mt. Carmel speaks to the prophets of Baal who are not getting any response to their fervent prayers, he taunts them, “Shout louder… perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” A scoffing sarcasm if there ever was one. (1 K. 18:27) Micaiah does the same with king Ahab. Knowing that the king’s desire to undertake a certain joint military maneuver will end in defeat and certain death for the rebellious king he says, “Attack and be victorious!” (1 K. 22:15) Ahab knows this is irony and presses for the prophet’s real reading of the situation, though even the warning of his certain death does not deter the king’s plans and the predicted outcome.
“Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” (Is. 6:9-10) These are God’s words to a wayward nation through the prophet Isaiah. “Heard/seen” one way by those too full of themselves it is a prophecy of impending doom, but “heard/seen” another way as irony it becomes a warning to the penitent to turn and be forgiven before its too late. Both Jesus and Paul quote this passage as the razor’s edge between faith and unbelief, the elect and the reprobate.
“Only by Prayer…”
After Jesus with Peter, James and John in tow descends from the Mount of Transfiguration, he is met with a problem that the remaining disciples had been wrestling with, namely, the inability to cast out a certain demon from a young lad (Mt. 17:14-21; Mk. 9:14-29; Lk. 9:37-43). Remember the disciples had already been given authority to perform exorcisms by Jesus and had reported great success. (Mt. 10; Mk. 6:6-12&30; Lk. 9:1-10) So they were quite confused at why this one was so difficult. Jesus, of course solved the problem and his men queried him about their inability at this juncture. His simple answer was: “This kind can come out only by prayer.” (Mk. 9:29) Some versions have also “and fasting” but the oldest and best-attested manuscripts do not contain this addition. So why is it there? Is it original? While we may not be able to answer these questions with absolute certainty, there is a workable theory and it has something to do with a sense of humor and even a lack thereof. Notice first that the concise version leaves Jesus’ answer as an ironic perhaps even an off-handed slightly sarcastic reply. “Did you pray, littlefaiths!?” – is what it translates as. The context of where this falls in Jesus’ ministry supports this. His disciples have become dull, arguing about who is the greatest, not wanting to understand Jesus’ sacrificial mission. (Lk. 9:43-46) Matthew’s account of the dialogue has Jesus’ straightforward comment to their question as, “Because you have so little faith.” Praying in faith would seem to be the proper approach here. So why do some manuscripts of Mark’s account have fasting as an additional and necessary tool for this exorcism? Might it not be because some very religiously minded, no doubt “expert on exorcism” failed to catch the humor of Jesus? Could it be that this addition crept into the text as a way of explaining a difficulty to a latter age that had a hard time seeing the apostles as “dufusses” who forgot to pray? Perhaps, placed in the margin first, it made its way into some manuscripts over time. Just a theory, but not a theory without humor!
And maybe this is not the only case where Jesus’ ironic humor has been misunderstood by scholars of the holy script. In Mt. 23:32 Jesus denouncing certain hypocritical Pharisees says, “And you make full the measure of your fathers.” The best textual reading, and also the most difficult, uses the aorist imperative here. “Go ahead,” says Jesus, “Make full the measure (of the sins) of your fathers!” It is a command form used in an ironic way. That others did not get the irony is evidenced in variant manuscripts that have either the aorist indicative, “you have made full…” or the future, “you will make full….” These may be seen as serious attempts to “correct” what was seen as a “typo” by certain copyists. Hmm… scholars too serious for their own good?
There is a kind of irony that is not purely literary; that is, a play on words. This kind of irony has to do with the juxtaposing of events, situations that seem opposed to each other or wildly disproportionate. In Dt. 7:7-8 Moses tell the Israelites that they were not chosen by God because of their “greatness,” their superior numbers, but rather because they were small and weak – indeed they were slaves about to go into extinction! Lest we forget, genocide is not something new to the world or something invented by 20th century man. Granted the Nazis, Stalinists and Mao perfected the art, but it is not something sui generis in modern history. Genocide is the practiced history of the world, the modus operandi of greater nations against smaller ones. One might argue that what made Nebuchadnezzar and the Neo Babylonian empire the “Golden Empire” according to Daniel’s interpretation was that this king unlike all his predecessors (and especially the Assyrians) wished to integrate all peoples into his pan-Babylonian vision. Daniel in fact was a beneficiary of this enlightened view. Which was passed off to succeeding empires through the Persians, Greeks, Romans and the rest of Western culture. Up until then, the idea of cultural assimilation had not been the praxis of empires. So then, the Israelites were chosen by God for greatness precisely because they were not great, precisely because they were slated for death as a national entity, God chose to make them a nation like no other. The historical “irony” here must not be missed. All of Israel’s national history is founded on it! Over and over God reminds them in prose and in psalm: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” For all our recent political talk about “American exceptionalism,” we would do well to remember that nationally, our founders saw us in exactly the same light. Apologies to John Phillips Sousa, but it is not “by their right and by their might” that the flag waves forever. We were and are a nation of “losers” slated for the dustbin of history, but for the saving intervention of the LORD our God. These ironic twists of fate (better said Providence) are detailed in a recent book by Michael Medved, called American Miracle.
The mixed blessing of “chosenness” has been mentioned above. The subsequent histories of countries like Israel and America show a mixture of greatness and pettiness. The incredible graciousness of the Lord unleashes the amazing potential of a people only to be replaced by meanness and failure when that people turn away or start to claim that greatness as their own genius. And all these things are on display for everyone to see, at least everyone who has eyes to see. This juxtaposing of human failure, weakness and evil over against the greatness, graciousness and goodness of the Lord is ironic in its own right. Here again, the reader of history, the scholar, the comfortable pedant may miss the irony. An example of this may be the variant reading that occurs in Mt. 27:16& 17. Some ancient manuscripts inform us that Barabbas’ name was also Jesus! The famous church scholar Origen argued that it was a shame that this criminal insurrectionist should share the name Jesus/Joshua with our Lord. Perhaps others had thought the same and simply dropped the name from the text as it was copied. While this reading is by no means certain (other more aged manuscripts do not include it) the impetus to simply “forget” this information in a latter age that was concerned about defending the honor of Jesus’ name might explain why is does not appear. This would especially be true if the irony of Pilate’s question is missed. Pilate is unwittingly asking, “Which of the two Jesuses do you want me to release to you?” That is, this Jesus Barabbas (Barabbas means son of a father) the insurrectionist or this Jesus Christ (the Son of the Father) soon to be the Resurrected Jesus! Herein lies the choice before us even today – freedom by human arms and revolution or freedom by the arm of the Lord and regeneration.
God as a Man!?
It is precisely because of this historical background, precisely because of what God himself has told us, “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor the son of man, that he should change his mind” (Nm. 23:19) that the incarnation is so ironically funny. Amazing – yes! Mysterious – yes! But also flat out hilarious – God one of us! Who would have thought? You have to be kidding me! Really? Wow, what a laugh!
Jesus the Carpenter
As if to press the joke even further God arranges a “few” things in Jesus’ life. Have you ever considered Jesus’ given occupation, carpenter? He’s the carpenter’s son from Nazareth right - woodworker supposedly? I can almost hear the Persons of the Trinity laughing outright at this one and we should too. For this man, this Jesus is the Logos, the principle Architect of Heaven and Earth! He is the very maker of wood down to the atoms and the quarks and whatever else makes up matter, energy, space and time. And did you realize that an epithet for the word “cross” is “xulon” - “wood/tree”! The dark humor of God comes into play here. The very maker of wood becomes a woodworker to die on the wood. Wonderful irony! It should make us laugh and cry at the same time. One further bit of irony – you will remember it was a tree that got us into trouble in the first place. Two trees to be precise – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which was prohibited and the tree of life, which was removed from us upon the sin of our first parents. They were both in the center of Eden. We now know that because of the work the Carpenter’s Son did on “The Wood/Tree” that the tree of life is open to us, waiting for us in the New Jerusalem (Rv. 22:1-5). I wouldn’t be surprised if it were sprung anew from the timber of the Cross.
Curiously, it all turns out to be about knowing good and evil – the very thing we tried to steal from God in the first place, has now been graciously granted to us in Christ. Talk about your irony!
Exaggeration and Hyperbole
“My girlfriend is so big that when she sits around the house, she literally sits a-r-o-u-n-d the house!” It’s an old joke that uses hyperbole, exaggeration, as its vehicle. Such is the use of language also in the Bible, but the reader may miss these jests. It is too easy to become wrapped up in studying the Scripture – a serious proposition to be sure. Or perhaps the saying has become an old saw, proverbial in nature, and is no longer recognized as funny. Jesus’ uses hyperbole in Mt. 7:3-5 – “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” Perhaps his hearers were chuckling as they thought of a plank or log in someone’s eye – clearly an exaggeration. It is a cliché for us in our day and funny only if we stop to think of the picture it conveys. Or perhaps we jump right over the humor in our desire to get to the serious substance of Jesus’ words. When uttered by the Lord, it may well have been familiar. The Rabbis around the time of Christ were using similar phraseology suggesting that Jesus may have drawn off a common pool of local humor.
Lese Majeste’
In French: an offense against the king or more mundanely an attack on accepted custom. We see it in the Lord’s attack on certain self-righteous Pharisees. Sometimes employing hyperbolic language, but often simply juxtaposing certain incongruous practices, Jesus pokes fun at this “majestic” religio-political group. “They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” (Mt. 23:4) Does this not sound like the pointed jests that are made about many of our political and even religious leaders today?
“You give a tenth of your spices… but have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness…. You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!” (Mt. 23:23-24) Ha! Chuckle, chuckle – You tell ‘em, Jesus! Hmm… hold on now. Am I in anyway like these guys? Maybe the joke is on me! And that is what the hyperbole of God is supposed to do to and for us – make us see God in Jesus and make us see ourselves.
Quirky Stories and Sayings
The Bible is filled with “quirky” stories. Not just the ones that seem to shade off into prehistory or historical mythology* (Garden of Eden, Noah’s Flood, Tower of Babel) but stories that are intentionally strange to make a point. These are found in both Testaments of the Word of God.
Parables, Riddles and Such
Matthew quotes Ps. 78:2 in explaining the kind of speech that Jesus used (Mt. 13:35). The psalmist says, “I will open my mouth in a parable.” The Hebrew word corresponding to parable is “mashal.” A mashal is a didactic figure of speech. It may be a poem, story, proverb, byword, similitude or a number of other figures. It may even be humorous! Yes, jokes, humor can teach! Samson the judge spoke a famous riddle (Jg. 14:12-20). The prophets often use enigmatic sayings, parables and fables to speak to the nation and world. Jotham, Gideon’s youngest son speaks a fable to his murderous half brother Abimelech. Abimelech, whose name means “my father is king” (implication: “I am the kingly heir”) has attempted fratricide in order to consolidate his power, but the providence of God has saved the young Jotham. In Jotham’s fable, Abimelech is likened to a bramble among other fruiting plants/trees. His haughty manner and brazen actions will bear no fruit but only be tinder for the fire that he has kindled burning up those associated - himself included (Jg. 9:1-21). “You, brother,” says Jotham, “are no Cedar of Lebanon, not even a useful fruiting plant; you are a dried up weed likely to cause a devastating fire!” The pointed jest becomes prophetic as subsequent events show. In much the same way Jesus, the Word of God, speaks to his generation and especially those who have hardened their hearts toward him. The Pharisees (and Sadducees) as mentioned above come in for some jests in the form of these mashals – riddles and parables. In Mt. 22:41-46 we see Jesus proposing a Scriptural riddle based on Ps. 110. It is perhaps no accident that this is the most widely quoted Old Testament text in the New Testament. Matthew tells us this is the riddle that finally shut his critics down – they ceased asking questions of Jesus in their attempts to trick him into a fault – their tact would now become more direct, life threatening. They had no answer to the riddle. Jesus had made public fools of these so-called “teachers” once and for all and they hated him for it! Might they have learned a lesson, even laughed at themselves? Yes, but they did not. They had a reputation to defend and they would be damned if they were going to let Jesus teach them. How important a sense of humor becomes when we are the focus of the jest. Again, Luke informs us of a parable aimed directly at these teachers and the chief priests. In Lk. 20:9-19 Jesus makes it clear that he is speaking of them. A prophetic parable for what is soon to take place in a matter of days, but also a warning if they could have understood it and asked, “What foolish nonsense are we about, here? This man knows what we are thinking!”
The Beatitudes
Why do people say the Beatitudes are beautiful literature? Have you heard this? Well I guess if you get their meaning there is a kind of beauty to them, but… but really if you understand what is being said, they paint a picture that is 180 degrees upside down. Blessed are the meek? Really? That’s not what I see. Meekness makes you a pansy in this world, a target, a mark. And successful, famous people – do they ever seem poor in spirit? How about all those Middle Eastern Christians loosing their lives to Islamo-Fascists? Are they having a blessed persecution experience? There is something funny going on here in Jesus’ speech. Okay, maybe not ha ha funny but quirky funny. What in the world is he describing? Ohhh, yeah, maybe its out of this world, I mean a different reality he is talking about. The Kingdom of God may not be as we have imagined. It may be 180 degrees upside down to what we think now, says Jesus.
What is Up is Down – “The last shall be first”
Turning something on its head is a well-known comic device. Have you ever noticed how many times Jesus says, “The last shall be first?” Here is a list: Mt. 19:30, 20:16; Mk. 9:35, 10:31; Lk. 13:30 and check our “the least shall be greatest” – Mt. 18:1-5, 23:11-12; Lk. 9:46-48, 22:24-27; Jn. 13:1-17. Remember, “The older shall serve the younger” (Gn. 25:23)? And what about Joseph, one of the youngest of the twelve brothers who was destined to become the greatest? And remember how father Jacob learned from his son’s experience and his own, thus blessing the younger of Joseph’s son with the primacy? (Gn. 48:17-20) Then, of course, there was David – the youngest insignificant son who became king over his brothers! Not to mention the countless times the Law and the Prophets warn about being careful to take care of the least most vulnerable in society. It seems as if God is always choosing the smaller and humbler, the last and least through whom to make himself known – why?
“These Men Are Turning the World Up-side-down!”
So it was said of the apostles (Acts). But you know it was Jesus – the Acts are really Jesus acts through the power of the Holy Spirit in the believers – and it turns out the Spirit has a sense of humor! Could there be a funnier story than what takes place in Acts 12? Read it. Sleepy/dreaming Peter is on full display (vs. 7-11). Remember he was a good sleeper in another crisis (See Gethsemane). Then there is the excitable Rhoda and what about the believers who didn’t believe the miracle while Peter was pounding on the door! Outrageous fun! Contrast this with the seriously self-important wannabe king Herod Agrippa. God had a way of turning his life up-side-down too.
Bethlehem and the Last Adam
Think for a moment about this prophecy in Micah 5:2: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel. Whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Oh Little Town of Bethlehem we sing at Christmas, for in that little town the Last Adam (1Co. 15:45-49) and one of David’s line would be born! And this Last Adam turns out to be first. The First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega. Do you see it? God’s plan, his Kingdom has turned everything upside down – better said - God in Christ has turned our upside down world right side up again. It is the great reversal and a part of the comedic genius of God. God was actually willing to lower himself to the lowest most foolish place in the eyes of humanity just to get a “rise” out of us (pun intended). Check out Phil. 2:6-11 to see how Paul frames this amazing “come back.” It is definitely worth shouting Hallelujah and laughing out loud!
Whimsy and Strangeness
C. S. Lewis – Talking Animals and the Weirdness of Humanity
Lewis was a master of description when it came to filling out the idea of personality in an “alien” bodily form. No mere cartoon characters are the talking animals of Narnia (or the creatures that people Mars in his space trilogy). They have real dignity on the same level as humanity. Yet Lewis understood that there was something rather comical, strange, better said, “whimsical” about these characters and perhaps he saw that it gave an insight as to how humanity might appear from the outside, to the spiritual realm of angels and demons. Lewis said in his preface to the Screwtape Letters, “Humor involves a sense of proportion and a power of seeing yourself from the outside.” Do we not feel the weirdness of ourselves? We always seem to be a bit uncomfortable about this arrangement of a spirit in a body, constantly making jokes about our animal natures or our vaunted wisdom (See, Miracles, ch. 14, pp.127-128). Surely we must be seen as a kind of cosmic joke for we often see ourselves in just that way.
It has also been suggested that the Creator’s particular love for his cosmic cartoons may be in part the genesis of the hatred born by Lucifer and company toward humanity. They were simply too proud to accept the whimsy of the Almighty. Especially when they understood the central part humanity was to play in the drama of earth and heaven.
And really now, how do you feel about an Oxford/Cambridge Don spending his time on children’s books and talking animals - waste of time or a first rate and funny creation?
Think too now how the New Testament drama all began with the birth of John the Baptist. It began with another one of these miraculous births to an “over the hill” barren couple. Check out the whimsy of the “punishment” meted out to John’s father, Zechariah. Zechariah means “man/male of Yahweh” that is, “Jehovah’s man. The first term in the name “zachar” may also mean “remember.” Zechariah had a hard time remembering the history of God’s work for barren couples. With an angel standing right in front of him announcing a birth of a son to him, he incredulously asks, “How can I be sure of this?” For his lack of faith Gabriel says, “You will not be able to speak until the day this happens.” In effect, Zechariah becomes pregnant along with his wife. Peppered with pregnant questions when he finally came out of the holy place, his mouth was shut until his wife’s womb was opened with a miraculous birth. How is that for whimsy? Zechariah later “manned up” to the task of naming his son as Gabriel directed and as his wife wanted (Lk. 1:13 & 60) by insisting against the rest of his family that the boy’s name would be John.
Buffoonery - The Beloved Fool
Fools in king’s courts are often the most beloved. If they ply there trade well, they may say things about and to the king that no other may dare to say – admittedly a dicey game, but one that may at times prove invaluable, for comedy is often allowed its excesses where prose narrative is not. A safer gambit, however, for conveying information from an “outside” perspective is the comedy duo involving a “fool” and a “straight man.” Many have existed in recent history: Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, George and Gracie, the Smothers Brothers, Marge and Homer to name a few. While the straight person is absolutely essential, it is often the fool that obtains the greatest affection, and in fact, is recognized as the greater genius of the two.
Peter vs. Paul
God seems to have his comedy duos as well. Consider the two preeminent apostles Peter and Paul. Though Paul, before God and men, recognizes his own foolishness (1 Cor. 1:18-2:16) and indeed the foolishness of all human wisdom, he is nonetheless the serious and preeminent theologian here as well as in the New Testament. Brilliant, driving, a force to be reckoned with, yes - but no one would consider him funny. Peter on the other hand, is a crack up. His human foibles are on display for all the world to see and we love it and him for helping us see ourselves in a way Paul never could. This is not to question Peter’s apostolic authority (nor Paul’s humanity for that matter) no in fact, it is to celebrate it, and the Lord, all the more for giving that authority to such as him and to us all! Paul is the serious sinner – enemy of God and all believers, whom God overmasters with his all-conquering grace. Peter, every bit as much a sinner as Paul, is the great over-reaching goof, who wants to be on God’s side, but thinks he has a better plan than the Almighty! How severely and yet gently Jesus loves him into his kingdom! Both portraits are essential for our proper understanding of ourselves, and humanity in general. Both men’s work was also essential. Peter’s genial unifying, yet marvelously welcoming work in solidifying the Hebrew church and including the dynamic ministry to the gentiles on par with Jewish believers, could only have been carried off by him. Paul’s incisive theological mind and his passion for enemies and outsiders was necessary to intellectually undergird the movement as it proceeded into the larger world. So why was Peter selected as the head of the Roman church, after all Paul was the one who wrote to the Roman Christians? Paul is admired, but Peter is beloved - perhaps it was that simple.
Luther vs. Calvin
How about Luther and Calvin? 1500 years after the apostles something similar happened again at the Reformation. Without question, Luther is brilliant. His skills as a legal mind are definitely on display in his defense of the gospel as against its corruptions by Papal Rome. But of the two, Calvin is the more systematic and consistent theologian. Calvin would not be considered humorous, indeed Calvinists even today, seemed to have inherited this reputation. But Luther was known to crack jokes, sometimes even crude ones. His bombasts, some bordering on outrageous, are known and both loved and hated. “Sin boldly,” he admonished Melancthon in an obviously ironic turn. Could Calvin ever bring himself to say such a thing? Calvin’s closest encounter to humor might be his motto: “How long Oh, Lord?” Even then it is a question as to whether this was serious or not. Again, both men were essential in reiterating a clear understanding of the unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ. God’s truth is both serious and hilarious! And so are we humans – dead in ours sins, but beloved rescued fools for God, if indeed we are among the elect. In fact, it is only those who wish to remain seriously themselves that are doomed.
As a Calvinist, I need the consistent mind of Calvin, but my heart is always with Luther when I sing “A Mighty Fortress.”
The Triumph of the Resurrection
God’s Great Reversal as Divine Comedy
There is in martial arts a throw known as the “sacrifice move.” In man-to-man combat, the objective is to stay on top, upright. To be down and under is a recipe for defeat. But there is one move, one throw against the opponent that requires the sacrifice of “upright” status in order to triumph. Martial arts are all about balance – the balance of power as well as wisdom. If your balance is lost you must regain it - it would be foolish to let yourself go down - unless… unless you can go all the way down and over in a total reversal. It is the dangerous sacrifice move that can accomplish this. This move, if performed with expertise, can reverse everything. I have personally experience it. As a young lad and later as a collegian I participated in Judo classes. My first experience was definitive. I learned the basics, and I’ll never forget the day I was matched up with another student by our teacher (sensei) in a practice contest. After a minute or two of jostling upright with each other, my opponent executed the sacrifice throw on me. Planting his foot in my middle, he rolled back on his back and threw me in an instant head over heals. I landed flat on my back with a slap and heard my sensei yell “Ipon!” – “One and won!” Game over, perfect execution! My surprise and shock were tangible – how could this happen? I must have looked silly sailing through the air upside down, especially since I recall being bigger than my opponent. Jesus’ move on the Devil was the same dangerous gambit. Christ went down losing his upright status in the most miserable disgraceful death; planting his foot squarely in the middle of Satan and all his wretched injustice, he threw the adversary for a loop. At the cry “Ipon” - “It is finished!” death was reversed into life and defeat into victory! In one shocking move Christ humiliated the Devil once and for all eternity. Most powerful, most true and most just, it was the greatest surprise and the greatest comeback from the greatest disaster of all time, and only Christ could have done it!
Death is Dead!
HALLELUJAH - DEATH IS DEAD! Think of it, death is dead. What a laugh! Could you ever tire of thanking and praising God for this? Because if death is dead it can only mean eternal life – I mean really living – is here! How seriously funny is that?
* The term “myth” is always dangerous to use. Let the reader understand I am not using it here in the common sense of: “A story that is not true.” Rather myth/mythology here designates a story designed to tell or convey a truth beyond mere factual reporting. We think of Greek or Norse myths of the gods, naturally – dead stories that have no meaning for us. When they were alive, though, they intended to convey a truth and were probably not considered factual by their most sophisticated proponents. There is a class of myths, however, that has an historical root. And these appear to be in cultures scattered all over the globe. We think of the Trojan War enshrined in Homer’s epic “myth” the Illiad. Troy/Illium was found based in part on information contained in the story. To say of a story in Scripture that it is mythological does not mean it is not historical, that is why I have qualified the term. It is to give the literature its due as a particular genre intent on conveying a greater meaning than just a recitation of the facts as they were known by the writer. While these may be “prehistoric” and should not be called history, they are, nonetheless historical in that they have a connection to actual events. Believers should hold to the infallibility of the Biblical text, but that does not mean that every phrase in the Scripture should be treated as a history text. Our care should be to guard as much of the historicity as possible without getting lost in minutia. In other words, something very like the temptation in the Garden of Eden must have happened, though a debate about just exactly the type of “fig leaf” used in the world’s first fashion statement would be fruitless.
Introduction: For many, the idea of humor in the Bible is a non sequitur. The gravitas of the faith and the seriousness of the God of the Bible should not be dismissed. Offhanded and dismissive jokes concerning the Lord and his message are a grave offense and shall in the last day bring the just recompense upon their purveyors. Nevertheless, laughter and humor are creatures of the Almighty and as such, we should expect them to be found in Scripture especially in connection to humanity and human actions. Laughter is a good that is unique to humankind and insofar as humans image the Living God, the making of humor and comedy speak something of the Creator himself. How is it then that we so often miss the humor in God’s word? Perhaps it is because we do not “have eyes to see.” Pray then we must, the sight-giving Lord to open the eyes of the blind that we may see ourselves and may laugh the holy laughter of God.
Hebraic Humor
“The Chosen People”
Being the Chosen People is a special designation of favor that God bestowed upon the Hebrew nation Israel. The exact nature of this “chosenness” has been debated by Hebrew scholars for centuries. That it is a designation of favor (grace) is normally not in question. Scholars from the Christian perspective unanimously agree on this point and hold that this special blessing has now been opened to all nations because of Israel’s greatest scion, Jesus. This aside, it has been remarked somewhat wryly by those within the Jewish community that being “chosen” may not be all that is cracked up to be. That there is a down side, even a kind of dark humor to being chosen in that it places the spotlight upon not only the glories of the God of Israel, but also upon the foibles and goofs of his people. In other words, its hard to live down (or should we say up to) this “Chosen People” designation.
Jewish Comedy and Comedians
Perhaps it is no accident that so many in comedy, writers and comedians, have come from the Jewish tradition. The ability to see the other side, to turn the phrase, flip the dialogue is essential to comedy. To have lived both sides of the chosen blessing – its glory and its agony must lead to either despair or a healthy sense of humor.
“By Jove”
“He sits in His heavens and…”
“Laughs” - God laughs according to the Psalmist (Ps. 2:4). The same root word that is used to name laughing Sarah’s baby boy Isaac (he laughs, Gn. 21:1-7) is used here. And indeed there is much here for the Almighty to jest about even deride in human behavior, as our author would have us know. Of course we should guard against any anthropomorphic tendencies to view God as a sneering tyrant, but it should not surprise us that there is in God such a thing as holy mirth. Indeed it is not a foreign notion to even pagan theologians that the high god should be happiest/most blessed. The Romans saw him so. Ju-piter (god the father) was also known as Jove from whence we get our word “jovial.”
The Comedy of Love
Is anything in human experience more sublime and more bizarre, more earthy, base even, and yet at the same time more indicative of supernatural reality than love? Gravely serious unto death and also comedic and full of folly, the stories of human love are nearly impossible to relate and in fact impossible to recount without exclamatory language. “This thing called love – I just can’t handle it!” sings Freddy Mercury. He couldn’t and didn’t - his life comic and tragic at one and the same time. Solomon, the wisest man of his time, some say ever, and yet a fool for love and the ridiculous trouble multiple women bring. He had it all and yet brought his kingdom to the point of permanent division (which in fact happened on his son’s watch) because the multiple women he bedded seduced him from zealously following God. And this same story of losing it all for love is repeated time and again over the centuries in every culture and generation, dare we say, even to some degree in every life? Since Adam chose to lose it all by listening to his wife, by choosing to hang with her, the story has been passed on almost as if it is in our genes! Is it any wonder that some of the ancient thinkers considered “love” a form of madness? But, oh, the depths of love, the heights of its infatuation! Love’s ecstasy partakes and bespeaks of the wonders of heaven, and the goods it produces when rightly channeled are unparalleled. Again, is it any wonder that the Scripture speaks of God as love? How can we possibly miss the humor in God here?
Name Calling
We teach our children not to name call and rightly so for they are not adept enough to know the line between a humorous nickname and a hurtful taunt. Right from the beginning it seems, however, God was into humorous nicknames. We are told in Gn. 2:7 that God made Adam (Man) from the dust of the earth (adamah). Another possible Hebrew cognate is the word for red (edom) perhaps derived from red clay. God apparently is playing on words as he names the first man “Red”, “Dirt” or more loosely “Dusty.” The dust connection returns again in the curse of the fall, “For dust you are and to dust you will return!” (3:19). Is not the whimsy of God as well as his dark humor evident here?
Babel
Places too become the object of sport. In Gn. 11:8-9 we read, “That is why it is called Babel – because there the LORD confused the languages of the whole world.” Many a stuffy scholar has pointed out that the writer was mistaken here in connecting the name Babel, which means “Gate of the gods” and comes from two root words (Bab/El) with the word for confusion which comes from an entirely different trilateral root, BLL, in Hebrew. How about a little humor here fellas? Might not it be better to see the writer and ultimately the Author (aka Holy Spirit) as making a joke? And in fact a kind of useful pun, for it would aid the memory as a sort of mnemonic device where these stories would be recounted in a more oral culture than ours! Think of it, small time Israel making sport out of Babylon, that great and historically significant empire! Kinda like people in “Fly-over-country” making jest of the “Bi-coastal” megalopolises of CA and NY – “They’re all just confused!” (Having lived in both CA and IA, you don’t really get the joke unless you are truly “Midwestern.” It is 2017 and President Trump has just taken office. Need I say more?)
Nicknames and New Names
Consider the Divine name calling of Jacob, whose name meant “supplanter” or “crafty”. You’ll recall he was the second born twin who came out grabbing his slightly older brother’s heal as if he had been wrestling with his sibling. Mother Rebecca had been worried as she felt the boys moving in her womb that they had been fighting. She was told that the two would indeed struggle with the younger prevailing over the older. The older twin, Esau, would bare the nickname Edom (from edom – “Red”). This name may be related to the name Adam (earthy). Edom did indeed turn out to be a very “earthy” sort of fellow but the color connection is the primary point of reference as is indicated by the pronunciation of his name, his red hair/complexion and his delight in a certain red bean chili, Jacob would later craft.
As a subsequent event, Jacob is involved in a preternatural phenomenon where he winds up wrestling with the Angel of the LORD (aka the Second Person of the Trinity). In an hilariously gracious reversal, this Person allows Jacob to wring a blessing out of him, which turns out to be Jacob’s renaming – Israel – “he who wrestles with God!” In all his crafty, even devious attempts to wrestle with men and God, Israel would indeed prevail. Not without wounds, but he would prevail even, may we say, over the older Edom/old Adam. The second/last born will be first! Just as generations later the Second Person would wrestle and prevail over the old Man/first Adam, beating sin and death and tricking Satan and all the Devil’s host! Not without wounds and only through allowing himself to lose to his own creatures would he triumph over all. But, oh what a triumph, what a Divine joke!
God Rocks
Then there was Simon. Jesus nicknames him Peter. Simon means “he hears,” yet Simon Peter often seems to talk more than listen. Remember that Mount of Transfiguration thing where God had to interrupt Peter’s shrine construction lecture by saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Mt. 17:4-5) Or the time Simon tries to argue Jesus out of his stated mission (16:21-23). So what do we make of Jesus naming someone he knew would deny him in the crunch, the Rock (Peter)? It is the unmitigated joyously funny, strangely wonderful, hilarious grace of God! Only God could make such a joke because only God could deliver such a punch line. Peter can’t deliver Jesus; he can’t even deliver himself. Peter is no fortress of stone, but God is a bulwark never failing and he has Peter and all the elect – all his laughable punch lines – safe, safe, safely in his hands.
The “BA Brothers”
“Boanerges” was the name for those “Bad Attitude Boys”, the Zebedee sons, James and John. They had wanted to call down fire from heaven like Elijah on a Samaritan village that would not receive Jesus. Jesus gave them the nickname “Sons of Thunder” (boanerges in Aramaic). Wow! And what is really funny is that later the apostle John (along with Peter) was sent to Samaria as a representative by the church in Jerusalem to call down the true fire from heaven, the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-17). Thunder and lightening, O my! Can you hear the Divine laughter?
“Grasshopper”
“Littlefaiths” might be a better translation than the rather stuffy and not so funny, “Oh, ye of little faith.” Jesus name called his disciples this on multiple occasions. It is one word (oligopistoi) and that gives weight to it being used as a nickname. The word is not to be found among non-religious writers suggesting Jesus may have coined it or co-opted it from a more Hebraic source. Pointed jest? Surely, but not mockery for Jesus speaks of the power of even a little faith (Mt. 17:20). This is the Master, the Teacher gently prodding his student disciples with humor. Remember the wise master’s name for his protégé in the TV show Kung Fu? - Grasshopper!
Dissing the Competition
Beelzebub/Beelzebul – what is the correct spelling? In 2 K. 1:1-16 we encounter the Philistine idol Baalzebub of which Beelzebub is a simple spelling variant. But the Gospel references all have a Bee(l)zeboul as the most likely reading, with Beelzebub as a variant (Mt. 10:25, 12:24-27; Mk. 3:22; L. 11:15-19). Baal/Beel means “lord” or “master.” The question centers around what the trilateral root ZBL means. In Hebrew it can mean an elevated or lofty abode, or verbally, to exalt or honor (Cf. the name Zebulun, Gn. 30:20). Originally it may have been an epithet of the proscribed Canaanite deity Baal, hence, Baal the “exalted” or “Lord of the lofty abode.” Jesus may have been playing off this last use in Mt. 10:24-25 when he speaks of the name as referenced to him by his enemies: “If the ‘head/lord of the abode’ has been called Beelzebul….” So, Baalzebub/Beelzebub may have been an intentional jibe at this “exalted” use for the Philistine idol by way of exchanging zebul for zebub (ZBB), which means fly. “Baal (lord) of the flies” would certainly be a put down from the very highest to lowest. Talmudic literature has ZBL in use for dung or crap, perhaps a metonym, since flies are the “inhabitants” of such. Maybe it was a way of saying, “Baal’s shrine is crap!” (See 2 K. 10:27 & BAR Nov./Dec. Vol. 43 No. 6 p. 59). Plays on words, punning, are very much in use in the word of God.
Saul’s son, who inherited the throne of the northern tribes was variously called Eshbaal (1 Ch. 8:33) and Ishbosheth (2 Sm. 2:8). Baal as an approved term for “lord” was becoming increasingly proscribed in the fight over Adonai YHWH and the idol Baal. Eshbaal means “the Lord’s man” while Ishbosheth means “Man of shame,” a pun perhaps on multiple levels, since not only had the name Baal become shameful at the time this record was made, but the house of Saul had come to a shameful end as well.
Just Ask!
Saul’s name also was used in a pun (1 Sm. 10:11) “Is Saul also among the prophets?” may also simply be translated, “Ask also among the prophets?” for the name Saul means “ask” or “inquire.” Then there was the other Saul, not much of an inquirer either, until the Lord knocked him off his high horse. Only then was he willing to ask, “Who are you, Lord?” (Acts 9:5). Soon and ever after he was known as Paul, which means “little” – what a name for a man with such a healthy ego!
Trickery and Deception? – The Joke is on You!
Really? God is involved in trickery and deception? Yes, indeed, but not in the sense of an outright lie. God is much more like that canny lawyer who maneuvers his subject into confessing and condemning himself. We have only to hear the prophet Nathan’s words to the august David, “You are the man!” to recall an example of this trickery. Actually, David had fooled himself. It is the Divine “deception” hidden in a story related to him that revealed David’s guilt to the world and to David as well (2 Sm. 12). To be sure, a rather tragic joke, but consider another more astonishing Divine deception – one where pigs take a bath! Bath is the word and a good one since it may mean “deep.” In the synoptic Gospels we read of an incident where some demons go off the deep end, literally. Matthew gives us a brief account of a certain crowd of demons pleading to be sent into a herd of swine if they are to be cast out. Jesus allows it and the herd promptly goes mad and dives into the sea where the pigs drown (8:28-34). Mark adds a detail in the plea. He tells us the demonic legion begs not to be sent away from the area/region (Mk. 5:10 – xwpas). The Greek term is connected to a tract of land as in contrast to a region of the sea (Acts 27:27). The demonic hoard wanted to stay in the realm, what were they afraid of? Being sent to another country? Luke, good Pauline theologian that he was, gives us the meaning when he says that they were begging not to be ordered “to go into the Abyss” (Lk. 8:31). Of course this should be understood as the deep dungeon of hell. But the deep/abyss is associated with any large body of water. The sea was understood to be a portal to the underworld. Did Jesus know that the pigs would go mad and commit suicide by jumping into the abyss when he granted the demonic wish? I think so. Here as in the case of David, God lets the offender condemn himself by his own choice! The difference is that in the case of the elect (David) God does not meat out the punishment so aptly deserved but pays the debt himself, whereas in the case of the reprobate (Legion) he allows the offender to have it his way.
The sacrifice of Christ may also be seen as a kind of trick from a certain demonic point of view. There is a legitimate theological concept that holds that Christ in his incarnation was a kind of poisonous bait that the Devil swallowed. In so doing Christ passed as it were into Satan’s interior regions and killed him (i.e. rendered him powerless). Satan thus being tricked into killing Christ became his own bane. His demonic kingdom destroyed, Death has no more claim on us.
Notice please too the symbolism of David and Bathsheba’s infant son dying as it were for their transgression, not in actual fact but symbolically pointing to a greater Son of this very same pair who would die for us all – Jesus, Messiah, the Son of David (and Bathsheba)! Finally, it comes down to this: if God were to give us what we asked for, we should all perish. But God is gracious, he does not give us what we want, what we think is right, but gives us the righteousness of Christ.
Sarcasm and Irony
Literary irony involves a statement which straightforward meaning is opposite of the actual and intended meaning. Difficult at times to discern without a knowledge of the context and tone of voice, ironic statements can be missed by readers and even hearers who are not in the right frame of mind. Sarcasm is a form of irony with a bite – the word meaning, “to tear the flesh” – it has an “ouch,” or “wake up” response as its intended result.
Those Wacky Prophets
The Hebrew prophets are often engaged in irony in their battles with an idolatrous people, including Israel itself. When Elijah on Mt. Carmel speaks to the prophets of Baal who are not getting any response to their fervent prayers, he taunts them, “Shout louder… perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” A scoffing sarcasm if there ever was one. (1 K. 18:27) Micaiah does the same with king Ahab. Knowing that the king’s desire to undertake a certain joint military maneuver will end in defeat and certain death for the rebellious king he says, “Attack and be victorious!” (1 K. 22:15) Ahab knows this is irony and presses for the prophet’s real reading of the situation, though even the warning of his certain death does not deter the king’s plans and the predicted outcome.
“Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” (Is. 6:9-10) These are God’s words to a wayward nation through the prophet Isaiah. “Heard/seen” one way by those too full of themselves it is a prophecy of impending doom, but “heard/seen” another way as irony it becomes a warning to the penitent to turn and be forgiven before its too late. Both Jesus and Paul quote this passage as the razor’s edge between faith and unbelief, the elect and the reprobate.
“Only by Prayer…”
After Jesus with Peter, James and John in tow descends from the Mount of Transfiguration, he is met with a problem that the remaining disciples had been wrestling with, namely, the inability to cast out a certain demon from a young lad (Mt. 17:14-21; Mk. 9:14-29; Lk. 9:37-43). Remember the disciples had already been given authority to perform exorcisms by Jesus and had reported great success. (Mt. 10; Mk. 6:6-12&30; Lk. 9:1-10) So they were quite confused at why this one was so difficult. Jesus, of course solved the problem and his men queried him about their inability at this juncture. His simple answer was: “This kind can come out only by prayer.” (Mk. 9:29) Some versions have also “and fasting” but the oldest and best-attested manuscripts do not contain this addition. So why is it there? Is it original? While we may not be able to answer these questions with absolute certainty, there is a workable theory and it has something to do with a sense of humor and even a lack thereof. Notice first that the concise version leaves Jesus’ answer as an ironic perhaps even an off-handed slightly sarcastic reply. “Did you pray, littlefaiths!?” – is what it translates as. The context of where this falls in Jesus’ ministry supports this. His disciples have become dull, arguing about who is the greatest, not wanting to understand Jesus’ sacrificial mission. (Lk. 9:43-46) Matthew’s account of the dialogue has Jesus’ straightforward comment to their question as, “Because you have so little faith.” Praying in faith would seem to be the proper approach here. So why do some manuscripts of Mark’s account have fasting as an additional and necessary tool for this exorcism? Might it not be because some very religiously minded, no doubt “expert on exorcism” failed to catch the humor of Jesus? Could it be that this addition crept into the text as a way of explaining a difficulty to a latter age that had a hard time seeing the apostles as “dufusses” who forgot to pray? Perhaps, placed in the margin first, it made its way into some manuscripts over time. Just a theory, but not a theory without humor!
And maybe this is not the only case where Jesus’ ironic humor has been misunderstood by scholars of the holy script. In Mt. 23:32 Jesus denouncing certain hypocritical Pharisees says, “And you make full the measure of your fathers.” The best textual reading, and also the most difficult, uses the aorist imperative here. “Go ahead,” says Jesus, “Make full the measure (of the sins) of your fathers!” It is a command form used in an ironic way. That others did not get the irony is evidenced in variant manuscripts that have either the aorist indicative, “you have made full…” or the future, “you will make full….” These may be seen as serious attempts to “correct” what was seen as a “typo” by certain copyists. Hmm… scholars too serious for their own good?
There is a kind of irony that is not purely literary; that is, a play on words. This kind of irony has to do with the juxtaposing of events, situations that seem opposed to each other or wildly disproportionate. In Dt. 7:7-8 Moses tell the Israelites that they were not chosen by God because of their “greatness,” their superior numbers, but rather because they were small and weak – indeed they were slaves about to go into extinction! Lest we forget, genocide is not something new to the world or something invented by 20th century man. Granted the Nazis, Stalinists and Mao perfected the art, but it is not something sui generis in modern history. Genocide is the practiced history of the world, the modus operandi of greater nations against smaller ones. One might argue that what made Nebuchadnezzar and the Neo Babylonian empire the “Golden Empire” according to Daniel’s interpretation was that this king unlike all his predecessors (and especially the Assyrians) wished to integrate all peoples into his pan-Babylonian vision. Daniel in fact was a beneficiary of this enlightened view. Which was passed off to succeeding empires through the Persians, Greeks, Romans and the rest of Western culture. Up until then, the idea of cultural assimilation had not been the praxis of empires. So then, the Israelites were chosen by God for greatness precisely because they were not great, precisely because they were slated for death as a national entity, God chose to make them a nation like no other. The historical “irony” here must not be missed. All of Israel’s national history is founded on it! Over and over God reminds them in prose and in psalm: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” For all our recent political talk about “American exceptionalism,” we would do well to remember that nationally, our founders saw us in exactly the same light. Apologies to John Phillips Sousa, but it is not “by their right and by their might” that the flag waves forever. We were and are a nation of “losers” slated for the dustbin of history, but for the saving intervention of the LORD our God. These ironic twists of fate (better said Providence) are detailed in a recent book by Michael Medved, called American Miracle.
The mixed blessing of “chosenness” has been mentioned above. The subsequent histories of countries like Israel and America show a mixture of greatness and pettiness. The incredible graciousness of the Lord unleashes the amazing potential of a people only to be replaced by meanness and failure when that people turn away or start to claim that greatness as their own genius. And all these things are on display for everyone to see, at least everyone who has eyes to see. This juxtaposing of human failure, weakness and evil over against the greatness, graciousness and goodness of the Lord is ironic in its own right. Here again, the reader of history, the scholar, the comfortable pedant may miss the irony. An example of this may be the variant reading that occurs in Mt. 27:16& 17. Some ancient manuscripts inform us that Barabbas’ name was also Jesus! The famous church scholar Origen argued that it was a shame that this criminal insurrectionist should share the name Jesus/Joshua with our Lord. Perhaps others had thought the same and simply dropped the name from the text as it was copied. While this reading is by no means certain (other more aged manuscripts do not include it) the impetus to simply “forget” this information in a latter age that was concerned about defending the honor of Jesus’ name might explain why is does not appear. This would especially be true if the irony of Pilate’s question is missed. Pilate is unwittingly asking, “Which of the two Jesuses do you want me to release to you?” That is, this Jesus Barabbas (Barabbas means son of a father) the insurrectionist or this Jesus Christ (the Son of the Father) soon to be the Resurrected Jesus! Herein lies the choice before us even today – freedom by human arms and revolution or freedom by the arm of the Lord and regeneration.
God as a Man!?
It is precisely because of this historical background, precisely because of what God himself has told us, “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor the son of man, that he should change his mind” (Nm. 23:19) that the incarnation is so ironically funny. Amazing – yes! Mysterious – yes! But also flat out hilarious – God one of us! Who would have thought? You have to be kidding me! Really? Wow, what a laugh!
Jesus the Carpenter
As if to press the joke even further God arranges a “few” things in Jesus’ life. Have you ever considered Jesus’ given occupation, carpenter? He’s the carpenter’s son from Nazareth right - woodworker supposedly? I can almost hear the Persons of the Trinity laughing outright at this one and we should too. For this man, this Jesus is the Logos, the principle Architect of Heaven and Earth! He is the very maker of wood down to the atoms and the quarks and whatever else makes up matter, energy, space and time. And did you realize that an epithet for the word “cross” is “xulon” - “wood/tree”! The dark humor of God comes into play here. The very maker of wood becomes a woodworker to die on the wood. Wonderful irony! It should make us laugh and cry at the same time. One further bit of irony – you will remember it was a tree that got us into trouble in the first place. Two trees to be precise – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which was prohibited and the tree of life, which was removed from us upon the sin of our first parents. They were both in the center of Eden. We now know that because of the work the Carpenter’s Son did on “The Wood/Tree” that the tree of life is open to us, waiting for us in the New Jerusalem (Rv. 22:1-5). I wouldn’t be surprised if it were sprung anew from the timber of the Cross.
Curiously, it all turns out to be about knowing good and evil – the very thing we tried to steal from God in the first place, has now been graciously granted to us in Christ. Talk about your irony!
Exaggeration and Hyperbole
“My girlfriend is so big that when she sits around the house, she literally sits a-r-o-u-n-d the house!” It’s an old joke that uses hyperbole, exaggeration, as its vehicle. Such is the use of language also in the Bible, but the reader may miss these jests. It is too easy to become wrapped up in studying the Scripture – a serious proposition to be sure. Or perhaps the saying has become an old saw, proverbial in nature, and is no longer recognized as funny. Jesus’ uses hyperbole in Mt. 7:3-5 – “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” Perhaps his hearers were chuckling as they thought of a plank or log in someone’s eye – clearly an exaggeration. It is a cliché for us in our day and funny only if we stop to think of the picture it conveys. Or perhaps we jump right over the humor in our desire to get to the serious substance of Jesus’ words. When uttered by the Lord, it may well have been familiar. The Rabbis around the time of Christ were using similar phraseology suggesting that Jesus may have drawn off a common pool of local humor.
Lese Majeste’
In French: an offense against the king or more mundanely an attack on accepted custom. We see it in the Lord’s attack on certain self-righteous Pharisees. Sometimes employing hyperbolic language, but often simply juxtaposing certain incongruous practices, Jesus pokes fun at this “majestic” religio-political group. “They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” (Mt. 23:4) Does this not sound like the pointed jests that are made about many of our political and even religious leaders today?
“You give a tenth of your spices… but have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness…. You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!” (Mt. 23:23-24) Ha! Chuckle, chuckle – You tell ‘em, Jesus! Hmm… hold on now. Am I in anyway like these guys? Maybe the joke is on me! And that is what the hyperbole of God is supposed to do to and for us – make us see God in Jesus and make us see ourselves.
Quirky Stories and Sayings
The Bible is filled with “quirky” stories. Not just the ones that seem to shade off into prehistory or historical mythology* (Garden of Eden, Noah’s Flood, Tower of Babel) but stories that are intentionally strange to make a point. These are found in both Testaments of the Word of God.
Parables, Riddles and Such
Matthew quotes Ps. 78:2 in explaining the kind of speech that Jesus used (Mt. 13:35). The psalmist says, “I will open my mouth in a parable.” The Hebrew word corresponding to parable is “mashal.” A mashal is a didactic figure of speech. It may be a poem, story, proverb, byword, similitude or a number of other figures. It may even be humorous! Yes, jokes, humor can teach! Samson the judge spoke a famous riddle (Jg. 14:12-20). The prophets often use enigmatic sayings, parables and fables to speak to the nation and world. Jotham, Gideon’s youngest son speaks a fable to his murderous half brother Abimelech. Abimelech, whose name means “my father is king” (implication: “I am the kingly heir”) has attempted fratricide in order to consolidate his power, but the providence of God has saved the young Jotham. In Jotham’s fable, Abimelech is likened to a bramble among other fruiting plants/trees. His haughty manner and brazen actions will bear no fruit but only be tinder for the fire that he has kindled burning up those associated - himself included (Jg. 9:1-21). “You, brother,” says Jotham, “are no Cedar of Lebanon, not even a useful fruiting plant; you are a dried up weed likely to cause a devastating fire!” The pointed jest becomes prophetic as subsequent events show. In much the same way Jesus, the Word of God, speaks to his generation and especially those who have hardened their hearts toward him. The Pharisees (and Sadducees) as mentioned above come in for some jests in the form of these mashals – riddles and parables. In Mt. 22:41-46 we see Jesus proposing a Scriptural riddle based on Ps. 110. It is perhaps no accident that this is the most widely quoted Old Testament text in the New Testament. Matthew tells us this is the riddle that finally shut his critics down – they ceased asking questions of Jesus in their attempts to trick him into a fault – their tact would now become more direct, life threatening. They had no answer to the riddle. Jesus had made public fools of these so-called “teachers” once and for all and they hated him for it! Might they have learned a lesson, even laughed at themselves? Yes, but they did not. They had a reputation to defend and they would be damned if they were going to let Jesus teach them. How important a sense of humor becomes when we are the focus of the jest. Again, Luke informs us of a parable aimed directly at these teachers and the chief priests. In Lk. 20:9-19 Jesus makes it clear that he is speaking of them. A prophetic parable for what is soon to take place in a matter of days, but also a warning if they could have understood it and asked, “What foolish nonsense are we about, here? This man knows what we are thinking!”
The Beatitudes
Why do people say the Beatitudes are beautiful literature? Have you heard this? Well I guess if you get their meaning there is a kind of beauty to them, but… but really if you understand what is being said, they paint a picture that is 180 degrees upside down. Blessed are the meek? Really? That’s not what I see. Meekness makes you a pansy in this world, a target, a mark. And successful, famous people – do they ever seem poor in spirit? How about all those Middle Eastern Christians loosing their lives to Islamo-Fascists? Are they having a blessed persecution experience? There is something funny going on here in Jesus’ speech. Okay, maybe not ha ha funny but quirky funny. What in the world is he describing? Ohhh, yeah, maybe its out of this world, I mean a different reality he is talking about. The Kingdom of God may not be as we have imagined. It may be 180 degrees upside down to what we think now, says Jesus.
What is Up is Down – “The last shall be first”
Turning something on its head is a well-known comic device. Have you ever noticed how many times Jesus says, “The last shall be first?” Here is a list: Mt. 19:30, 20:16; Mk. 9:35, 10:31; Lk. 13:30 and check our “the least shall be greatest” – Mt. 18:1-5, 23:11-12; Lk. 9:46-48, 22:24-27; Jn. 13:1-17. Remember, “The older shall serve the younger” (Gn. 25:23)? And what about Joseph, one of the youngest of the twelve brothers who was destined to become the greatest? And remember how father Jacob learned from his son’s experience and his own, thus blessing the younger of Joseph’s son with the primacy? (Gn. 48:17-20) Then, of course, there was David – the youngest insignificant son who became king over his brothers! Not to mention the countless times the Law and the Prophets warn about being careful to take care of the least most vulnerable in society. It seems as if God is always choosing the smaller and humbler, the last and least through whom to make himself known – why?
“These Men Are Turning the World Up-side-down!”
So it was said of the apostles (Acts). But you know it was Jesus – the Acts are really Jesus acts through the power of the Holy Spirit in the believers – and it turns out the Spirit has a sense of humor! Could there be a funnier story than what takes place in Acts 12? Read it. Sleepy/dreaming Peter is on full display (vs. 7-11). Remember he was a good sleeper in another crisis (See Gethsemane). Then there is the excitable Rhoda and what about the believers who didn’t believe the miracle while Peter was pounding on the door! Outrageous fun! Contrast this with the seriously self-important wannabe king Herod Agrippa. God had a way of turning his life up-side-down too.
Bethlehem and the Last Adam
Think for a moment about this prophecy in Micah 5:2: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel. Whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Oh Little Town of Bethlehem we sing at Christmas, for in that little town the Last Adam (1Co. 15:45-49) and one of David’s line would be born! And this Last Adam turns out to be first. The First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega. Do you see it? God’s plan, his Kingdom has turned everything upside down – better said - God in Christ has turned our upside down world right side up again. It is the great reversal and a part of the comedic genius of God. God was actually willing to lower himself to the lowest most foolish place in the eyes of humanity just to get a “rise” out of us (pun intended). Check out Phil. 2:6-11 to see how Paul frames this amazing “come back.” It is definitely worth shouting Hallelujah and laughing out loud!
Whimsy and Strangeness
C. S. Lewis – Talking Animals and the Weirdness of Humanity
Lewis was a master of description when it came to filling out the idea of personality in an “alien” bodily form. No mere cartoon characters are the talking animals of Narnia (or the creatures that people Mars in his space trilogy). They have real dignity on the same level as humanity. Yet Lewis understood that there was something rather comical, strange, better said, “whimsical” about these characters and perhaps he saw that it gave an insight as to how humanity might appear from the outside, to the spiritual realm of angels and demons. Lewis said in his preface to the Screwtape Letters, “Humor involves a sense of proportion and a power of seeing yourself from the outside.” Do we not feel the weirdness of ourselves? We always seem to be a bit uncomfortable about this arrangement of a spirit in a body, constantly making jokes about our animal natures or our vaunted wisdom (See, Miracles, ch. 14, pp.127-128). Surely we must be seen as a kind of cosmic joke for we often see ourselves in just that way.
It has also been suggested that the Creator’s particular love for his cosmic cartoons may be in part the genesis of the hatred born by Lucifer and company toward humanity. They were simply too proud to accept the whimsy of the Almighty. Especially when they understood the central part humanity was to play in the drama of earth and heaven.
And really now, how do you feel about an Oxford/Cambridge Don spending his time on children’s books and talking animals - waste of time or a first rate and funny creation?
Think too now how the New Testament drama all began with the birth of John the Baptist. It began with another one of these miraculous births to an “over the hill” barren couple. Check out the whimsy of the “punishment” meted out to John’s father, Zechariah. Zechariah means “man/male of Yahweh” that is, “Jehovah’s man. The first term in the name “zachar” may also mean “remember.” Zechariah had a hard time remembering the history of God’s work for barren couples. With an angel standing right in front of him announcing a birth of a son to him, he incredulously asks, “How can I be sure of this?” For his lack of faith Gabriel says, “You will not be able to speak until the day this happens.” In effect, Zechariah becomes pregnant along with his wife. Peppered with pregnant questions when he finally came out of the holy place, his mouth was shut until his wife’s womb was opened with a miraculous birth. How is that for whimsy? Zechariah later “manned up” to the task of naming his son as Gabriel directed and as his wife wanted (Lk. 1:13 & 60) by insisting against the rest of his family that the boy’s name would be John.
Buffoonery - The Beloved Fool
Fools in king’s courts are often the most beloved. If they ply there trade well, they may say things about and to the king that no other may dare to say – admittedly a dicey game, but one that may at times prove invaluable, for comedy is often allowed its excesses where prose narrative is not. A safer gambit, however, for conveying information from an “outside” perspective is the comedy duo involving a “fool” and a “straight man.” Many have existed in recent history: Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, George and Gracie, the Smothers Brothers, Marge and Homer to name a few. While the straight person is absolutely essential, it is often the fool that obtains the greatest affection, and in fact, is recognized as the greater genius of the two.
Peter vs. Paul
God seems to have his comedy duos as well. Consider the two preeminent apostles Peter and Paul. Though Paul, before God and men, recognizes his own foolishness (1 Cor. 1:18-2:16) and indeed the foolishness of all human wisdom, he is nonetheless the serious and preeminent theologian here as well as in the New Testament. Brilliant, driving, a force to be reckoned with, yes - but no one would consider him funny. Peter on the other hand, is a crack up. His human foibles are on display for all the world to see and we love it and him for helping us see ourselves in a way Paul never could. This is not to question Peter’s apostolic authority (nor Paul’s humanity for that matter) no in fact, it is to celebrate it, and the Lord, all the more for giving that authority to such as him and to us all! Paul is the serious sinner – enemy of God and all believers, whom God overmasters with his all-conquering grace. Peter, every bit as much a sinner as Paul, is the great over-reaching goof, who wants to be on God’s side, but thinks he has a better plan than the Almighty! How severely and yet gently Jesus loves him into his kingdom! Both portraits are essential for our proper understanding of ourselves, and humanity in general. Both men’s work was also essential. Peter’s genial unifying, yet marvelously welcoming work in solidifying the Hebrew church and including the dynamic ministry to the gentiles on par with Jewish believers, could only have been carried off by him. Paul’s incisive theological mind and his passion for enemies and outsiders was necessary to intellectually undergird the movement as it proceeded into the larger world. So why was Peter selected as the head of the Roman church, after all Paul was the one who wrote to the Roman Christians? Paul is admired, but Peter is beloved - perhaps it was that simple.
Luther vs. Calvin
How about Luther and Calvin? 1500 years after the apostles something similar happened again at the Reformation. Without question, Luther is brilliant. His skills as a legal mind are definitely on display in his defense of the gospel as against its corruptions by Papal Rome. But of the two, Calvin is the more systematic and consistent theologian. Calvin would not be considered humorous, indeed Calvinists even today, seemed to have inherited this reputation. But Luther was known to crack jokes, sometimes even crude ones. His bombasts, some bordering on outrageous, are known and both loved and hated. “Sin boldly,” he admonished Melancthon in an obviously ironic turn. Could Calvin ever bring himself to say such a thing? Calvin’s closest encounter to humor might be his motto: “How long Oh, Lord?” Even then it is a question as to whether this was serious or not. Again, both men were essential in reiterating a clear understanding of the unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ. God’s truth is both serious and hilarious! And so are we humans – dead in ours sins, but beloved rescued fools for God, if indeed we are among the elect. In fact, it is only those who wish to remain seriously themselves that are doomed.
As a Calvinist, I need the consistent mind of Calvin, but my heart is always with Luther when I sing “A Mighty Fortress.”
The Triumph of the Resurrection
God’s Great Reversal as Divine Comedy
There is in martial arts a throw known as the “sacrifice move.” In man-to-man combat, the objective is to stay on top, upright. To be down and under is a recipe for defeat. But there is one move, one throw against the opponent that requires the sacrifice of “upright” status in order to triumph. Martial arts are all about balance – the balance of power as well as wisdom. If your balance is lost you must regain it - it would be foolish to let yourself go down - unless… unless you can go all the way down and over in a total reversal. It is the dangerous sacrifice move that can accomplish this. This move, if performed with expertise, can reverse everything. I have personally experience it. As a young lad and later as a collegian I participated in Judo classes. My first experience was definitive. I learned the basics, and I’ll never forget the day I was matched up with another student by our teacher (sensei) in a practice contest. After a minute or two of jostling upright with each other, my opponent executed the sacrifice throw on me. Planting his foot in my middle, he rolled back on his back and threw me in an instant head over heals. I landed flat on my back with a slap and heard my sensei yell “Ipon!” – “One and won!” Game over, perfect execution! My surprise and shock were tangible – how could this happen? I must have looked silly sailing through the air upside down, especially since I recall being bigger than my opponent. Jesus’ move on the Devil was the same dangerous gambit. Christ went down losing his upright status in the most miserable disgraceful death; planting his foot squarely in the middle of Satan and all his wretched injustice, he threw the adversary for a loop. At the cry “Ipon” - “It is finished!” death was reversed into life and defeat into victory! In one shocking move Christ humiliated the Devil once and for all eternity. Most powerful, most true and most just, it was the greatest surprise and the greatest comeback from the greatest disaster of all time, and only Christ could have done it!
Death is Dead!
HALLELUJAH - DEATH IS DEAD! Think of it, death is dead. What a laugh! Could you ever tire of thanking and praising God for this? Because if death is dead it can only mean eternal life – I mean really living – is here! How seriously funny is that?
* The term “myth” is always dangerous to use. Let the reader understand I am not using it here in the common sense of: “A story that is not true.” Rather myth/mythology here designates a story designed to tell or convey a truth beyond mere factual reporting. We think of Greek or Norse myths of the gods, naturally – dead stories that have no meaning for us. When they were alive, though, they intended to convey a truth and were probably not considered factual by their most sophisticated proponents. There is a class of myths, however, that has an historical root. And these appear to be in cultures scattered all over the globe. We think of the Trojan War enshrined in Homer’s epic “myth” the Illiad. Troy/Illium was found based in part on information contained in the story. To say of a story in Scripture that it is mythological does not mean it is not historical, that is why I have qualified the term. It is to give the literature its due as a particular genre intent on conveying a greater meaning than just a recitation of the facts as they were known by the writer. While these may be “prehistoric” and should not be called history, they are, nonetheless historical in that they have a connection to actual events. Believers should hold to the infallibility of the Biblical text, but that does not mean that every phrase in the Scripture should be treated as a history text. Our care should be to guard as much of the historicity as possible without getting lost in minutia. In other words, something very like the temptation in the Garden of Eden must have happened, though a debate about just exactly the type of “fig leaf” used in the world’s first fashion statement would be fruitless.