Did Jesus ever express a sense of humor in the New Testament?

Answer 1

The Bible never mentions anything about a sense of humor however some preachers have said God must have a sense of humor to have created us at which point they usually laugh and think they are being funny God is the essence of love and goodness but nowhere does it say that God has a sense of humor

While the Bible doesn't mention it directly, many events, when looked at, would have contained an element of humor. Or, when we look at them from our age we can see the humorous side to what may have been quite a serious thing at the time. (This is all quite a different thing from laughing at the Bible and its events and message).

Thinking about the 'humorous side' can also help us realize that, except where we are told otherwise, many Bible events involved real historical events and real historical people. As they were real people they did 'stupid' and 'dumb' things like people do today.

No doubt others may add more but here are several events that spring to mind:

Jonah - asleep and hiding in the hold of the ship while the wild storm was raging. Did he really think he could run from God?

- grumpy about the gourd that grew up and died, yet he didn't care about God saving Nineveh.

Elijah and his encounter with the Prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel

- he specifically laughed at and ridiculed Baal and his priests in their attempts to gain attention.

Saul - before becoming King of Israel. He stood head and shoulders above the crowd yet he went and hid in the hay to avoid being noticed.

Jesus - I think it would have been both awesome and humorous seeing people trying to trap the very Son of God with questions. Although they're lost in the translation from Hebrew & Greek to English, there are a number of puns in the Bible. One such example is when Jesus renamed Simon to Peter (Πετρος), which sounds very similar to the Greek word for rock (πετρα). Other puns include several of the names given to Old Testament patriarchs; one person likened some of the names, such as Isaac ("laughter"), to saying, "well, we had lots of bills when our son was born, so we named him Bill."

Answer 2

Throughout the book of John. the writer (John) refers to himself as "the disciple Jesus loved." Also, sometimes when speaking about interactions with other disciples, he calls himself "the other disciple." He doesn't get in the habit of naming himself.

In John 20:4, we see the following verse: "Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first."


What John was saying, I believe humorously, is that Peter was slow and fat and John easily outran him when they both heard that the tomb was empty. It was a little masculine competitiveness and fun.

Answer:

"Humor" is a strange animal, as the word defies definition. What is funny to me or you may not be to someone else.

In the answer above... I can see what the writer sees humorous, but I'm sure it eludes most folks.

In this society in which we live, we have been "conditioned" by our entertainment and such to LAUGH at someone else's misfortune. Like someone getting "bonked" on the head is funny to see in a movie... though very serious if it happens to ME.

In Proverbs is a morsel of wisdom that I find funny as I picture it being enacted:

"Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him." (Prov.27:22)

Not funny?

The NIV says it this way: "...Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding him like grain with a pestle, you will not remove his folly from him."

Funny, now?

I don't know... I think it's funny. You can't beat the foolishness out of a fool.

Another thing about humor is that if you have to explain it... it ceases to be funny.

Sarcasm can be another form of humor... and I think Jesus expressed Himself in that humorous manner once.

Isaiah says that: "He was despised and rejected by men, a MAN OF SORROWS, and familiar with suffering..." (Isa.53:3), because of our sins.

Before I reveal what I perceive as a humorously sarcastic remark by Jesus, I must explain something.

Much of the world perceives Jesus as having been a "penniless street-begging pauper"... but a study of the Bible proves otherwise. It's a deeper study than I want to get into here... but rest assured... people called Him "Master" and no one calls a penniless street beggar "master."

Also, His adopted father, Joseph, was a successful businessman with a family construction business. And Jesus, being his firstborn son, INHERITED THE BUSINESS when Joseph died as well as his father's house and possessions. In other words, Jesus became the head of his father's household in Nazareth, as well as CEO of "Joseph & Sons Contracting," as it were.

There is a Bible passage that people use to "prove" Jesus' poverty... yet, this is exactly where I perceived His sense of humor.

He and His disciples were on the road:

"...it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for Him. And they did not receive Him, because His face was as though He would go to Jerusalem." (Luke 9:51-53)

Those who use this event to prove Jesus' state of poverty, tend to forget that Jesus sent men ahead of His party TO RENT A PLACE TO STAY FOR THE NIGHT! But, because this was a Gentile city, they refused the Jews any accommodation

It wasn't because they had no money.

But, it's Jesus' remark about it that I find an example of sarcastic humor from our Lord as they continued on their way:

"...it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto Him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head." (Luke 9:57-58)

I may be the only one who sees the humor here, but the fellow picked a rotten time to join the group, and Jesus may well have smiled (perhaps inwardly) at the man for his poor timing. There He was... THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE! The most mean of His creation had a place to sleep that night, but He didn't.

Well, maybe you had to be there.

Answer 3

Jesus was sometime caleed the funniest man in Gailieo, so he must of done a few pratfalls and maybe a pie in the face along with his normal stand up routine during his travels. He was said to have "borrowed" much of material from Shekkie the fat Man from Judea, who he later was recognized as a influence and mentor of Jesus and to most of the comedians working in the temple circuits at that period. His water to wine bit was a ad-lib from what was originally just a spilt gourd a waiter had dropped.