I am sure that Jesus was very funny. How do I know that? Let me present the evidence…
Thank God, Jesus knew when to laugh. Jesus was a human being: He was the perfect embodiment of humanity. We might expect him to be funny since this is a hallmark of humanity. So why wouldn’t Jesus be funny? The only thing he didn’t do well, if at all, was sin.
Homer wrote that "Unextinguishable laughter shakes the skies." Why don’t we see religion as funny? It’s the way you tell ‘em – it’s all about the delivery and context. The self-flagellating satan-touting blame-culture religions just don’t deliver the New Testament with the humour with which it was written and rightfully deserves. Jesus experienced joy, sorrow, anger, and laughter. He had a sense of humour that often surprised and delighted his followers. He used jokes, hyperbole, banter, delivery, wordplay, imagery, the humour of baffled disbelief, parables, playful humour, Oscar Wilde-like wit, satire, jabs, sarcasm, and irony to teach, challenge, and comfort them. Jesus was a genius at using unforgettable imagery to convey punchy and powerful messages, and apparently he thought camels were especially funny, because he used them often in his imagery. Jesus loved to tell a good story, particularly when it had a surprising punch line.
If you want to be good at what you do, and Jesus was very good at being Jesus, then you have to take your purpose seriously, but it's important not to take your Self too seriously, as that's just annoying.
Jesus was not a priest, he was a great philosopher, spiritual Master, and teacher of love, peace, and joy. Joy underpins all the other positive core values. Joy is funny. You can’t not laugh when you are brimming with joy!
As C.S. Lewis wrote “If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.” Jesus did not get drunk – being drunk can be so dull – think middle class dinner parties with people shouting opinionated monologues about mortgages or secondary schools for hours. I say this after my evening out in Chinatown on self-righteous jasmine tea.
Jesus was funny as the most healed people are the funniest people I know. They are devoid of blame, conflict, judgement, and resentment. The most healed people are full of joy.
Another strong clue comes in the accusation by his opponents (recorded in Luke 7.34 and Matthew 11.19) that Jesus was ‘A glutton and a wine drinker’. He was clearly thought to be a party animal, and it is hard to imagine this without some laughter being involved.
Jesus was incredibly perceptive of the ridiculous nature of the trivial things that we get worried about in this life. His sense of humour was one of his most underrated qualities.
Jesus was always the talk of the town. Imagine going to a party, running out of wine, and then this man just casually turns your Evian into a vintage Merlot. Party saved. Host of the year? I think so. And don’t even get me started on the whole “Feeding thousands with a kid’s lunchbox” gig. If that’s not 'influencer' material, I don’t know what is.
The real comics love people. Their laughter makes everyone feel good. Their sense of humour and modesty go hand in hand and come from the same source – the human condition we all share. According to them, one doesn’t practice how to taunt others, but the art of giving joy. Perhaps, we’ll find different things funny, but we’ll smile a great deal more, because a smile is the joy that stays with us. It takes over the heart before lighting up the face.
In his sacred humanity, Jesus experienced and radiated divine joy. In the Gospels Jesus doesn’t lack a sense of humour. In fact, he uses it to cure the foolishness of his disciples: When he talks of the yeast of the Pharisees and they assume that he is alluding to actual bread, or when they fear starvation after having twice seen the multitudes fed.
Osho said that "A really mature person cannot be serious, there is nothing to be serious about. The whole of life is fun, it is a play, a play of consciousness."
Humour and transcendence
In his 1971 book 'A Rumour of Angels', sociologist Peter Berger argued that humour was one of the seven signs of transcendence in human life. And this accords with our own experience - that we often find people who are funny are the most alive, vibrant, and awakened.
Humour is a hallmark of intelligence
It has been said that playfulness is the hallmark of intelligence, so we might expect the ultimate intelligence behind the Universe to be ultimately playful.
Humour is healing
Humour is so healing: We must not take our selves so seriously. Humour also shows such a turning point in someone’s healing journey. In 12 step groups, which are based on spirituality, they say “We are not a glum lot.”
Your inner child is playful and a little bit naughty. The emotionally immature ego is boring as fuc*. As humans, we are meant to play! People gravitate towards playful people because they are actually fun to be around.
Laughter is indeed good medicine. It saves us from stubbornness, fear, and the temptation to take ourselves too seriously. Life is hard for everyone, but laughter can add sweetness and provide us some resilience. A smile takes over the heart before lighting up the face.
We express emotions to heal
Those consumed with ego don’t laugh
Those people who live every day as their ego (which is most people) are very attached to their ego, they are boring as heck, and egos don’t laugh. The ego is not funny. It’s a deadly serious business pulling the wool over people’s eyes and using subterfuge to get your own way all the time.
Examples in the Bible of Jesus’ humour
I did not realise this about Jesus for the longest time, but when I first began to understand the humour of Jesus, I soon realised that in the Gospels, Jesus is telling a humorous story on almost every page.
Whenever you come across a difficult teaching of Jesus, it can often be sorted out rather quickly if you consider the laughter factor. When the teaching is taken seriously, it doesn’t make sense. But when you imagine the sparkling eyes of Jesus and the hint of a smile on his lips, with the disciples winking at each other and elbowing each other in the ribs, the passage will often make much more sense.
One of the most extensive explorations of humour in the Bible (actually mostly focussing on the New Testament and the teaching of Jesus) is 'The Prostitute in the Family Tree' by Douglas Adams (not the same as the author of 'Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy' - as he himself comments in the Amazon reviews!) Adams begins by looking at the humour in Bible stories, and describes them as ‘grandparent stories’ rather than ‘parent stories’. Parents want their children to behave, and so often tell serious stories with a moral point. But grandparents can afford to be much more honest, and as a result humour and irony emerge more commonly - and that is the usual approach of Bible stories. Christian readers often try and impose a serious morality on stories which resist such readings. As an example, Adams considers the genealogy in Matthew’s gospel, with the ironic presence of Rahab the prostitute, who gives the book its title. He notes the comedy in the contrast between the (expected) good characters listed and the (probably unexpected) bad ones - and offers an interactive, dramatic retelling in order to enable congregations to engage with the contrast, which is sure to lead to lots of laughter.
Just think about the memorable characters and scenes that Jesus introduced in his parables. There’s the good Samaritan, the generous landowner, the unjust judge, the noisy neighbour, the sower and the seeds, and so many more. Jesus enjoyed telling a compelling tale, and maybe never more so than when the ending caught people off guard.
Jesus enjoys the use of humorous irony too. “Follow me,” Jesus famously said to Simon and Andrew, “And I’ll have you fishing for people!” (Mark 1:17). Obviously, you don’t go fishing for people (you go fishing for fish), but saying such a thing to blue-collar fishermen, writes Elton Trueblood in his interesting and insightful book ‘The Humour of Christ’, most likely would have elicited a smile from Simon and Andrew before they left their nets and followed him.
Thankfully, when it comes to sarcasm, Jesus uses this particular form of ironic jest sparingly, because sarcasm can be quite cutting. A classic example is when Jesus confronts the religious hypocrisy of the Pharisees. “Well, good for you,” Jesus tells them at one point.
In another example of sarcasm Jesus says “You get rid of God’s command so you won’t be inconvenienced in following the religious fashions!” (Mark 7:9).
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24). I love the sarcasm in this. You couldn’t get a camel through the eye of a needle if you passed it through a liquidiser!
Jesus used a bit sarcasm and a bunch of good-natured humour when he selected his innermost twelve disciples. Found only in the book of Mark, he jokingly renamed James and John (who were brothers) with the title "Boanerges." And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder." (Mark 3:17, KJV). This nickname means "Sons of thunder" or "Sons of commotion." It was no doubt given as a humorous recognition of their sometimes misplaced and impulsive behavior, and well as their over-the-top zeal that would be manifested during his ministry (see Luke 9:51 - 55, Mark 9:38, 10:35 - 45).
Jesus shows us his sense of humor, early in his ministry, soon after he calls Philip. When Philip tells Nathanael that the Messiah has been found he sarcastically replies, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46). Jesus, as Nathanael approaches to meet him states, “Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. And he isn't deceitful" (John 1:47)! The slight sarcasm comes from the fact that Israel's original name, Jacob, meant someone who is full of guile or who deceives. Jesus, playing off Nathanael's criticism, is humorously noting that, finally, an Israelite has been found who is not like his ancestor!
Jesus turned his quick wit on the Pharisees with this cultural zinger: “You’re blind guides! You filter out a gnat, but you gulp down a camel!” (Matt. 23:24). Picture it: The overly-religious Pharisees are carefully straining every sip of water to make sure they don’t swallow a minuscule gnat, but they’ve never noticed the massive hairy hump of a camel (again, two humps) swishing around in their mouths. That’s just genius: brilliant wordplay, unforgettable imagery, and impeccable delivery all wrapped up in one hilarious comeback.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your eye?” (Matthew 7:3). This quote talks about the psychological phenomenon of projection, adored by internet trolls and victimhood addicts.
Humour is the key component to joy, one of the primary attributes of the Holy Spirit which proceeds from our Father ("But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22 - 23). Our life should be a joyful one.
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” (Matthew 7:1). Yup. Never a good idea.
“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7). Are you getting the message? No-one is throwing stones.
“You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” (Matthew 23:24).
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.” (Luke 6:20–24).
“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:27). What other response is there but to stop worrying and laugh with total joy?
“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them” (John 17:13). Jesus in his divine humanity experienced and radiated this celestial joy that we also can share.
“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12).
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:... a time to weep and a time to laugh." (Ecclesiastes 3:1&4).
Psalm 126 adds the dimension of joyous laughter "Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy."
Jesus quotes from authors
Jonathan Swift loved a bit of cutting wit, with “We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.” Ouch! Such Truth!
Mahatma Gandhi being totally cutting with “Jesus is ideal and wonderful, but you Christians - you are not like him.”
Tony Campolo said “Crucified People are supposed to die. If you come down alive, you’re in business.”
St. Francis of Assisi (one of my spiritual faves) goes all Oscar Wilde, saying “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.”
Mother Teresa “Jesus said to love one another. He didn’t say love the whole world.” There are definitely a few people to leave out.
C.S. Lewis said that “Joy is the serious business of Heaven.” He also said that "The purest laughter on earth dwells in the kingdom of joy."
Jesus humour in ‘The Chosen’
This brilliant box-set shows how hilarious Jesus was. Here are the top 10 funny moments:
'The Chosen' Jesus jokes
There is a scene from The Chosen where Jesus and his disciples attend to the needs of a crippled man and his family. Not coincidentally, the man is the robber who attacked a stranger along a road at night and left him for dead - this from the parable of the Good Samaritan. At the end of the scene, Jesus says that they have to get back to town because you never know “Who you might meet along the road at night.” There is a pregnant pause. Did He really say that? Then Jesus places His palms up, shrugs His shoulders, and deadpans, “Too soon?”
Jesus was no serious, dour-faced, religious teacher who never smiled and looked down his nose at those who did. I believe one reason Jesus attracted the crowds he did was because of the sparkle in his eye, and the constant half-smile which hinted at a secret joke only he knew.
Disclaimer
People who are deeply dissociated due to overwhelm and those who are being treated for childhood trauma do not laugh and that’s of course totally ok. I know this place. It is very difficult to laugh until you are healing.
Conclusions
Ask for more joy, jubilation, and genuine laugh-out-loud moments in your life. As best you can today, depending on your circumstances, make it a point to take yourself a little less seriously: Breathe deeply, smile unreservedly, and live wholeheartedly. And it’s ok to cry from joy.
Laughter is a sure sign of healing, progression along the Hero's Journey, transcendence, and personal transformation. Who better to show us the way than Jesus himself?
Namaste.
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I have a Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Cambridge; a Master's Degree in Philosophy from Trinity College, Cambridge; a PhD Doctorate in Scientific Research from University College London (UCL); a Medical Degree (MD/MBBS) from The Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London and have been a doctor and reconstructive trauma and cancer surgeon in London for 20 years. I have published over 50 peer reviewed scientific journal articles, have been an associate editor and frequent scientific faculty member, and am the author of several scientific books. I have been awarded my Diploma in Transformative Life Coaching in London, which has International Coaching Federation (ICF) Accreditation, as well as the UK Association for Coaching (AC), and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). I have been on my own transformative journey full time for four years and I am ready to be your guide to you finding out who you really are and how the world works.