As a child, I loved pictures of Jesus: Jesus and the children, Jesus walking on water, feeding the 5,000, talking to Zacchaeus, and more. But He was so serious—pleasant, more or less, but serious. The man in the drawings and paintings might hint at a smile, but NEVER laughter. People imagine Him as serious, never wasting time with funny. He thinks only of duty, rules, and order.
FALSE. Hebrews 1:9 says Jesus was “anointed with the oil of joy above all His brethren.”
Based on this verse, Sherwood Wirt argues Jesus was the most joyful person on earth—joy that would have overflowed in smiles and laughter—otherwise, children would not have been drawn to Him. (And who do you think INVENTED laughter?)
If you keep this truth in mind—His TOTAL JOY—you will see it in the Bible.
His days were FILLED with laughter. After all, He walked among His children. He loved them, delighted in them, and would have found them cute, delightful, even downright funny. Consider Peter’s behavior when Jesus tried to wash his feet:
“Lord, do you think you’re going to wash my feet?”
“You don’t understand it now, but you will.”
“Lord! You will NEVER wash my feet!”
“If I don’t wash you, then you have no part with me.”
“Well then, Lord, wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!”
“And Jesus leaned back and roared with laughter. Peter always made Him laugh. Jesus laughed long and hard, allowing the moment to take His mind off the pain ahead. Soon, everyone in the room was laughing. Jesus shook His head, smiling, and wiped His eyes. Then He looked at Peter, everyone still giggling, and said, “You are already clean—but not ALL of you. So let’s do this!” and He slapped a wet towel across Peter’s grubby hooves” John 13:7-10.
Okay. I paraphrased a bit. Jesus was deep and thoughtful and righteous. But oh, how He could LAUGH! You have to see it in the scripture. The Messiah ADORES His children. He GETS them. He LAUGHS with them.
And He GETS you and LAUGHS with you, too. Enjoy Him!
ΑΩ
Household Words: 