Jesus Used Humor to Teach

Although he doesn’t always come across this way in our Bible translations, Jesus had a well-refined sense of humor. He once told a parable about two men who went up to the temple to pray. It’s a pithy, simple story and seems straightforward from a modern perspective.

Two men go to the temple to pray. One’s a Pharisee, one’s a tax collector. The Pharisee thanks God for making him such a great guy, and the tax collector confesses his sins. Guess which one goes home justified. (See Luke 18:9-14)

While the parable as it seems to read teaches a noble lesson, we miss something if we neglect to transport ourselves mentally into the context of the day. Imagine yourself listening to Jesus live, and he begins a little riff by saying, “A Pharisee and a tax collector walk into a bar ...”, or in this case the Temple. I think he will have you listening waiting for the punch line.

Then he gets to the Pharisee’s prayer. “God, I thank you that I’m not like everybody else. Look at all the good things I do. Why, I just can’t help giving myself a big hug for all my fastings and prayings and tithings and self-sacrificings.”

Jesus’ listeners would have been well-acquainted with such prayers because Jesus was giving a quirky parody of actual prayers offered in that day. The Talmud records such a prayer (Reference http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/luke18x9.htm):

“I give thanks to Thee, O Lord my God, that Thou has set my portion with those who sit in the Beth ha-Midrash [the house of study] and Thou has not set my portion with those who sit in [street] corners for I rise early and they rise early, but I rise early for words of Torah and they rise early for frivolous talk; I labor and they labor, but I labor and receive a reward and they labor and do not receive a reward; I run and they run, but I run to the life of the future world and they run to the pit of destruction.” [b. Ber. 28b (Soncino 1: 172), quoted in Hear Then the Parables by Bernard Brandon Scott]

Here’s another one:

“R.. Judah said: One must utter three praises everyday: Praised (be the Lord) that He did not make me a heathen, for all the heathen are as nothing before Him; praised be He, that He did not make me a woman, for woman is not under obligation to fulfill the law; praised by He that He did not make me ... an uneducated man, for the uneducated man is not cautious to avoid sins.”

It’s not a stretch at all to believe that Jesus’ gentle humor found a few laughs, but more importantly Jesus was calling attention to a mindset that was all too prevalent among the religious sorts of the day. But it isn’t just a First Century mindset. It is one with which we must still wrestle. The human condition is still the human condition, and sometimes religious people are the most insufferable.

They can even be worse than KU fans.

Do You Want the Ball?

If you were a Cleveland Indians fan or Milwaukee Brewers fan in the 1970s or 80’s, you might have heard of Rick Manning. He was a Big League outfielder then. I knew Rick when we were high school kids. He played shortstop on the school team and I rode the bench. Even then he displayed the attitude that would take him to The Show.

After a particularly grueling inning in the field, where it appeared that the requisite three outs would happen some time tomorrow, the boys came in from the field dazed and shell-shocked. “I was praying they wouldn’t hit the ball to me,” one guy said, whereupon Rick looked him in the eye and said in voice everyone could hear, “Well, I was praying that they WOULD hit it to me.”

Wanting the ball seems to be the mark of excellence that separates the best from the rest. They know in a quiet, confident way that if called upon they can and will do the job, and will do it well.

Those of us in Kansas City had the privilege of watching the great Marcus Allen shatter touchdown records during his tenure here. Marcus had the knack for turning it up just a notch at the most critical juncture, falling forward, gaining those extra inches when they counted the most, finding a hole when there was no hole, never leaving any yardage on the field. He wanted the ball when the task was most difficult.

The young future king named David saw a swaggering Goliath and watched as the armies of Israel quaked. But David wanted the ball, so to speak, grabbed five smooth stones, and defeated the one who defied the living God.

After spying out the Promised Land, Joshua and Caleb told the people, “We can do this thing. Those people are meat for us.” But Israel didn’t want the ball.

Sadly, many Christians seem to fear that the ball will be hit in their direction. What if my neighbor asks me why I am a believer? How do I comfort those in need? What if I am called upon to mentor a new Christian? How can I preach the gospel in my community, seeing I know not letters? What do I tell people when they ask me to explain the basis of my faith? How do I explain why the Bible is the Word of God? Why I don’t I party the way I used to?

All disciples, save one, abandoned Jesus when he was betrayed. They weren’t ready to have the ball hit to them. Yet just seven weeks later they preached the Good News with power, first in Jerusalem, then to the whole world. Maybe we don’t want the ball because we don’t have enough of God’s spirit. But I know this: When I meet God face to face, I want to be able to say to Him the words of Jesus, “Father, I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do (John 17:4). I don’t want to leave any yardage on the field. I want the ball hit to me.