A Laughing Lord?
“Jesus wept.”
John 11:35
The Son of Man was completely and utterly human, which means of course that he experienced the entire range of human emotions—emotions untainted by sin. We can easily imagine Jesus crying over the graveside of Lazarus. Smiling over children at play. Scowling at money changers in the temple. We can even picture him laughing, perhaps over a joke Peter may have played on John. Such a thing is not beyond possibility; it is in fact more than probable.
So why is Scripture devoid of any reference to Jesus laughing? I can make a good guess: the book All Quiet on the Western Front. After reading the horrors of World War I, I had a pretty good idea as to why the Gospels leave out any record of our Lord laughing.
As grieving mothers and brokenhearted widows opened their Bibles in search of comfort, they didn’t have to worry about being assaulted by passages depicting Jesus breaking out in a belly laugh. Instead, they opened their Bibles and found a man of sorrows with whom they could deeply identify: “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb. 5:7-9). It is in this picture the suffering find comfort.
The mature Christian holds a sober and circumspect view of the world. A view that deeply possesses an eternal perspective on all things, all people. Having a wellspring of joy in his or her heart, this Christian is a serious person. Reflective. Compassionate. Merciful. This same person quietly appreciates the wisdom of God in not conveying those moments of laughter from our Lord.
Lord, how wise you were in selecting the best and most appropriate events to record in the Bible. As John the gospel writer states, “Jesus did many other things…If every one of them were written down…the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”
How God Redeems Regret, Hurt, and Fear to Make Better Humans
Drawing from 25 years of pastoral experience, counseling people through seasons of difficulty, as well as his own bouts with anxiety and depression, Scott shares how Christ redeems our pain, not primarily by doing away with afflictions, but by making better people through them.
