Walking With Christ

John 20:4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.(ESV)

Growing up, I was always told that the bible wasn’t funny. It was a very serious thing and we should treat it as such. We had to be respectful and dignified when discussing the bible and the lessons to be learned.

I agree that we need to pay attention to the lessons to be learned. I think that the bible gives us the absolute best account of the very nature of God through the many stories we find there. Through reading the bible, we see that God is love. We see that God gets angry. We see that God is righteous and holy. We see that He is just to punish all transgressions.

We also see that God and Jesus have a sense of humor.

I read this passage and it just makes me laugh every time. Yes, I know that this was a very somber time for the world. Nobody yet realized that Jesus had risen. It simply wasn’t common knowledge. Yet, in this verse we see John picking on Peter. “The other disciple was quicker”. “The disciple whom Jesus loved”.

I know that this particular verse isn’t specifically about Jesus and His wit. He chose the disciples as ambassadors of His will. Moses was called out by God for smacking the rock instead of speaking to it because that did not align with God’s true temperament. It is conjecture, but I would say that this is fairly good evidence that the verse above is also an example of God’s sense of humor.

A few other examples from Jesus:
Jesus called Herod a fox in Luke 13:31-32.
Jesus renamed Simon to Peter (which means rock) knowing the irony that he would first deny Jesus.
Jesus agreed with Nathaniel in John 1:46-47 when he asks, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Jesus paid the temple tax by having Peter go catch a fish that had eaten a coin worth enough to pay for both of them in Matthew 17:24-27.
Jesus exaggerated for effect with the speck compared to the log in Matthew 7:3-5.

A specific example from God:
God uses heavy sarcasm with Job when He asks (paraphrased), “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world?”

These are just a few examples. The bible shows the full range of human emotion and doesn’t shy away from exploring the cause and consequence of each. Hopefully, this opens the bible in a new light for some. Yes, we need to treat the bible with respect and dignity. We also need to remember that the bible is not just a strict manual on what to do or not do, but, rather, it’s a living love letter from the creator of everything that was, is, and will be to His creation.