Jesus Christ: Funny Guy--Mark 7:26-29

Day 20

My original thesis, when I first started this series of reflections on Jesus’ humor was that serious people make me nervous; Jesus was very serious, ergo, Jesus made me nervous.

And He still does–but less so.

I’ve never had a problem with Jesus being God. I’ve always felt weird about Jesus being a man, though–because no man I know acts like Jesus.

But, Jesus, I’ve found over the last 3 weeks, is more relatable to me as a man, now, than ever.

And it's because of His HUMOR.

Like calling the SynoPhoenician woman a dog in their interaction chronicled in Mark 7:24-30 (and Matthew 15:21-28).

That’s more like the guys I know. 🙂

Especially myself.

Mark 7:26-29 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician descent. And she repeatedly asked Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” 29 And He said to her, “Because of this answer, go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”

Of course Jesus wasn’t referring to her physical looks (even though calling a woman a dog for her looks was pretty common when I was younger).

(In fact, after looking at the painting above a little closer, He might have been referring to her looks). 🙂

That’s a joke!

The Jews calling a Gentile a dog, however, was common back then as Gentiles were considered pagans no more likely to receive God’s blessings than a dog.

And Jesus was a Jew…::

In The Humor Of Christ, Elton Trueblood looks into Jesus put-down of the Gentile woman:

“If there is a harder problem than this [statement] in the New Testament interpretation we do not know what it is. Taken at its face value, the sentence is rude and contemptuous. Above all, it is at complete variance with the general picture of Christ which we receive from the rest of the Gospel, particularly in connection with the poor and needy. How can we square this with His acceptance of harlots and tax gatherers and His faith in poor fishermen? A person who does not face this problem, and who is not worried by it, has hardly begun to study the Gospel seriously.”

Slurring this woman sure doesn’t seem like the Compassionate Jesus that I know. But as a marker for being a regular guy, I’m here for it.

I really don’t think this interaction would have much import at all, beyond Jesus casting out the demon in the Gentile woman’s daughter–EXCEPT–there is no indicator for HOW Jesus called the woman a dog.

His voice wasn’t described as teasing, jocular, mad, gruff or anything.

He just says it.

LIkewise, there is no indication of a smile, raised eyebrows, or anything.

He just says it.

But, the Gentile woman responds with what is considered great wit by the theologians–and Jesus relents, casting out the demon from her child, commenting on her masterful retort.

F.F.. Bruce writes in Hard Sayings of Jesus (which calling an innocent woman a dog, would surely count as hard):

“Why did the woman not take offense at such an unpromising response? One obvious reason was that she was determined to get what she wanted for her daughter. In addition, what if there was a twinkle in his eye as he spoke, as much as to say, “You know what we Jews are supposed to think of you Gentiles; do you think it is right for you to come and ask for a share in the healing which I have come to impart to Jews?” The written record can preserve the spoken words; it cannot convey the tone of voice in which they were said. Maybe the tone of voice encouraged the woman to persevere.”

So maybe this whole interaction was a little more lighthearted than the Scripture indicates. Winks and nods and twinkles in the eyes.

To me this was Jesus partaking in what I consider to be a NORMAL conversation that most of us have, with humor, a dozen times a day.

Trueblood notes:

“There are things which we can say with a smile, but which cannot be said, without offense, with a straight face. There are numerous words, especially during a period of racial strife, which cannot be said seriously without arousing anger and resentment, but which can be said jokingly, with no harm at all, between those who understand one another’s friendly spirit. That Jesus was indulging in this kind of banter about racial and national differences is the only logical alternative to the insufferable hypothesis that He was being intentionally chauvinistic and rude.”

Maybe this interaction with the Gentile woman is the best evidence yet that Jesus was humorous.

Not an hilarious, uproarious kind of guy. Jesus wasn’t Ricky Gervais, Dave Chappelle, or even Jerry Seinfeld (well, maybe).

Jesus was probably more like Nate Bargatze. Clean but deadpan.

Or maybe He was like me–responding to the world around Him with humor.

Or better, maybe I am more like Him than I thought I was–the man part, not the other. 🙂

Lord, grant us the unwavering faith to approach You boldly, even though we feel unworthy or uncertain. Like the Gentile woman, help us to trust in Your power, knowing that even the smallest measure of Your favor is enough.

Lord, strengthen us to intercede for others and to believe in Your power to transform lives.

Amen.

PS. I heard the song Day by Day on the radio the other day (the Sirius XM 70s Hits channel) and I was flooded with memories of singing this song when I was a kid and the peculiarly strong way the song affected me then.

Maybe this song, from the musical Godspell, was the REAL start of my religious feelings?

Could be, could be.

Let’s find out. 🙂

Onward!