Didn't He? Like many who have speculated on this subject, I find it impossible to believe that in Jesus life here on earth that He did not laugh. Certainly as a child growing up among many other children, brothers, cousins, etc.., He had to have had experiences of amusement. While the Bible never specifically cites a time that Jesus laughed or even chuckled, it is very clear that Jesus had a quick and sardonic wit and sense of humor. Many have pointed to His parables and examples He used such as "straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel" in Matthew 23:24; or "it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God" in Matthew 19:23; or "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but you do not notice the plank that is in your own eye?" in Matthew 7:3-5.
Some say Jesus was making a pun when he said to Peter (Petros in Greek) that he would be the rock (petra in Greek) on which the church would be built (Matthew 16:18). I also cannot help but believe that Jesus set up His walking on the sea out to the disciples boat as a big practical joke to scare the daylights out of them! Kind of like when I jump out from a darkened corner in front of my wife and yell "BOO!" and watch her yelp and jump three feet. It makes me crack up laughing and I think Jesus may have enjoyed this kind of humor as well. Remember, as Pastor Mark Driscoll and others have said, Jesus spent quite a bit of time wandering around and camping out with 12 other guys. Can you imagine 12 guys camping out together for an extended period of time and not joking around and laughing and playing jokes on each other? Pastor Driscoll even speculates on whether or not Jesus played "pull my finger" with the disciples.
Do you believe I'm being disrespectful? Sacreligious? My point is that I get great pleasure in beginning to realize that not only was Jesus fully God, but He was FULLY man. To be fully man means he laughed, chuckled, giggled, belly-laughed, guffawed, maybe even snorted water through His nose from laughing so hard. He would not be human otherwise. It has helped revolutionize my prayer life and communication in relationship with Jesus. How much easier it is to have a close, intimate, loving relationship with Him when I can actually even joke around with Him! We are taught that the thing God wants most is to be in relationship with us. Many have said that God is in love with us and we should be madly in love with Him. But think about your relationships, with your spouse, with your best friends, with your children. How can you possibly have a close, intimate relationship with them if you cannot joke and kid and be playful with one another. If my relationship with God is completely one of Authority to subordinate, Creator to created, Lord to subject, I can never have a truly open, caring, loving, close relationship.
I think for most of us, our natural state-of-being, our born nature is to laugh and have fun. For me, it is stresses and worries that shut me down and cease my natural laughter and joking nature. When I am stress-free (let's just say less stressed), I love to laugh and joke around with people. So did Jesus laugh? Absolutely! DOES our living Lord laugh everyday? Absolutely! Go ahead, tell Jesus a joke in your prayers today and see if you don't find the two of you laughing together.
