The idea of Jesus as a comedian might seem a little unusual, even heretical or disrespectful. But the more I read the Gospels, the more firmly I conclude that Jesus was probably the most effective user of humor and comedy than any communicator who’s ever walked the planet.

I also believe that Jesus was one of the most fun leaders in history. While not necessarily obvious in the Gospel text, I believe that crowds followed Jesus everywhere because, among other reasons, Jesus was fun to be around.

These two facets of Jesus’ personality—his use of humor and his fun nature—challenge me as a youth minister and youth ministry consultant, since one of the most pressing questions facing youth ministry practice is about the place of fun and entertainment in it.

I’m a firm believer that the way Jesus used humor and fun can be a model for us. If we can embrace how Jesus used humor and fun and apply it to our own contexts and circumstances, I believe we’ll find an amazingly positive expression of the gospel and faith as we seek to share and communicate the good news with people—especially young people. So let’s look at these often unsung facets of Jesus’ nature to see if we can find some ideas for an appropriate theology of fun in ministry.

Jesus Invented Humor

Jesus was likely a very funny guy with a most amazing grip on humor. After all, he invented humor. Since we’re made in the image of God—and laughter and humor are profoundly important parts of our makeup—I would guess that in their relationship, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit probably have a good laugh together every now and then.

For some people, though, the idea that Jesus might have cracked a smile—let alone laughed— is foreign. Interestingly, I’ve found this to be true among teenagers of nominal Christian families who attend worship usually at Christmas and Easter, for weddings, baptisms, and confirmations, and for occasional special events. After studying our very serious images of Jesus—in our churches particularly—it’s no wonder. I’m not saying these images are wrong, or that there’s no place for images of a serious Jesus. I cannot imagine, for example, Jesus laughing on the cross, even though he knew in that moment victory over sin had been won. But to think that Jesus never allowed the sides of his mouth to curve upward, or that he always held back a “ha!” from springing forth from his lips, just doesn’t make sense to me. In my state, Queensland, a 30-minute Christian Religious Education lesson per week is given to all students from first grade to graduation unless parents request that their child not attend. At times I’ve shown students the Sermon on the Mount segment from the Gospel of Matthew in the Visual Bible series. In it, while Jesus shares the Beatitudes, he waltzes around the crowd, laughing with them, vividly explaining who is blessed, and at one point pours the entire contents of a water skin over Peter’s head. But when I ask the class to respond to what they’ve just seen, often non-churched, non- Christian young people say things like, “That’s how I imagine Jesus would have acted, but you wouldn’t know it from most of the churches you go to.”

I have some copies of line drawings of Jesus in the company of various people: Jesus is cuddling a baby, helping a toddler learn to walk, embracing two young girls, having a tickle fight with some children, and so on. In each of these pictures Jesus is smiling

As a stand-up comedian, one of the questions I’m constantly asked is, “Who is your favorite comedian?” I have many to choose from, but my answer is somewhat out of the ordinary: Jesus Christ.

Stand-up Jesus by Mark Gladman

[http://www.thejournalofstudentministries.com]

November/December 2006

“Crowds followed Jesus everywhere because, among other reasons, Jesus was fun to be around.” Lessons from the Master of Humor and Fun “Jesus was likely to have been a very funny guy with a most amazing grip on humor.”

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