I tend to be a serious person. Don’t misunderstand me, I do enjoy a good laugh, but when it comes to matters of faith and the Lord Jesus, I am very serious. When I have seen Jesus portrayed as having a playful sense of humour, I have been offended. So I was surprised when I recently read Matthew 19 and found myself amused. Jesus does seem to be using humour to get his points across.
The chapter begins with the Pharisees coming to Him and testing Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” This reminds me of a scene in Fiddler on the Roof when the Rabbi tells the men that a certain passage of Scripture means that one can divorce his wife for simply burning the dinner. Jesus answers the Pharisees by showing them in Scripture that when a man and woman are joined together, they are no longer two, but one flesh. “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
The Pharisees want to know why then Moses commanded to give a certificate of divorce to put one’s wife away. Jesus responds, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.” He goes on to tell them that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.
His disciples’ response to all this talk is amusing. “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” They seem to be saying that if one can’t divorce his wife, it is better not to get married at all. Jesus must smile as He responds by pointing to those who can accept the disciples’ reasoning, eunuchs. He makes a point. Marriage is hard business, but most of us would not make the choice to remain single. Instead we must make the choice to remember that, when we marry, we become one and being one demands effort.
Later a young man comes to Jesus asking Him, “What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” Jesus answers by pointing him to the commandments. “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” The man then asks an interesting question, “Which ones?” Why would he need to ask such a question? Hasn’t he been taught from his youth to keep ALL the commandments? Isn’t he rather asking, “How much can I get away with? How much can I sin and still enter eternal life?”
Notice Jesus’ answer. He doesn’t begin with the first commandments, the ones dealing with loving God with all our heart. Rather He starts with those related with our treatment of those around us. Jesus seems to already know what is in this man’s heart. The young man had kept all of these commandments. But when the young man heard the rest of what Jesus had to say, he went away sorrowful. He was not willing to give all for Jesus or for eternal life.
Jesus then tells His disciples that it is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. There is some discussion as to what this means exactly. Does He mean a sewing needle or a gate in Jerusalem? The reaction of the disciples shows Jesus’ use of humour. Jesus is talking about a real camel and a real needle with an eye. The disciples were “greatly astonished” and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Their eyes must have shown their amazement. “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” At this point Peter seems to realize that following Jesus means something far different from what the disciples had been thinking. Were they looking forward to the day that Jesus would sit upon an earthly throne? “We have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”
I learned something new about Jesus when I looked into this chapter with fresh eyes. Just as I use humour at times to point out things to my children, Jesus used humour with His disciples. That humour has been recorded so that He can also teach us. Humour must be a part of our communication. As Mary Hirsch said, “Humour is a rubber sword – it allows you to make a point without drawing blood.”
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