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THE HUMOR OF YESHUA/JESUS

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The stereotypes of a Jesus who rarely smiles and never laughs are derived perhaps from so much of the artwork that has been painted which portrays Messiah as lacking joy. There is no denying that Jesus is usually pictured with the utmost seriousness. For example, films of the life of Jesus are depict our ethnically Jewish Messiah as a blue-eyed Caucasian that recites King James English. If Jesus is rarely portrayed as laughing, perhaps it is that the film director wishes to impress upon us His role as a spiritual leader. On the other hand, perhaps the our own understanding of the Lord from scripture, should make us suspicious of the sorrowful stereotype. The prophet Zephaniah speaks of the topic of God's own jubilation in this way: "Yahweh your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy; he will be quiet in his love; he will rejoice (yagil) over you with shouts (berinnah) of victory" (Zeph. 3:17). Immanuel, Messiah Himself is "God with us!"

God says in Jeremiah 32:41: "I will rejoice in doing them good." Jesus said in John 15:11, "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you." And Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1:11 of "the glorious gospel of the blessed God." Blessed means happy.

“According to the glorious good news of the happy God, which was committed to my trust” (I Timothy 1:11). Here, Paul calls God “the happy God.” Most versions translate this phrase, “the blessed God.” However, the same Greek word, makarios, is also translated in most other versions as “happy” (see for example the King James Version in the following verses: John 13:7; Acts 26:2; Romans 14:22; I Peter 3:14; 4:14). When one reads the marvellous testimony of the Gospels, it is difficult to understand how an individual could conclude that Messiah as God incarnated could possibly lack any aspect of being "fully God and fully man," for this certainly does violence to the evidence of the multitude of text to the contrary! How could one who was popular with children (Mt 19.13-14; Mk 10.13-16; Lk 18.15-17) and who encouraged his followers to become as little children (Mt 18.3) not be cheerful? How could one accused of indulging his palate not laugh (Mt 11.19; Lk 5.33; Lk 7.34)? How could one who told his followers that they were at a wedding party while they were in his presence not be jovial (Mt 9.15; Mk 2.19; Lk 5.34)? Is joy not a sign of wisdom, and is wisdom not vindicated by all of her children (Lk 7.35)? It only remains to provide more direct textual evidence.