During Jesus life and shortly after his death, he was very much viewed as a man. To the world, he was a man, so for the gospel writers, it was very important to highlight his divine nature. Thus, they wrote their gospels such that Jesus seemed to be more than just a man. They wrote their gospels so that his divine nature shown though bright and clear.
Nowadays, I believe the opposite has happened.
Since for the last two thousand years the only way we have learned of Jesus is through these gospels that were written to highlight his divine nature, I believe the world has managed to lose Jesus' humanity. We as a collective whole have forgotten that Jesus was a man with friends and feelings and jokes and desires. Many people have attempted to do things to highlight his humanity once again (such as the disturbing movie "The Passion of the Christ"), but I don't think many of them have hit the mark.
It's easy to see how Jesus is a man during his passion. The gospels give enough information that you can get that feel just reading them. The problem is finding the human Jesus in the rest of his life. I have made it my personal mission to find as many points of humanity and relatability in the life of Jesus.
One of the first ones I found was with Peter.
In "The Gospel According to Biff", what I consider to be one of the few successful attempts at rehumanizing Jesus, Christopher Moore weaves together a hilarious (somewhat altered) story of Jesus. In his version of the gospel, whenever Jesus walks on the water and asks Peter to join him, Jesus laughs as Peter begins to sink. In this version, Jesus had never expected Peter to also walk on the water, but thought it would be funny to watch him try.
Personally, I love this version of Jesus, but I know other people wouldn't be happy while reading that. Either way, it led me to my first personal humanization of Jesus: nicknames.
Peter was not the "real" name of the disciple of Jesus. His name was actually Simon. Most people will tell you that Jesus "changed his name", but I disagree. The gospels generally tell us that he was CALLED Peter, much the same way Elvis Presley is called the King (i.e. a nickname).
"The Gospel According to Biff" got me thinking that maybe Simon's nickname was not such a deep meaningful name as we have all thought. What if "Peter" came from something else? I personally believe that Peter could not swim. Whatever Jesus' motives were in calling Peter out from the boat to walk on the water with him, Peter's inability to swim would make his stepping out of the boat an even more meaningful act. It also explains where "Peter" came from: he sank like a rock.
My dad as a teenager was given the nickname "Lightning" ironically because he was working too slow. To this day, that is the name he is called by among my mom's family. I like to think that this is how nicknames worked with Jesus too. He gave them as a joke, then they stuck:
- Peter - originally Simon. Peter means rock. Simon couldn't swim, therefore he sank like a rock.
- The Sons of Thunder - originally James and John. Several times in the gospels, they are shown arguing. Likely this made lots of noise reminiscent to the sounds of thunder.
- The Twin - originally Thomas. Since Judas had to point out Jesus to the guards that arrested him, likely at least one of his disciples looked a lot like him, as if they were twins. Thomas looked almost frighteningly like Jesus and, therefore, was "the Twin".
Nicknames, however, are just the tip of the iceberg with a rehumanized Jesus. I shall bring more to you later, but for now, consider this:
Do you believe God has a sense of humor? If your answer was yes, doesn't that mean Jesus had a sense of humor?With that in mind, reread some passages in the gospel with Jesus as a humorous person, possibly even a practical joker. At the very least, it makes some of the more dull passages a bit more interesting.
Okay i do understaand the want to see Jesus with a sense of humor. I would like to think that just as much. However, most instances of humor that i have seen as well as many that you pointed out seem to be humor at the cost of someone elses humility. Would Jesus do that? Embarras someone for the sake of a joke? To think of him like that would indeed humanize him, however i feel that that humanizing him a little too much as it is one of human kinds downfalls. Are there other ways that youhave seen Him as humorous that do not come at the cost of anyone else? Or other ways of humanizing?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if anyone would ask this. I see where you're coming from, but I respectfully disagree.
ReplyDeleteI think Jesus understands the limits of people's psyches. That is, I don't think he would make a joke like this unless he thought that the "victim" of the joke could handle it. However, I disagree with your premise that these jokes are at the sake of someone's humility. Noting the flaws in a friend and even making light of them is not a bad thing. In fact, if done in the correct spirit, it can bring those people closer together.
The prime example of this is a roast. Often on channels like Comedy Central they will show a roast of some celebrity where other people will get up and make jokes about that person. Yes, the jokes are all making fun of one person, but since it is done in the correct spirit, it is a fun way of essentially honoring that person.
If it is done in a fun and loving rather than hurtful way, I believe that making fun of someone can be a great way to build a relationship. This is how I picture Jesus using the examples that I am talking about. There is a difference between jokes at the cost of someone's humility and jokes at the cost of someone's pride. Humor at the cost of someone else all depends on the spirit behind the joke and the atmosphere in which it is intended.
In my family, we have an overriding motto: No Mercy. This stemmed mostly from the fact that at any of our family dinners, if someone makes a comment that is (what's the politically correct phrasing?) less than intelligent, that person is immediately made fun of for their mistake. This has happened to me more times than I can count. However, because it is always done out of love, it doesn't hurt me, it helps me to laugh at my own momentary stupidity.
I imagine Jesus much the same way. Like with Peter, he helped him to laugh at something about himself. Peter couldn't swim, so Jesus helped him to laugh at himself. He then went a step further and used this name to teach his disciples something.
Don't think of him as embarrassing someone for the sake of a joke. Think of him as making someone laugh at something they were already embarrassed about. The Jesus that called Peter out onto the water knowing that he would fall was also there to catch him and dry him off afterward. He helped Peter to laugh at something about himself that other people were already laughing about.
I do have other ways of humanizing him (which is why this is called part I), I just haven't gotten my ideas sorted the way I want yet, so I haven't posted them. Trust me when I say they are on the way.
I hope this helps.
P.S. Thank you for disagreeing with me. It's about time someone did!
ReplyDelete