Heavenly Humor: Irony From Above

Many people have the idea, an incorrect one, that God is somehow a stuffed shirt. Frankly, I don't believe it is the people's fault. As much as preachers have preached fire and brimstone for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, I can understand where the notion of an all-seeing God ready to zap you when you sin comes from.

Nothing could be further from the truth. God has a pretty good sense of humor, and a wonderful sense of irony. Why wouldn't He? He's God. Here are but three examples.

One day, Jesus was passing through Jericho. A man named Zaccheus was trying to see this man Jesus. Zaccheus was short, so he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a tree so he could see. Jesus saw him and said, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." Luke 19:5

This caused some grumbling among the crowd because Zaccheus was the chief tax collector and was a sinner. Zaccheus offered to give half his possessions to the poor and to make restitution to anyone he had defrauded fourfold. Jesus said, "Today salvation has come to this house..." Luke 19:9.

The short story of Zaccheus is rich in symbolism and gives us a glimpse of God's sense of humor. Zaccheus, in Hebrew, means "innocent" or "pure". Until his encounter with Jesus, Zaccheus was anything but. The Hebrew word for "salvation" is "yeshua". The name Jesus is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name "Yeshua". So, when Jesus told Zaccheus, "Today salvation has come to this house...," He said, "Today, Yeshua has come to this house..." Jesus is Yeshua is salvation.

One of the great lessons of Zacceus is that we are all sinners until our encounter with Yeshua. When Yeshua comes to our house, our innocence and purity is restored.

The most recognizable scripture of all time is John 3:16, and for good reason. It is our reassurance of God's love. But, what is lost in the majesty of John 3:16 is the lesson Jesus was trying to teach.

The lesson of John 3:16 begins with a man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. One night, so as not to be noticed, Nicodemus went to Jesus and said we know you have come from God because no one can do all of this cool stuff unless God is with him. See John 3:1-2. Jesus' response, a curious one, "...I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3. Nicodemus was also confused by this response. Jesus clarifies (so to speak), "...I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." John 3:5.

Nicodemus still did not understand. Jesus, somewhat perturbed, says, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? ... If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" John 3:9-11. Finally, Jesus gets right to the point, "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16.

Why does Jesus choose to give Nicodemus this lesson? Why did Jesus reveal this truth to someone who didn't get it? Nicodemus got this lesson because Nicodemus was the lesson. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. Essentially, Nicodemus was a judge. You might even think of him as a Supreme Court Justice. As a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews, Nicodemus knew the law, and, similar to a judge today, Nicodemus' interpretations of the law might have themselves become law.

The name Nicodemus means "victory of the people" in the original Greek. All at once, Nicodemus was a ruler of the people and the victory of the people. As a Pharisee, Nicodemus perfectly embodied the law. However, Nicodemus also embodied the desperate attempts of us all to grasp for the victory of the people that seems just beyond our grasp.

Nicodemus was a prisoner to his own knowledge of the law, when the freedom from the very law which held him captive was staring him in the face. Jesus tried his best to explain, "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." John 3:17. The Apostle Paul describes this freedom, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." Romans 8:2. Paul learned the lesson Nicodemus did not.

The ruler of the people is the law of sin and death, which brings condemnation. The victory of the people is the Spirit of life in Christ, which sets people free. The lesson of Nicodemus is the lesson of the Old and New Testaments: the victory of the people cannot come through the ruler of the people.

The first century Jews were expecting a Messiah. We can only imagine their expectations. The glorious savior entering Jerusalem triumphantly, taking his place on a palace balcony, the conqueror delivering Israel once again, the crowds cheering down below.

Actually, this is exactly what happened, in an ironic way. As Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate awaiting his fate, the crowds had gathered and the people were restless. It was the custom of the governor to release one prisoner during the Passover Feast. Like a good politician, Pilate let the crowd decide how he would vote.

Pilate asked, "Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabba, or Jesus who is called Christ?" Matthew 27:17. The crowd screamed, "Barabbas." Imagine an angry mob yelling, "give us Barabbas." What's a governor to do?

The word "Barabbas" is a Greek transliteration of the two Hebrew or Aramaic words "Bar" and "Abba." Recall from Mark 14:36, immediately prior to his arrest, Jesus petitions God one last time for an alternative, "Abba, Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me, yet not what I will, but what You will." The Hebrew word "Abba" is the informal word for father, dad or daddy, perhaps. The Hebrew/Aramaic word "bar" means son.

Therefore, in one of history's greatest ironies, when Jesus stood before the the crowd of Jews screaming, "give us Barabbas," they were actually saying, "give us the Son of the Father." How often is what we are really crying out for standing right before us?

Whether you love poetry, drama, action, espionage, love stories, technical schematics, irony or comedy, the Bible is a one-stop shop for you. It truly is all things to all people.