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Did Jesus laugh?

by Traute Klein, biogardener

Readers express their opinion on whether Jesus laughed.

"Did Jesus laugh?" That was the question asked in a Suite101 Forum on February 25, 2001. That question started me thinking of the years of posttraumatic stress disorder when I neither laughed nor cried, when my heart had turned to stone, unable to respond to life with normal emotions. While writing my answer to the question, I came to realize that tears and laughter are both God-given expressions of human emotions. They are both expressions of a healthy mind.

Forum Answers

Here are some posted answers to the question "Did Jesus laugh?"

Queststar64, AKA Warren, February 25, 2001:
Did Jesus laugh? The fact that Jesus wept was, to John, important enough to be written down so that they would know that he has compassion and cares. The fact that it never states that he laughed doesn't mean that he didn't or that he wasn't capable of it.

Reddeer, February 25, 2001:
There are places in the Old Testament which state that God laughs at certain things. If you believe Jesus to be God then he laughs. In the New Testament, the words used are rejoice and joy, and for me those words might include laughter, e.g. John 15:11 - I have told you this so my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. Joy would be shown by a smile at the least, I would think. And as Jesus was fully human as well as fully God, it would seem to be unnatural for him not to have experienced laughter. Especially when I picture him with the little children I picture him laughing.



Dan Ellsworth, February 25, 2001:
Since I write on the topic, Christian Humor, I felt as if I were being summoned personally to this discussion. My opinion is that Jesus laughed while incarnate in this world. Beyond words, though, there is a representation of "The Risen Christ" as laughing, shown on the Home Page of the Fellowship of Merry Christians, that seems close to the spirit of Christ. The laugh is on Death itself. Live as close to the Lord as you can, and see what you think.

Mousehole, February 25, 2001:
He had a sense of humor. The image of a camel being squeezed through the eye of a needle comes to me off the top of my head right now.

Biogardener, that's me, February 25:
Anyone who has ever suffered from depression will tell you that depression is characterized by a lack of tears as well as laughter, by an inability to feel emotion. Tears are usually the first sign of healing from depression, followed by laughter.

No one enjoys being with depressed people, because the condition is catching. People sought Jesus out by the thousands which is proof that he did not suffer from depression. In other words, he had no trouble expressing his feeling in tears as well as in laughter.