See this Christ who is laughing, and dancing with the children in the streets.

Although there is no scripture passage saying, “Jesus laughed,” as there is, “Jesus wept,” if you study scriptures you will come to the conclusion that Jesus was a joyful person and there are many scripture passages that express His joyfulness, celebrating with His friends. In fact, in Luke 7:34, He was even accused of perhaps being too joyful. “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'”

While Mark doesn’t specifically mention Jesus laughing, He shows His love for children in 10:16: “And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.” 

It is hard to imagine Jesus taking children into His arms and blessing them without picturing the children and Jesus laughing together. Children are naturally drawn to happy people, and I have to believe so many children flocked to Jesus because of His laughing, joyful nature. Jesus’ first miracle was at the wedding feast at Cana. What happier time is there than a wedding reception where families laugh and dance together, and drink wine together. Again, we find this an occasion where it is almost certain Jesus laughed and danced. Later, in Matthew 9:15, He tells his disciples it is not a time to mourn but rather be joyful and enjoy His presence. “Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.’”

We need to enjoy Jesus’ joyfulness within us, and to see His joy in others. Jesus, of course, was fully human and fully divine so just as joy and laughter are a part of human life, along with sadness and tears, they were a part of His life as well. 

Is there a human being alive who has never laughed? Even when we face illness and calamity, there is laughter. It is part of human nature. I know I’ve witnessed people knowing they have hours, days, or weeks to live, and yet their sense of humor remains. It was one of the things I loved most about my husband, even when his time on earth was coming to an end, he laughed and joked with family, friends, nursing staff, and visitors. In fact, one of his great joys was a joke book my son-in-law brought him to the nursing home and he would tell jokes (many times potty humor) to the nurses and make their day brighter. He was a real “epiphany” to all those around Him because of his joyfulness. It must be truly sad to lose your sense of humor. 

I have to believe that humor is part of God’s nature too. How many times have you been reminded of God’s sense of humor? It has been said that humans make plans, and God laughs at those plans because God has other plans for us. In fact, that has become my mantra even more so in this age of technology. I sometimes wonder if God created computers, to remind me that He is laughing at my plans.

If you doubt that God has a sense of humor, sometimes we just must look at nature to see its evidence. Just watch animals interact. While they may not have human intelligence, it’s obvious that they are blessed with a sense of humor. Have you ever watched monkeys at the zoo? They always seem to attract the biggest crowd in the zoo. Perhaps we see ourselves in their shenanigans. I sometimes think God’s creation might be laughing at us humans and wonder if we belong inside or outside the cages at the zoo. And I am convinced that God looks down on us and surely must be laughing at our foolish antics but also laughs and dances with us when are filled with joy. 

To imagine Jesus not laughing and enjoying life is a denial of his humanity. He said in the Beatitudes, as recorded in Matthew and Luke. “Blessed are you who weep now, for one day you shall laugh.”  I fully believe Jesus intended us to laugh, be joyful, and to share our sense of humor with others, to share the joy of Jesus with them. And, who better to laugh with than children? Perhaps one of the passages that points this out clearly is Mark 10: 13-14, 16. “People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for the reign of God belongs to such as these’…and he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.”

Jesus praised those who were childlike—who are honest in expressing their feelings, who have a form of innocence that is not being naïve and expecting everything to be sunshine and roses, but who try to see the best in others. While sometimes even His own disciples fell short in this regard, He loved them anyway, so don’t despair if you fall short sometimes too. I think Jesus values us and is with us most when we are joyful. Don’t be afraid to laugh and dance with Jesus with the innocence of a child.

To learn more about the many sides of Jesus, the angry Jesus, the servant Jesus, the teaching Jesus, and more, pick up my recently released second edition of See This Christ, which also contains a study guide