Is Jesus Sarcastic?

Was Jesus ever sarcastic? Did Jesus ever use satire? The most obvious use of sarcasm and satire is in Jesus' treatment of the Pharisees and the religious leaders of the day. Jesus likened them to dirty dishes, unmarked graves, blind guides, a beautiful whitewashed tomb that contains a carcass, and a brood of vipers. Jesus says that Pharisees strain out a gnat (so that they don't accidentally eat an unclean thing) but they swallow a camel; they decorate the tombs of the prophets that they killed; they convert someone only to make them twice the child of hell; they show off their huge prayer phylacteries, long robes and tassels; they take impressive places of honor while devouring the widow's home; they love the praise of men more than the praise of God. Jesus even told them that prostitutes are entering the kingdom of heaven before them.

Some of Jesus' parable contain satirical jabs at the Pharisees and other religious leaders. In the parable of the Good Samaritan a heretical half-breed is pictured as more righteous than a priest and temple worker. In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector the tax-collector goes home justified because he has a repentant heart. In the parable of the Prodigal Son the older son, who clearly represents the Pharisees, is left outside of his farther's home fuming with self-righteous jealousy.

I also sense a bit of sarcasm when Jesus compliments the Pharisees. If you say to someone, "Must be nice to be perfect!" They will probably be offended. It seems that Jesus did something similar after the Pharisees chided him for eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors. Jesus replied, "It's not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick." In another place Jesus says that a person's righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees. This is a classic back-handed compliment that would've irritated the Pharisees. I would love to have seen their faces.

Most of Jesus's satirical criticisms are reserved for the self-righteous and the unrepentant. On one occasion he made an offensive remark to test the faith of a Canaanite woman. After she asked for his help he compared her to a dog. She took the insult and persisted. Jesus commended her for her great faith.

Jesus may be using a hint of sarcasm when he refers to himself by his favorite title. The Son of Man is a title that is first seen in the book of Daniel. The Son of Man clearly refers to the glorified Messiah. While the Pharisees would stone Jesus if he publicly said that he was the Son of God he could get away with saying that he was the Son of Man. This must have irritated the Pharisees as they understood the Messianic implications of the phrase. Jesus also played on words with his various I AM statements. He was especially bold when he declared, "Before Abraham was born, I AM." Here, Jesus was clearly identifying himself as God who had revealed himself to Moses as the I AM.

What lessons are we to take from this?

1. Jesus is not a wimp

As children we learn of a very gentle Jesus. We picture him embracing children and cradling a little lamb in his arms. Jesus was certainly loving and gentle with his flock. As children grow older it's also important that they see Jesus as a warrior and as a lion who will defend his flock. That love prompts him to lash out, and to expose the wolves who wear sheep's clothing.

2 Audience matters

Jesus knew who needed to be knocked down with the law and he knew who needed to be uplifted by the gospel. Jesus could see self-righteous hearts and repentant hearts. Jesus knew how to afflict the comfortable and how to comfort the afflicted.

3. Jesus's sarcastic remarks and satire came from a place of love

After Jesus condemns the pharisees he weeps for them. He says that he longed to gather them as a hen gathers her chicks. Jesus tears them to pieces so that they might see the error of their ways and repent. This is love's last resort.

4. Jesus is shrewd and intelligent

Jesus' knowledge of the scriptures and his audience was immense, deep and obviously divine. His retorts, parables, and questions silenced his critics. He was able to say things that were forbidden to say without really saying them.

5. Jesus was not afraid of causing offense

Jesus sought humility and repentance. Throughout the Scriptures the prophets preached repentance and the need for a new heart. This is offensive. Today's Christianity is scared to offend. If Christians are afraid to offend then they will be afraid to share the Word of God.

6. Satire is useful for exposing hypocrisy

Jesus makes the Pharisees look ridiculous by simply placing a mirror before them. The hypocrite brings the satire upon themselves. Satire is an effective way to expose hypocrisy.

Repentance and Love

Humans want a God who has limitless love but when God's love expresses itself in "I forgive you," we shriek and run for the shadows. God's love is redemptive not permissive. God's love is that of a disciplinarian, not an enabler.

Jesus Myth #3: Santa and Pasta

Some atheists can't help but get into the holiday mocking spirit. An atheist group set up a large billboard In Time Square comparing Santa and Jesus Christ. The caption says, "Keep the MERRY! Dump the MYTH!" This sort of objection to God's existence is a favorite for atheists that manifests itself in various ways. God is often compared to the many pagan gods of the past, an invisible pink unicorn, or a flying spaghetti monster that benevolently extends its noodily appendages to bless the inhabitants of earth (yes, atheist geeks apparently laugh at the words noodle and appendage).

This “God is like any other myth” objection fails because it is a faulty analogy. While all analogies limp in some way, this one fails for a couple of reasons. God is in a different category than Santa or spaghetti. One is physical and the other is not. One is contingent on something else while the other is not. If we are to compare God and pasta we would have to lower God to the physical realm in order to make the comparison – thus debunking him. The common question of "Who created God?" is another example of this category mistake. Asking who created God actually redefines God into a being that needs creation. This is sort of like denying the existence of Shakespeare for the same reason that someone may deny the existence of Hamlet or Othello.

The other main failure of this argument is that it gives an excuse to not examine the evidence for God. A person can indeed compare the God of the Bible to the mythical gods of history. There is a reason why one has lived on while the others have not. The reason is evidence and the convincing power of that evidence. There are various arguments for the existence of God but more specifically, for the Christian God there is the prophetic Scripture. The Bible is a collection of testimonies that give a great amount of historical and prophetic evidence of God. The prophet Isaiah often challenged skeptics to consider their mute gods to the God of Judah who alone is able to predict the future. Consider also the resurrection of Jesus Christ – without which Christianity would never have started. The evidence for the event is compelling: multiple trustworthy witnesses, an empty tomb, transformation of the disciples, etc. Alternative evidence for the non-resurrection of Jesus is lacking. 

An atheist may think they are being rational by dismissing Jesus as a myth but they are actually being very irrational by ignoring the evidence. What is the evidence for a pink unicorn, Santa, or a Flying Spaghetti Monster? What is the evidence against such things?  An atheist must admit that there is evidence for the Christian God and for the person of Jesus Christ. At best they can say that there is no convincing evidence for God, which says more about their bias than it does about God.

Religion is a matter of faith. I have faith in Jesus Christ for the same reason that I have faith in my spouse and the chair that I’m sitting on. I trust those things because they all convince me of their trustworthy nature and there’s a pile of evidence that supports my trust.

Jesus Myth #2: Zeitgeist

On occasion I receive questions from students concerning a film called Zeitgeist. I decided to show it to my high school seniors. Part one of the film attacks religion and specifically targets Christianity connecting it with all of the worlds problems today. The film was released in 2007, created and narrated by Peter Joseph. Joseph contends that Christianity is derived from astrological myths and pagan religions. Most of the information he received was from D.M. Murdock author of The Christ Conspiracy.

For a Christian unfamiliar in this territory (pretty much every high school aged Christian that heads off to his secular institution of humanistic learning) the immediate response to this video might be "Oh crap, am I believing a lie?" - but upon further inspection they'll quickly realize the movie is nothing but a house built upon sand. A quick perusal of the atheists on the website Reddit demonstrates their disappointment with the movie as it sent their hopes sky high only to be dashed to pieces by historical reality. I like showing this to my kids in high school because it demonstrates some important truths. 1. There's a lot young Christian adults need to learn. 2. The attacks on Christianity are fierce. 3. It's easier to defend your faith than you might think.

Rather than picking apart any minute detail I like to point out the systemic errors that flow throughout this film.

1. "The Bible is an astrotheological hybrid." This is like saying that the Satanic Bible is really a Christian book. The Bible is firm throughout that the heavenly bodies such as the sun, moon, and stars should not be worshiped. One of the supporting facts that Zeitgeist cites is that Jesus was born on Dec. 25th. The problem is that Jesus wasn't born on De.c. 25th. The Bible says nothing of when he was born - in fact it probably was not winter since their were sheep in the fields.

2. "Jesus is plagiarized from other mythical Saviors." The film relies on apparent similarities between astrological myths and pagan saviors. The problem is that once one explores these general claims it becomes apparent that these claims are stretched. The dozens of gods that were born of a virgin are mere supernatural births resulting from the dirty old gods like Zeus. The virgin birth of Horus hardly resembles the birth of Christ as his mother hovered in falcon form over her dead husband's erection in the underworld.

3. Who copied who? Interestingly some of these traditions from other religions probably post-date Christianity. For instance, the stories of Krishna's life that resemble the stories of Christ's life seem to postdate Christianity. There are Hindus today that still like to link Krishna and Christ as being different avatars of the same being - how does that Beetle's song go? Anyway, the resurrection of Jesus is of special importance in this point. A physical resurrection like Jesus' does not occur until well-after the resurrection of Jesus. The other resurrection myths were stories of the god or hero in the afterlife.

4. Similarities? So what? Why must similarities between religions be a result of them copying one another. One can find similarities in every belief system. The film claimed that the 10 commandments were copied from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. One could probably look at all sorts of law codes and find similarities. I'm pretty sure most will have statements against things like stealing and murder.

5. Should we expect seeds of the truth in false theologies? Why not? The Christian worldview believes that the ancestors of all humans at one time had the truth. Why wouldn't some of those ancient messages and prophecies have been handed down over time? Every ancient culture for instance has a flood story - the account in Genesis being the best put-together. The prophecy of a virgin birth and dying Messiah came from Isaiah's hand 700 years before Christ. Why wouldn't we expect more parallels especially since the Israelite's history of being exiled in places like Egypt, Greece and Babylon?

For more details on some of the more specific claims check out the following link: http://www.alwaysbeready.com/index.php?id=124&option=com_content&task=view

Also, here's a fun little video that deals with the same issue:

Jesus Myth #1: History

Somehow, 2000 years after the fact, skeptics can declare with a straight face that Jesus Christ never existed. Imagine if we treated a historical figure like George Washington in a similar way. While admitting that there is some legend and mystery surrounding the life of George Washington it would be idiotic to declare him as a myth by placing him on a billboard next to Santa Claus. Relegating the existence of Jesus Christ to myth is just as idiotic, because...

History Needs an Explanation!

You're walking along the shore of a lake and you hear a loud splash. You turn and and you see the disturbed water along with ripples racing to the shoreline. 

"What was that!" You exclaim.

12 men, a handful of women and a group of 500 other onlookers tell you that it was a large stone that a youth had hurled in the water. 

"Give me evidence!" You demand, so that I may believe you. 

The witnesses look around at each other puzzled and give you a strange look. "We all saw it." 

"I don't believe you." 

"Why not?" They reply.

"Because I don't believe it was a stone that hit the water."

"Then what caused the splash? You yourself saw the disturbance in the water, you heard the ripples, you heard the sound, there are many witnesses that saw the stone. If it wasn't a stone then what was it and why would we lie about such a thing?"

"I don't know why you would be lying. I don't know what else it would be. But I know it wasn't a stone. Anyone who believes that it was a stone needs to have their head checked!"

The parable is silly. But so is the objection to the existence of Jesus Christ. Every man, woman and child in the United States has been given a four digit number by which they mark their birthday. Everyone's birthday, whether or not they are Christian, is marked by the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is as historically verifiable as any other person who has ever existed.

The world's largest religion along with its impact on the last 2,000 years of civilization needs an explanation. The gospel of Christ has created the world's greatest cultural shift and we are still experiencing the ripple effect. What caused such a stir? What caused such a splash? For the Christian the answer is simple, the resurrection of Jesus. The ripples match the splash of the resurrection of Son of God. If Christ did not exist then what's the explanation? Such an explanation would need to account for an empty tomb and the early witnesses. The explanation would also need evidence. For those who relegate the resurrection of Jesus to myth, the evidence is lacking. Even more problematic is that they can't even come up with a consistent explanation for the big splash of Christianity and its subsequent ripples.