Humorous/Interesting parts of Scripture

[Gibeuromonies]

Scripture, especially the Old Testament, is viewed as “boring” in the modern age. And to some extent, that’s true. The Book of Numbers, 1 & 2 Chronicles, and Leviticus are wonderfully dull examples of that, as the whole “Ham begat Cush begat Raamah begat Nimrod” verses in Numbers and Chronicles are just plain boring, while the “Cut a young goat thrice on his throat before offering it to a Rabbi” laws of Leviticus have no bearing on today.

Still, the Bible is much more than that. What are your favorite Humorous/Interesting parts of Scripture?

Humor, you may be surprised, is in the Bible, though it’s hard to find. Here’s an example:

2 Kings 6:5
As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!”

 

[StrawberryApple]

I’ve always found a lot of the readings with Peter to be humorous. One of my favorites is the passage from John 13 where Jesus is washing his disciples feet, and Peter says, Oh no don’t wash my feet! And Jesus says, Unless I wash you, you can’t be in heaven with me. Then he’s all, well wash all of me then! But Jesus replies, no, no, just your feet is all that’s necessary.

I always read that with a bit of humor. Peter is always so well-meaning, but seems to put his foot in his mouth quite a lot. Also, during the transfiguration when he says, let us build three tents here, and they thought to include the aside “(he did not know what he was saying)”.

 

[petra22]

Yes, yes. Like the reading today in Mark–the Transfiguration. Jesus takes Peter, James and John up on the mountain and Jesus transfigures before them–glowing so to speak and Moses and Elijah come to speak with him about the coming passion…
Peter says, “Lord it is good for us to be here. If you want I will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Then a cloud comes over and a voice says,“This is my beloved SON. Listen to him!”

I get a laugh because I get the feeling the Father wants Peter to know Jesus is more than the Law and more than the Prophets… He is God, the Son… I can just see Peter’s eyes! before he faints…

 

[GEddie]

The resuscitiation of Lazarus.

Although there is no dialogue, the image in my mind is this fellow wiggling and flopping around in his bound limbs, before our LORD says to untie him.

If done as a film trailer ISTM would look quite comic, especially as relief where he had just died.

ICXC NIKA.

 

[MaryT777]

What a great idea for a new topic.
Mary.

 

[thommie]

Wow - this could be fun…

Two that come quickly to mind:

1. In Exodus 31:18, God gives Moses the two tablets on which He wrote the 10 commandments. After Moses breaks them in anger over the golden calf incident, God tells him (Exodus 34:1) to hew out the new tablets himself, and He will write on them.
2. In Luke 9:51-56, we read of an incident in which James and John asked Jesus if He wanted them to call down fire from heaven upon a Samaritan village. In Mark 3:17, we read that He named them…the Sons of Thunder!

 

[patrick457]

The resuscitiation of Lazarus.

Although there is no dialogue, the image in my mind is this fellow wiggling and flopping around in his bound limbs, before our LORD says to untie him.

If done as a film trailer ISTM would look quite comic, especially as relief where he had just died.

ICXC NIKA.

One of my gaffes about certain Jesus movies that do include the raising of Lazarus is, Lazarus can seem to stand erect and walk fine even with his gravecloths on. (I’m particularly looking at Jesus of Nazareth or The Gospel of John.) Now I know The Last Temptation of Christ isn’t really the best Jesus film to bring up in these parts, but at least I could laud it for doing something original: the revived Lazarus raises up his hand to Jesus - even Jesus slightly freaks out - and He helps him out of the tomb (though apparently, being resuscitated doesn’t mean Lazarus’ body’s decomposition will reverse itself ). The more recent Son of God even solves the dilemma further by having Lazarus raised inside the tomb - thus no need for him to hobble out.

 

[mikekle]

I know its not really funny, but Ive always thought the verse where God causes 2 female bears to come out of the woods and kill like 40 young kids just because they had been ribbing some guy about being bald is somewhat comical, or maybe bizarre is a better word for it.

 

[TimothyH]

Paul preaches on and on through the night, talking so long that a guy falls asleep and falls out the window…

And a young man named Eu’tychus was sitting in the window. He sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer; and being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. (Acts 20:9)

Paul goes downstairs, throws himself on the guy and pronounces him alive. They all go up and celebrate the Eucharist and Eutychus lives. I think it is the first recorded Eucharistic miracle, not funny in and of itself but Luke has a sense of humor and I think he is taking a stab at Paul’s long winded homilies.

-Tim-

 

[CHRISTINE77]

I think Jesus’ teachings about how not to do thing like the hypocrites do in Matthew Chapter 6 are funny:

“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2 When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get."

“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get."

16 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get."

I think his description of these hypocrites is great, and everyone knows someone like them - trying to put on a show about how good they are in public! Well, that’s their reward!

 

[Isaiah45_9]

John 11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Laz′arus. 6 So when he heard that he was ill, he stayed two days longer[a] in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were but now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any one walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if any one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 Thus he spoke, and then he said to them, “Our friend Laz′arus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Laz′arus is dead; 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

I have always found this comment by Thomas hilarious… I too have a big mouth like that

 

[TimothyH]

I know its not really funny, but Ive always thought the verse where God causes 2 female bears to come out of the woods and kill like 40 young kids just because they had been ribbing some guy about being bald is somewhat comical, or maybe bizarre is a better word for it.

This is why it happened.

"Then if you walk contrary to me, and will not hearken to me, I will bring more plagues upon you, sevenfold as many as your sins. And I will let loose the wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number, so that your ways shall become desolate. (Leviticus 26:21-22)

The event happened on the outskirts of the city of Bethel which was a center of pagan worship after the ten northern tribes committed almost total apostasy.

The prophet was going to Bethel to do battle with the pagan gods. His baldness was a sign that he was a Nazarite, clearly marked as someone who is consecrated to the God which the ten northern tribes had rejected.

-Tim-

 

[Justin61790]

When Jesus curses the fig tree. Im hypoglycemic and Ive always laughed at the idea of Jesus really wanting a fig and He comes across this one useless fig tree. I can definitely relate. I know thats not the broader message Jesus was conveying but it still makes me laugh.

 

[TimothyH]

Some things do sound funny when we look at them from a modern, western perspective.

Trees often represented nations and authority. To a Jew in the first century, the fig tree represents the authority of the temple priests to enforce the law of Moses.

***Nathan’a-el said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” *(John 1:48)

In other words, Nathan was an obedient Jew and faithful student of the Hebrew Scriptures. This is how Nathan is able to immediately recognize Jesus as the Son of God and King of Israel.

-Tim-

 

[CHRISTINE77]

When Jesus curses the fig tree. Im hypoglycemic and Ive always laughed at the idea of Jesus really wanting a fig and He comes across this one useless fig tree. I can definitely relate. I know thats not the broader message Jesus was conveying but it still makes me laugh.

I agree, that is a funny passage. Jesus seems very human (and hungry)!

 

[ColdComfort]

The story of Balaam’s *** I think is meant to be funny. The donkey is wiser than the great diviner and even rebukes him: I’ve carried you around for years and this is how you treat me?

**
[21] So Balaam rose in the morning, and saddled his ***, and went with the princes of Moab.
[23] And the *** saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand; and the *** turned aside out of the road, and went into the field; and Balaam struck the ***, to turn her into the road.
[25] And when the *** saw the angel of the LORD, she pushed against the wall, and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again.
[27] When the *** saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the *** with his staff.
[28] Then the LORD opened the mouth of the ***, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”
[29] And Balaam said to the ***, “Because you have made sport of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.”
[30] And the *** said to Balaam, "Am I not your *, upon which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Was I ever accustomed to do so to you?" And he said, “No.”
[31] Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face.

P. S. The quote is from Num c. 22. When I pasted it CA took out the three letter word for donkey. Now that’s funny.

 

[CHRISTINE77]

The story of Balaam’s *** I think is meant to be funny. The donkey is wiser than the great diviner and even rebukes him: I’ve carried you around for years and this is how you treat me?

**
[21] So Balaam rose in the morning, and saddled his ***, and went with the princes of Moab.
[23] And the *** saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand; and the *** turned aside out of the road, and went into the field; and Balaam struck the ***, to turn her into the road.
[25] And when the *** saw the angel of the LORD, she pushed against the wall, and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again.
[27] When the *** saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the *** with his staff.
[28] Then the LORD opened the mouth of the ***, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”
[29] And Balaam said to the ***, “Because you have made sport of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.”
[30] And the *** said to Balaam, "Am I not your *, upon which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Was I ever accustomed to do so to you?" And he said, “No.”
[31] Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face.

P. S. The quote is from Num c. 22. When I pasted it CA took out the three letter word for donkey. Now that’s funny.

I agree, that’s a funny story and funny about the 3 letter word! wonder what they would do with the word jackass?

 

[Arizona_Mike]

There’s a lot of humorous passages in the Bible. Humor is a good thing, as it is God-created, so why shouldn’t it be there. Life is rife with humor and irony, so if the biblical accounts are true to life, we should expect to find both there.

One of the reasons I think the Gospel of John was actually written by John, and not by someone else, is this passage from John 20:

3 So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; 5 he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. 6 When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,

The fact that in the middle of the account of this awe-inspiring event John, who despite being an apostle was still a Guy, wanted to remind people that he could run just a little faster than his buddy Peter and got there first always struck me as very human and kind of funny.

I also found the line Jesus made about removing the plank in your own eye before removing the speck in someone else’s kind of a funny line, especially coming as it did from a carpenter’s kid. I always wondered if he heard that from Joseph growing up in the wood shop.

The whole account of Jonah reads at times like a Monty Python sketch. Jonah is called by God to do a task, but takes off in another direction. God uses a storm to send a message to Jonah, and it’s the non-Jewish sailors who have to explain it to him. God uses a giant sea beast as a taxi to get Jonah to Nineveh. Jonah, the most reluctant prophet ever, gets to Nineveh and instead of the people being punushed as Jonah expected, they immediately convert, even the pigs and sheep, which angers Jonah. Jonah stalks out of the city, and becomes angry when his favorite tree dies. God remonstrates with him for caring more about a tree than the people of Nineveh.

 

[MaryT777]

There’s a lot of humorous passages in the Bible. Humor is a good thing, as it is God-created, so why shouldn’t it be there. Life is rife with humor and irony, so if the biblical accounts are true to life, we should expect to find both there.

One of the reasons I think the Gospel of John was actually written by John, and not by someone else, is this passage from John 20:

The fact that in the middle of the account of this awe-inspiring event John, who despite being an apostle was still a Guy, wanted to remind people that he could run just a little faster than his buddy Peter and got there first always struck me as very human and kind of funny.

I also found the line Jesus made about removing the plank in your own eye before removing the speck in someone else’s kind of a funny line, especially coming as it did from a carpenter’s kid. I always wondered if he heard that from Joseph growing up in the wood shop.

The whole account of Jonah reads at times like a Monty Python sketch. Jonah is called by God to do a task, but takes off in another direction. God uses a storm to send a message to Jonah, and it’s the non-Jewish sailors who have to explain it to him. God uses a giant sea beast as a taxi to get Jonah to Nineveh. Jonah, the most reluctant prophet ever, gets to Nineveh and instead of the people being punushed as Jonah expected, they immediately convert, even the pigs and sheep, which angers Jonah. Jonah stalks out of the city, and becomes angry when his favorite tree dies. God remonstrates with him for caring more about a tree than the people of Nineveh.

Fabulous post~ I always enjoyed the " I can run faster" part as well.
Mary.