A Catholic, a Presbyterian, and a Baptist walk into a bar…. Whenever we hear a line like this, we expect the punch line. We strongly suspect that a joke is being told. It is much more fun to tell and listen to jokes than to analyze them, but what about a joke makes it a joke? What makes a story funny? The unexpected twist, the irony, the situation that all of the sudden seems out of character with the characters involved: all of these surprises make a joke funny. There are times when we experience joke-like experiences when our lives take unexpected turns that cause us to laugh in the end. We recognize these “jokes” because we are made in the image of the great Joke-teller; the God who is full of unexpected endings that ultimately cause him, as well as those who love him, to laugh out of joy.
The Triumphal Entry was a joke. God’s joke. What is about to happen in the following week wasn’t anticipated even by the men closest to Jesus. The people of Jerusalem hailed Jesus as a conquering king, entering into the royal city to free them from the yoke of foreign bondage. Now would be the time that the Son of David would come in to cleanse the Temple from all of its corruption, freeing it from all of the corruption of the present leadership that oppressed the powerless in order to maintain its power with the Romans. Finally, someone stronger than the present powers would put down powerful. Practically everyone was on the same basic page as God’s story unfolded. They were all anticipating their own conclusion to the story. There may have been some variations according to their desires, but they were looking for a military king. The irony is palpable. Jesus is their king, and he has come to conquer. But there will be an unexpected twist; something that will change the way people think about a king so drastically that, in the end, it can only make you laugh. The only one who was fully in on God’s joke was Jesus himself. He knew the end of the story and, for the joy–“the last laugh”–that was set before him, he stayed with the story; enduring the cross, despising the shame (Heb 12.1-3). As the joke unfolds, some are laughing at the wrong time. The leadership in Israel believe that the joke is on Jesus. The crowd mocks him at the cross, laughing him to scorn. Others aren’t laughing. The disciples of Jesus will feel that the joke has been on them all this time. Some are angry, others envious, others gleeful, and still others are distraught with grief. But the “punch line” hasn’t been delivered yet.
God is still telling jokes, deceiving the wicked into thinking that they have the last laugh. Christians are being tortured and killed by those who hate the Lord Jesus. Suffering, sickness, and pain are endured by Christians while the world looks at us and asks, “Where is your God?” Sometimes as Christians we think that we are the butt of God’s joke; this cosmic Jester is playing around with our lives. But all we need to do is look at the story of Jesus to understand that none of this is true. Like the line about the Catholic, Presbyterian, and Baptist walking into the bar, we have heard the beginning of this story. We know that God has a punch line coming. We anticipate it. It will be “funny” when it comes because it probably won’t look just like we expect, but we know it is coming nevertheless. Christian, just be patient and listen to God tell the rest of the joke. In the end, you’ll laugh.
