I recently noticed two places in Luke’s writing that are humorous. I’m not sure many people recognize how funny they are. The two “jokes” are related, and I thought it might be worth our while to look at them. I’m not sure Luke meant to be a comedian, but what he writes in recording these two episodes certainly appears to be done tongue-in-cheek. Of course, all that Luke wrote in Luke and Acts is inspired by God. Something can simultaneously be inspired, be entirely true, and cause us to smile.

The first example of humor is in Luke 8:25. This verse concludes the account of Jesus’ calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Before the disciples got into the boat with the Lord, He instructed them to do two things. They were to hear His Word and then do it (v 21).

He had just given them His word and explained it to them. In the Parable of the Four Soils, He warned them about being stony ground––a believer who does not respond to hardship in a way that pleases the King. Such a believer gives up when things get tough. The faithful believer endures such difficulties and reaps a great harvest in the coming kingdom.

To do the word means to face those difficulties with faith. It is faith that believes Christ’s word is more powerful than anything we might encounter as we follow Him.

The disciples had a chance to do what they had just heard. On the lake, they went through a tough time. Christ had told them to get into the boat and cross the lake. They knew what Christ wanted them to do. But when the storm hit, they became frightened. They thought they were going to die. They didn’t do what they were supposed to do.

When Christ rebuked the wind and the sea, the disciples again saw the power of Christ’s word. How could they have been afraid? How could they have worried about death when the One who had just told them that He would bring in an eternal kingdom was in the boat with them? His word was able to overcome any difficulty, even death. But they didn’t believe that.

Their attitude didn’t make sense. They had seen Jesus perform many miracles. They even saw Him raise the dead (Luke 7:11-17). Why did they think they would die in that boat? Why didn’t they do what they should do when faced with difficulties?

It is here that Luke tells his “joke.” He records what the disciples said when they saw Jesus calm the storm. They said that Jesus “commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him.”

Did you catch it? When the wind and sea heard the word of the Lord, they did what He said. The account began with Jesus telling the disciples to hear His word and do it. The disciples didn’t realize it, but what they said was funny. They also did not know that they were the butt of the joke.

The wind and sea hear and do what the Lord commands. The disciples did not do a very good job of hearing what He told them, and they certainly did not do it.

We all know the expression, “dumber than a box of rocks.” Here, the disciples are dumber than the wind and water. They admit it with their own mouths.

But we should not fool ourselves. When we hear God’s Word and do not act upon it, we are just as dumb. We become the butt of the joke.