“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” John 13:13-14
Sometimes, the most profound spiritual truths can be found within a good joke. One of my favorite comedians is Michael Jr. I was introduced to him while learning about God’s generous heart towards us. We were shown a short video of him talking about laughter and the anatomy of a joke. He discussed the ‘setup’ and the ‘punch line’ in the context of generosity. He shared the most significant paradigm shift in his heart when he realized that comedy was not about getting laughs from people; comedy is about giving people the opportunity to laugh, which is a form of generosity.
In the same way, a Kingdom paradigm shift is what Jesus was demonstrating in washing his disciples’ feet. It was the punch line. Let’s unpack it.
The setup is the part of the joke that provides the context and information needed to understand what’s coming. The punch line is the surprising, often illogical or witty twist that subverts the expectation you’ve built. It is where the humor lies – the element that makes the listener see the situation in a new, funny light. Jesus used the setup of cultural expectations, and then delivered the punchline that flipped the script.
Think of it this way:
Setup: “Why don’t scientists trust atoms?” (You’re introducing a question about scientists and atoms, setting up a potential reason related to their work.)
Punch line: “Because they make up everything!” (The unexpected twist is the double meaning of “make up” – to invent and to be composed of.. This is the funny part that breaks the initial expectation.)
So, the setup creates the path, and the punch line is the unexpected turn that makes you laugh. You need a good setup to make the punch line land effectively!
The ‘setup’ by Jesus was the cultural practice and expectation that religious leaders were elevated in the eyes of their flock by the nature of their position, importance, and training. People served them. The surprising, illogical twist or ‘punch line’ was the message that the Son of God came to serve and not to be served and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28) He washed their feet, then he told his followers to do the same; to be the ‘punch line.’
Michael Jr. helped me see that in the Kingdom of God, the setup is our cultural norm of trying to get things from people, and the punchline is to be like Jesus; all in for them. For example, during my time as a financial advisor, when I met with a prospect, the setup was their expectation that I would try to sell them a product or attempt to secure them as a client. My punch line was something like, “Thank you for coming in to talk today. I hope I can assist you. But that so you can relax, you should know I don’t care what you do after this, and I don’t need anymore clients. If you want to work together you will have to call me.” At the end of our meeting, I would close in prayer, not to impress, but genuinely for their well-being. Our punch line is that we believe the value of each person lies in their being an image bearer of the One True God, not in their net worth, power, or influence. We can’t fully love someone until we are entirely for them.
The people God puts in our lives are not projects, nor are they something we can leverage to satisfy our desires or needs. They are in our orbit, so we can love and serve them. Every encounter is a divine appointment infused with eternal significance and opportunity. Look around. Who in your life needs a surprising act of service—a Kingdom punch line?
Run the play – be the punch line.
“Our punch line is that we believe the value of each person lies in their being an image bearer of the One True God, not in their net worth, power, or influence.”
Finding Our Place in the Story
- What cultural ‘setups’ might God ask you to flip with a Kingdom punch line?
- When have you experienced someone being ‘all in for you’ without expecting anything in return? How did it impact you?
Michael Jr video link: I Like Laughter
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