What Jesus Laughs At
Psalm 2
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. “Let us break their chains,” they say, “and throw off their fetters.”
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
I think we’d all agree that laughter is a good thing. Laughter is also a great healer, and we all know we could use a lot more things to laugh about in our lives these days. But every once in a while, laughter can be scary. A drama my wife and I are watching right now recently depicted the main character laughing, but it was scary. And I’m not taking about the maniacal laugh of a crazy person. This character began laughing uncontrollably because he couldn’t believe how things had gone so wrong and how his life was perhaps about to end. The actress portraying his wife did a good job of displaying immense grief and horror at his laughter.
In Psalm 2, we hear about one of the things that causes Jesus to laugh. And this laughter isn’t the giggles, but rather a mocking laugh of disbelief at the arrogance and foolishness of the enemies of the Church. It’s a laugh that will only be heard by those who stand against Christ after it’s too late because they don’t want to listen to Jesus’ winsome call to repentance. Jesus’ laughs and scoffs at his enemies from on high even now, but the Last Day will come when they will at last hear the Lord’s laughter and tremble in fear.
How important for us to hear this message, especially in these times as we continue to see darkness descending on more and more hearts in our land. Leaders in our country and the world around stand against God and look to suppress Christ’s Church through messages that sound appealing and seem rational. But in their messages, these people who want nothing to do with Christ or his Church, claim to have the moral high ground. They claim to know better than Christ and his Church in matters of race, health, family, sexuality, love and everything in between.
But look at what Jesus has to say to those who want to break the chains of God’s holy law: The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
Friends, what is terror for those who conspire and plot against Christ and his Church, are beautiful words of comfort and rejoicing to us who take refuge in Christ. Our King, Christ, rules over all things! He is indeed the Lord’s Anointed One! Yes, the rulers of this world can work a lot of trouble, pain, and suffering in this world. Yes, the leaders of this world can make our lives as Christians quite miserable at times. But remember, their days are numbered, while our days with the Lord are eternal! They are the ones who ought to tremble and fear, not us. We have the Lord by our side. He rules over all things for our eternal good according to his promises. Remember that this world is not our home, but heaven is our home. This is why we take refuge in him. This will all pass. And one day soon enough, even though fear, frustration, tears, and heartache fill our lives now, the day is coming when we will see our King sitting on his throne, and then we shall have nothing but laughter!