"Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?" - George Carlin
One of the great things about comedy is that it allows us to hear important truths without wanting to hang ourselves. It's a medicine with a spoonful of sugar. It makes us laugh and think.
This is also what makes it so powerful.
In medieval times, the only person who could really tell the truth to the king was the court jester. Likewise, comedians have often able to speak truths to the culture that nobody else could. This, perhaps, is one of the reasons Charles Spurgeon became a prolific pastor in his day. "Get them rolling in the aisles, and then kick them in the teeth."
People always need the truth, but they don't always want to hear it. But they do always want to laugh.
And that, I believe, is why trolls are so popular today.
Trolls, you say?
Yes, trolls.
Trolls, in common tongue, are people on the internet who say seemingly stupid things. And granted, some of them really do say stupid things, because some people really are stupid.
But that's not an entirely fair representation. Let's not define something by its poorest examples.
Trolls, in proper form, are satirists. They are commentators who aim to reveal truths not just through what they say, but how they say it. They are people who understand the power of comedy, and wield it to great effect.
Jesus was one such troll.
I know... I know... Stave your torches. Don't brandish your pitchforks quite yet. Just hear me out first.
A pastor once said that all of Jesus' teachings could be categorized one of three ways: Feeding sheep, shooting wolves, and rebuking swine. Most Christians have no problem with the first, and many understand the necessity of the second. The third is the one they struggle with.
Here's an example:
And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”— he said to the man who was paralyzed —“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. -Luke 5:20-25
Jesus was clearly having a little fun at he Pharisees' expense. He could have taken the time to explain how he was the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies, sitting down with them and breaking apart the Old Testament scriptures to show how they necessitated, albeit unexpectedly, that the messiah was not just a man, but God Himself incarnate. He could have then said that, in order to help establish the credibility of this claim, he was going to heal this man by the power of the Holy Spirit, thus demonstrating that he could not be blaspheming.
Jesus opted for a different approach.
For other examples, check out Matthew 19:24, Matthew 7:3, Matthew 21:24, Matthew 22:21, Matthew 15:3, and Matthew 17:27 (Matthew obviously appreciated Jesus comedic trollery).
The big point here is that Christ didn't always say things in a way we would now dub "Christlike." There are many times in which he kindly, patiently explained things. There were other times, however, when he would entertainingly shade the crap out of someone for the benefit of the hearers.
He fed the sheep, but he also rebuked the swine. And if we are called to follow in Jesus' footsteps, we do not have the luxury of following him down one of those paths and not the other. Being like Jesus means trolling like Jesus.
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. A time to speak softly, and a time for lvl 99999 trolling." - Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 AMV