Don’t forget the punchline!

During a speech in September 2002, the former President of the United States of America, George W Bush, had one of those moments: to help make his point, he attempted to recite an old saying. The problem was, he had completely forgot the punchline! Quite famously he stumbled through it, saying, “Fool me once, shame on... shame on you. Fool me... You can’t get fooled again!” The correct aphorism is “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”. I don’t mean to pick on poor old President Bush, but he does highlight the importance of the punchline: without it, the whole communication is rendered useless. It’s like telling a Knock Knock joke and stopping after “Knock knock!”

The reason I raise this is because throughout the Book of Acts, the apostles never forgot the punchline. Whenever they talked in the synagogues or in the public realm, they never forgot to mention the resurrection of Jesus. (Obviously Jesus is more than a punchline, though! In him we find the fulfilment of all of God’s purposes and promises.) Whether they were speaking from the Old Testament or more generally about God, they always made it their goal to preach the risen Jesus. They knew that as they addressed both Jew and Gentile, to leave Jesus out of the picture was akin to telling a joke without the punchline: it defeated the purpose of speaking of God without proclaiming the risen Jesus. Doing so was only telling half the story.

We see this most sharply in Acts 17. As Paul visited Thessalonica and Berea, again and again, he made it his aim to preach the resurrection of Jesus. It wasn’t enough for him to simply state to his fellow Jews that “it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead”, but also that “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ” (Acts 17:3). To leave Jesus out of the picture is to forget the punchline.

We see the same picture in Athens: not only was Paul brought before the Aeropagus “because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection” (Acts 17:18), but as he stood in front of them, he did not hold back from preaching the resurrection, even though it resulted in mocking (vv. 31-32). Even more boldly, he called on the Athenians to repent, for the risen Jesus is proof of the judgement to come (vv. 30-31).

Over and over again, we see in Acts that the apostles preached the resurrection of Jesus. They knew that leaving Jesus out of the picture would render their message useless. The same is true for us today: if we don’t mention the risen Jesus as we talk to people about God, then we’ve forgotten the punchline. We’ve missed the most important bit of information. It’s interesting the way people react when the name ‘Jesus’ is used, instead of simply ‘God’: suddenly it makes it specific. The resurrection makes it even more specific, because it requires a response: either you believe that Jesus did rise from the dead and is Lord, or that the resurrection is false and Jesus isn’t who the Bible says he is.

Obviously wisdom is needed for how we go about sharing the risen Jesus with people. I’m not promoting “Turn or burn” signs on street corners (though wouldn’t that be bold!) Instead, I want to make the point that simply telling those around us that we believe in God, go to church or are Christian is to forget the punchline. Proclaiming the good news of Jesus as the risen Lord is what is necessary.

And so, like Paul, as our spirits are provoked within us as we look around at a world that fails to follow Jesus (Acts 17:16), let us not forget the punchline: let us preach the resurrection of Jesus and call on those around us to repent in light of the coming judgement (vv. 30-31).