Actually, Jesus did tell a kind of Middle Eastern joke - he used puns! Plays on words all the time.
Where you ask?
Well, it doesn't come through in the English or Greek, it only comes through in the Aramaic. Which was the common language of the day, and is actually used in a few places in the Bible, like some verses in Daniel, I believe.
And example would be Matt 23:23-24
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. [SUP]24 [/SUP]You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!"
Jesus contrasts the meticulous concern of Pharisees in straining their beverages lest they swallow a gnat and become ceremonially unclean. (Lev. 11:41) Yet such scrupulous religious observance was accompanied by the rejection of mercy, justice, and love in their dealings with their fellow man. The pun is not evident in English, but in Aramaic there is a clear play on words. Jesus in his example is not merely contrasting the size of a camel with the size of a gnat, he could have used a lot of other words like tree or elephant. "Camel" and "gnat" both look alike and sound alike in Aramaic
In Aramaic the word for gnat is galma and the word for camel is gamla. Jesus in his example made a pun. What he said was "You blind guides, you strain out a galma but turn around and swallow a gamla!"
The list goes on and on of Jesus using these plays on words. Google it and see what you find!
(Remember humour is different in different times and cultures!)
Where you ask?
Well, it doesn't come through in the English or Greek, it only comes through in the Aramaic. Which was the common language of the day, and is actually used in a few places in the Bible, like some verses in Daniel, I believe.
And example would be Matt 23:23-24
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. [SUP]24 [/SUP]You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!"
Jesus contrasts the meticulous concern of Pharisees in straining their beverages lest they swallow a gnat and become ceremonially unclean. (Lev. 11:41) Yet such scrupulous religious observance was accompanied by the rejection of mercy, justice, and love in their dealings with their fellow man. The pun is not evident in English, but in Aramaic there is a clear play on words. Jesus in his example is not merely contrasting the size of a camel with the size of a gnat, he could have used a lot of other words like tree or elephant. "Camel" and "gnat" both look alike and sound alike in Aramaic
In Aramaic the word for gnat is galma and the word for camel is gamla. Jesus in his example made a pun. What he said was "You blind guides, you strain out a galma but turn around and swallow a gamla!"
The list goes on and on of Jesus using these plays on words. Google it and see what you find!
(Remember humour is different in different times and cultures!)