ABSTRACT
Jesus was laughed at as a misguided man. In Scripture another man was once made an object of fun: Elisha. Taunting a man for his baldness is nothing new. It was known to ancient Rome, and it was found in ancient Israel. That example of the quick punishment of mocking laughter was a famous one. It preoccupied theologians and moralists. It is one of the very few episodes of the Old Testament to give guidance on matters of laughter, and as such it was cited over and over again. Peter Martyr Vermigli, the prior turned reformer who lectured in Oxford and Zurich in the 1540s, firmly defended God's punishment of those cheeky boys. The hooligans who jeered at Elisha, and the soldiers and crowds who jeered at Jesus, were mocking God.
