A few months ago I was accused of mocking. In this particular instance, I would say it was a quick attempt a labeling, a response that it often utilized as a way to write off, and side skirt whatever issue is the topic at hand. In this article we are going to start to develop something of a theology of righteous mocking or scoffing. Why would we even do that? Because like many things that we find in Scripture, there are emotions or actions that can be done correctly, and incorrectly. One major example that people often think of is anger. In modern American Christianity we often instantly associate anger with totally being bad, and thus a sin. But the Scriptural picture is much more nuanced than that. There are several examples presented to us of someone being angry, and it was wholly justified, even righteous. One prime example that we can often think of is Jesus when He cleanses the Temple just days before His crucifixion.
Then Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the temple courts, and turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. 13 And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are turning it into a den of robbers!” (Matthew 21:12–13, NET 2nd ed.)
There is no way around it in this passage. Jesus is angry, and righteously so. His Father’s house has been defiled by overcharging, and the Court of the Gentiles has been converted from its intended usage of allowing non-Jews to worship the True and Living God, and is being used to extract as much money as possible. Because of this, I think every honest Christian agrees that Jesus is righteously angry.
So now, back to scoffing and mocking. Like anger, this can be done rightly, but we must be so careful, because Scripture does warn about scoffing and mocking. “How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked,or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the assembly of scoffers. (Psalm 1:1, NET 2nd ed.). As followers of Christ we must be careful to not be a scoffer by character or reputation. Scoffing is something that can so easily be done incorrectly, and just fall into a mentality of mocking everything. Proverbs paints the scoffer as proud, resistant to correction, and destructive to community life (Prov. 9:7–8; 21:24). In the New Testament, scoffers are those who deny God’s promises and mock His people’s hope (2 Pet. 3:3–4; Jude 18).
This is no small matter. Scoffing is not just a bad habit of speech; it reveals the condition of the heart. To mock truth, holiness, or God’s promises is to place oneself in opposition to Him. For this reason, Christians are urged to avoid contemptuous ridicule and to let their words instead be gracious, seasoned with salt (Col. 4:6).
A striking biblical example of this kind of righteous mockery is found in Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. As they cried out and cut themselves in a desperate attempt to rouse their god, Elijah began to taunt them: “Shout louder! Perhaps he is a god, but he may be deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened” (1 Kings 18:27). This is not petty ridicule; it is prophetic exposure. Elijah’s words highlight the impotence and absurdity of Baal, contrasting sharply with the living God who answers by fire. His mockery is aimed not at the personal weakness of the prophets, but at the falsehood they represent and the spiritual deception they perpetuate. In doing so, Elijah cuts through the illusion of power surrounding Baal worship and calls the people of Israel back to reality: a god who must be awakened, entertained, or persuaded is no god at all.
The same pattern appears in the wider tradition of the Church. Consider St. Boniface, who famously cut down the sacred oak of Thor at Geismar, not merely as an act of destruction, but as a lived argument, an embodied mockery of pagan impotence when no divine retribution followed. Likewise, the Church Fathers often employed sharp, even biting rhetoric to expose the absurdity of idolatry and false worship. Justin Martyr ridiculed the idea that gods could be fashioned by human hands and then worshiped, while Tertullian sarcastically pressed pagan critics by pointing out the moral contradictions in their own myths and practices. Even Augustine, with his characteristic wit, mocked the Roman gods in The City of God, highlighting their moral failings and the irrationality of trusting them. In each case, the aim was not cruelty, but clarity: to strip false religion of its perceived power and dignity, revealing it as hollow so that the truth of the living God might stand all the more plainly.
There is a correct way to scoff. There are seven principles found in Scripture when it comes to scoffing that keep it in the bounds of righteously doing so correctly. As we will see, mockery is always ultimately done out of the context and foundation of love. This is especially applicable when there are those who are being hurt or led astray by spiritual leadership, or wrong ideologies.
- Aim mockery at power, not the vulnerable.
- Target: false teachers, abusive leaders, oppressive systems. Never those sincerely struggling, doubting or deceived.
- Example: Jesus mocked Pharisees (Matt. 23), but gently restored the confused and broken. (John 4 & 8)
- Expose Absurdity, Don’t Just Insult
- Mockery should unmask lies by showing their foolishness.
- Example: Elijah mocking Baal’s prophets (1 Kings 18:27). His sarcasm made their god look ridiculous, not just insulting them personally.
- Check Your Motives
- Ask: Am I doing this to protect the flock and glorify Christ, or to boost my ego?
- Wrong motive = you become the scoffer condemned in Proverbs (Prov. 21:24).
- Keep the Gospel Centered
- Satire without truth just tears down. Always point back to Christ as the true alternative.
- Example: Paul mocks false apostles (2 Cor. 11:19–20) but immediately re-centers the church on the true gospel.
- Use It Sparingly and Strategically
- Righteous ridicule is a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.
- If every sermon, post, or conversation drips with sarcasm, you risk cynicism.
- Example: Jesus rarely used biting mockery—He saved it for entrenched hypocrisy (Matt. 23, Luke 11:37–54).
- Make the Falseness Obvious
- Highlight contradictions, exaggerations, or hypocrisy.
- Example: Isaiah 44:14–20 ridicules idol-makers: burning half a log for firewood while worshipping the other half. The point is crystal clear—idols are absurd.
- Be Willing to Weep as Well as Mock
- Prophets wept even as they derided falsehood (Jer. 9:1).
- Mockery without compassion risks becoming cruelty.
These guidelines laid out are also included in the attached graphic.
So the question is why should Christians know the guidelines of how to correctly scoff or mock? Because in cases of aberrant theology, abusive leadership, or abhorrent evil, mocking and scoffing can be an effective tool at cutting through whatever veil of power or superiority is present in a conversation, especially when there is a huge power differential. The difference lies in intent. Sinful scoffing flows from pride and aims to humiliate. Righteous mockery flows from zeal for God’s glory and aims to expose folly so that repentance might be possible. This means that for most of us, most of the time, scoffing should be avoided. But on rare occasions, in moments of prophetic confrontation, sharp words may be necessary to defend truth and unmask lies.
Of course, objections come quickly. Isn’t mockery unloving? Shouldn’t Christians be humble? Won’t it push people away? These are important questions, and they remind us that mockery is not a tool to be used lightly. Love usually speaks gently. Humility usually refrains from biting words. But sometimes love requires severity, and humility means trusting God enough to call sin what it is.
As a pastor, I find this both challenging and liberating. Challenging, because it calls me to examine my heart before I speak. Am I exposing falsehood for God’s sake, or am I indulging in sarcasm to make myself look clever? Liberating, because it reminds me that God’s people are not called to be endlessly polite in the face of evil. We are called to speak the truth in love, and sometimes love has a sharp edge.
Most of the time, our call is to bless those who mock us and to endure patiently, following Christ who “did not revile in return” (1 Pet. 2:23). But in those rare moments when the honor of God is at stake, Christians may find themselves called to words that cut, not to destroy, but to heal; not to humiliate, but to awaken.
