The other day someone shared with me a list of so-called “wacky laws” . . .

The other day someone shared with me a list of so-called “wacky laws” that apparently are still on the books.  I’ll give you a few examples:

In Pennsylvania, the penalty for cursing is a forty-cent fine.  However, if God is mentioned in the curse, the fine is sixty-seven cents.

It is unlawful for goldfish to ride on a Seattle, Washington, bus unless they lie still.

In Natchez, Mississippi, it is against the law for elephants to drink beer.

The California penal code prohibits the shooting of any animal—except a whale, from an automobile.

A Minnesota law requires that men’s and women’s underwear not be hung on the same clothesline at the same time.

I mention these “wacky laws” because, in the first century, there were a number of pharisaic regulations regarding the Sabbath that also had Jesus scratching his head.  As you know, the fourth commandment specifically prohibits working on the Sabbath.  “Six days you shall labor and do all your work,” says the Lord.  “But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God and you shall do no work.”

Pretty straight forward; except for the fact that no one agreed on what exactly constitutes “work.”  Thus, the Pharisees and scribes developed a whole series of rules for observing Sabbath rest—or better still, for avoiding Sabbath work.  For instance, you were permitted to borrow jars of wine or oil from a neighbor on the Sabbath, as long as you didn’t say “Lend them to me,” because that would imply a transaction, and a transaction might involve writing, and writing was considered work.  Or again, you were not permitted to put vinegar on your teeth to alleviate a toothache, because that was considered “healing on the Sabbath.”  However, you could alleviate a toothache by putting vinegar on your food, and then eating that food.

Of course, Jesus tended to view all of this as a complete waste of time—not to mention, missing the point of the fourth commandment.  “You act as if you were created for the Sabbath,” he said.  “It’s the other way around; the Sabbath was created for you.”  The way Jesus saw it, the Sabbath was a day set aside for honoring God, and you are hardly honoring God by getting bogged down in the minutia of hopelessly confusing rules and regulations.

That’s why Jesus insisted on healing people on the Sabbath.  It wasn’t just to push the buttons of the Pharisees and scribes.  Jesus was honoring God by doing exactly what God would have wanted done—allowing the paralyzed to walk, opening the eyes of the blind, and healing the sick.