Immediately, the man was made well, and took up his mat and walked. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.
Christ had chosen deliberately to do such a deed on the sabbath as a platform from which to call attention to his authority and power, and also for the purpose of exposing the ridiculous extensions and additions to God's sabbath regulations which had been so mercilessly bound upon the people by their priests.  Regarding the question if Jesus did or did not break the sabbath, it must be answered unequivocally that he did not break it.  There are three legitimate grounds upon which all alleged guilt of Jesus in breaking the sabbath is totally removed.  Thus: (1) It was well known among the Jews that a prophet might, for cause, set aside the sabbath; as the Prophet like unto Moses, Jesus had every right to do so; (2) as God incarnate, Christ had total authority, even referring to himself once as "Lord of the sabbath"  (Matthew 12:8); and (3) the Lord's actions often referred to as breaking the sabbath, such as this man's carrying his bed, constituted no violation whatever of God's true law regarding sabbath observance, but only violated the hair-splitting interpretations of it so dear to the Pharisees.