So the Jews said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat."
Now they, no doubt, knew this man. Jerusalem did not have that many people, but what a man that have been around lame for thirty-eight years became sort of a public figure, and people knew him, recognized him. And so he calls to their attention the fact that he was cured. "Surely, anybody that can cure me after thirty-eight years of lameness must have some word of authority, and so He told me to take my bed and walk."