John 5:10-18

"On the day which this took place (healing the lame man by the pool,) was the Sabbath, and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, 'It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.'
But he replied, 'The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'
So they asked him, 'Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?'
The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, 'See, you are well again. Stop sinning OR something worse may happen to you.' The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said to them, 'My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.' For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God."

3 Points to Ponder

The Jewish "sacred rules" became their stumbling blocks. They were outraged about the violation (according to their rules) of the Sabbath, rather than rejoicing about the miraculous healing of a man who had been stricken for 38 years!!!

The Jews were obedient to a fault! It appears from my viewpoint that they lacked love and compassion for individuals in their attempt to be pleasing to God in every way. But God is love. Our greatest commandments are to love God and love each other.

Of course this was all part of God's plan, and now the persecution begins for Jesus. As long as he is doing miracles he was harmless! When Jesus began to speak, calling God his Father, and calling himself equal with God, he stirred the bees nest. The Jews had 2 choices, to either believe him or to accuse him of blasphemy. They chose the 2nd!