Therefore he chose the Sabbath for this special work. He selected the worst case among the afflicted ones at the pool of Bethesda upon whom to exercise his miraculous healing power, and bade him carry his bed through the city in order to publish the great work that had been wrought upon him, to call the attention of the people to his case, to the circumstances attending his cure, and to Him by whom it had been accomplished. This would raise the question of what it was lawful to do on the Sabbath day, and would give him an opportunity to denounce the narrow prejudice and restrictions of the Jews in regard to the Lord’s day, and declare their bigotry and traditions void. {2SP 162.1} Jesus stated to them that the work of relieving the sufferings of the afflicted was in harmony with the Sabbath law, whether it was relative to the salvation of souls or the removal of physical pain. Such work was in harmony with that of God’s angels, who were ever descending and ascending between Heaven and earth to minister to suffering humanity. Jesus answered their accusations by declaring, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” All days are God’s, in which to carry out his great plans for the human race. If the Jews’ interpretation of the law was correct, then Jehovah was at fault, whose work had upheld and quickened creation since first he laid the foundations of the earth, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. He who pronounced his work good, and established the institution of the Sabbath to commemorate its completion, must put a period to his labor, and stop the never-ending routine of the universe. {2SP 162.2}

Derfor valgte han sabbaten til denne specielle gerning. Han valgte også den elendigste blandt de syge ved Bethesdas dam for at vise sin underfulde helbredene kraft på ham, og han bød ham at bære sengen gennem staden for at kundgøre det store værk, som var udført for ham og drage folkets opmærksomhed til ham, thi de omstændigheder, som fulgte med hans helbredelses, og til den, som havde udført den. Derved ville de spørgsmål komme frem, hvad der var lovligt og ikke lovligt at gøre på sabbatsdagen, og dette ville give ham en anledning til at skaffe jødernes snævre fordomme og indskrænkninger med hensyn til Herrens dag og at vise, hvor værdiløst deres hykleri og menneskebud var. Jesus forsikrede dem, at det var i harmoni med sabbats budet at hjælpe dem, som led og var besværede, enten det var med hensyn til sjælens frelse eller til at afhjælpe legemlig smerte. Et sådandt værk glædede Guds engle, som altid steg ned og op mellem himlen og jorden for at tjene medlidende mennesker. Jesus svarede på deres anklage, idet hans sagde: "Min Fader arbejder indtil nu, også jeg arbejder." (Joh 5,17) Alle dage tilhører Guds og er til, for at frelsens store plan kan udføres for menneskene. Dersom jødernes fortolkning af loven var ret, så var Jehovas fortolkning fejl; (163) thi han havde ved sin kraft opholdt skabningen og givet den liv, siden han først grundlagde jorden, "Medens mogenstjerne jubled til hobe, og alle Guds sønner råbte af glæde." (Job 38,7) Den, som havde erklæret, at hans gerning var såre god, og indstiftet sabbaten til en ihukommelse om skabelsen, ophører aldrig med sit arbejde eller standser kloderne på sine baner.