B ut the religious institution perverts the law regarding Sabbath observance. Rather than a time of rest and devotion to the God who gives the law, the religious teaching requires that the Sabbath be turned into a zealous exercise of avoiding work. The act of avoiding work becomes work. I am told that in Israel today all elevators are set to stop on every floor on the Sabbath. Otherwise, persons would have to use the stairs because pushing an elevator button is work.
Healing is considered work.
Of course, if some one is acutely ill, then the practitioner is allowed act. But in the case of chronic illness the healing should be postponed out of respect for the law. When Jesus enters the scene, he refuses to play the game. He certainly was not nice. This woman had suffered for eighteen years.