This passage is often misinterpreted as Jesus nullifying the Sabbath commandment or permitting unrestricted labor on the Sabbath day, ignoring that he was clarifying the Sabbath's true purpose for works of necessity, mercy, and divine prerogative rather than abolishing it; others wrongly assume it means God never truly rests as in Genesis, overlooking the distinction between God's creative rest and his ongoing providential works, or use it to dismiss Sabbath observance entirely in favor of casual disregard for holy rest.
John 5:17
King James Version (1769)
17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
Jesus defends his Sabbath healing by declaring that his Father God continuously works even on the Sabbath, performing acts of sustaining creation and showing mercy, and that he does the same, thereby claiming equality with God in divine authority and ongoing redemptive work, which underscores his identity as the Son of God sharing the Father's ceaseless activity of grace and providence.