Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath, perhaps intentionally to accomplish His purposes, and thus broke the Sabbath law in at least 3 ways:

1. Working on the Sabbath = Jesus made clay which was work, even the simplest acts of which were forbidden. Barclay gives some examples: “A man may not fill a dish with oil and put it beside a lamp and put the end of the wick in it.” “If a man extinguishes a lamp on the Sabbath to spare the lamp or the oil or the wick, he is culpable.” “A man may not go out on the Sabbath with sandals shod with nails.” (The weight of the nails would have been a burden, which was illegal to carry on that day.) Also, it was forbidden to cut finger nails or even to look in a mirror (If one looked in a mirror, a white hair may be seen and thus pulled which would be work.)
2. Healing on the Sabbath = It was illegal to give medical attention to anyone unless their life was in danger, and only to the extent that it would keep them from getting worse; it was forbidden to make them better on the Sabbath. For example, “If a man’s hand or foot is dislocated he may not pour cold water over it” because the cold water could help heal the sprain. (qt’d by Barclay) It was forbidden to set a broken bone on the Sabbath or to suck vinegar through the teeth to alleviate the pain of toothache. None of these things were life-threatening.
3. Using saliva to heal = specifically, the law stated, “As to fasting spittle, it is not lawful to put it   so much as upon the eyelids.” (T. Hieros. Sabbat, fol. 14. 4. & Avoda Zara, fol. 40. 4. & T. Bab. Sabbat, fol 108. 2. & Maimon. Hilchot Sabbat, c. 21. sect. 25.)

The Pharisees were trying to honor God by these petty rules and regulations. Their motive, in this sense, was good, but they thought that their way of honoring God was the only way, when in reality, it wasn’t the right way at all. It is good to honor God. These strange rules came from God’s order to honor Him by honoring the Sabbath, but His purpose for not doing work was to enable men to have time to spend with Him in fellowship, not to have a list of do’s and don’ts by which they may gain His favor!

What strange rules do we follow? (An example may be the requirement to wear a suit and tie to serve in your church. Can you think of others?) Do they have a legitimate basis?