Work?

Today I have been reading about Jesus healing many on the Sabbath.  It seems so sad that instead of be glad for those who were healed, the Pharisees were upset about work being done on the Sabbath.  Their definition of work was so strict!   The healed man who lifted his mat was chastised.  The hungry disciples who grabbed an ear of corn were chastised.   Jesus Himself was chastised for doing the work of healing.   I wonder if the man who could carry his own mat for the first time thought of it as work or joy.   I doubt the disciples thought picking an ear of corn was work when they were hungry.  I wonder if Jesus thought of His healing others as work.   Yes, all of these things require effort, but so does getting out of bed on a Sunday morning.
I can see where the Pharisees were coming from, though.   It's easier to declare any lifting of the finger as work and unlawful than it is to differentiate between heavy labor and joy filled effort.  It feels like splitting hairs to say one thing is okay, and the other is not.   One could split a hair wrongly.   I imagine that without a Savior, making such a mistake is a fearful thing.  So sad that they did not recognize the Savior.