John 9:4

John 9:4. We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no one can work. The substitution of ‘we' for ‘I' (a change supported by the best evidence) lends peculiar force and beauty to the verse. Jesus associates His disciples with Himself: like Himself they have a calling which must not be disobeyed, to work the works of God; for them, as for Himself, the period of such action will not always last. He does not say ‘Him that sent us,' for it is the Son who sends His disciples, even as the Father sends the Son (chap. John 20:21). ‘Day' seems to be used here simply to denote the time during which the working assigned to Jesus and His people in this world can be performed: ‘night,' the time when the working is impossible. In a proverbial saying of this kind the words must not be pressed too far. It is true that the Lord Jesus continues to work by His Spirit, and through His servants, though the ‘day' of which He here speaks soon reached its close. But the work He intends is such work as is appointed for the ‘day,' whether to Himself or to His people. As joined with the verses which precede, this saying could not but come to the disciples as a reminder that not idle speculation but work for God was the duty they must fulfil.