Jesus said, “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4). There is some disagreement among scholars as to the precise application of this scripture. Some of them regard it as relating solely to the person of Jesus himself. He is saying, “I must be about the work the Father has sent me to do because my time remaining on earth is short.” This, of course, was true. Other scholars believe there is a wider application of the verse. When considering the phrase “night is coming, when no one can work” the interpretation becomes, “there is coming a time on the earth when the darkness is so great that the servants of Christ will be unable to do the work of the Father.” Therefore, we must be about the Father’s work quickly and diligently. In either case, the work is great, the time is short, and the responsibility is grave.
A further consideration is recorded in Isaiah 5:14.“Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.” Hell has an insatiable appetite and is constantly expanding to accommodate all who are swallowed up by sin and death. This corresponds with Matthew 7:13-14.“Go in through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are the ones entering in through it. For narrow is the gate, and constricted is the way that leads away into life, and few are the ones finding it.” If the habitation of the lost requires constant expansion and the pathway to eternal life is narrow and few find it, then all servants of God must recognize their responsibility and capitalize on every opportunity. We have the opportunity to do the work of God now, but that opportunity is limited. It may be that the night is coming when the darkness will be so great that God’s servants cannot work. But it is true that each person has a limited time on the earth and we must complete the works that God has given us in that lifetime.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matt 28:19-20.
R Swenson
STAR MISSIONS: Establishing The light of God in Darkness 