Jesus Knew the Work to be Done

JESUS KNEW THE WORK TO BE DONE

By Rev. Robert P. Elkins
All Scripture verse taken from the NIV Bible unless otherwise noted

“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day; then night is coming when no one can work.” John 9:4 NKJ

If you know me at all you know that most of the time I use the NIV Bible. But for today’s reading I’ll be using the New King James, I feel it makes more sense or is easier to interpret looking to the direction I want to take you on this journey through God’s word. The NIV translates this verse as “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me” and although later I will be talking about “we” as in you and I, for now I want to direct our attention to, at least in my mind, what makes more sense. And that is as if we are hearing Jesus say this words and he is talking about himself and what he is supposed to be doing at this particular time in history.

To give us a little background as to what was happening at the time these words of our Lord were uttered, Jesus was talking to a group of his disciples, these were the people that traveled with him and knew him in a little more intimate light than most. And so this group; this gathering of the disciples of Jesus are with him and they are asking him questions. I’m sure that happened a lot when they were together. Jesus was constantly doing things and saying things that were contrary to the thoughts and customs of the day and time in which they lived. And I have little doubt that he was questioned often as to what he meant when he said some of his more controversial statements. Now the response that Jesus gives his followers to their questions may have been construed by the translators of the NIV to be instruction as to what Jesus expected his followers to be doing, thus the use of the word “we” in there translation. It could also have been a more personal “I” focusing the attention more upon him than on the group of followers as we see in the New King James adaptation.

My purpose is not to start any great debate as to which translation of the Bible we are to be using. My advice to you is to go with whatever you have been using and are comfortable with. Go with whatever your personal preference is after seeking the Lords wisdom and the guidance of his Holy Spirit and feel comfortable in that decision. I personally will continue to use the NIV in conjunction with the use of several other different translations as well. When I am doing my studies it is not uncommon to find me using at least three different translations at the same time, usually the NIV, the KJV and either the Revised Standard or the Amplified Bible. Or even all four, I find that looking at a Scripture verse in more than one translation gives me a clearer understanding of what the verse has to say to me.

This is a relatively short verse, only 23 words, but what I would like to do is break this verse into three divisions and do an exegesis or to exemplify what this passage is saying to us the hearer of this word today.
Point number 1. Jesus said, “I must work the works”. Notice that to Jesus, doing the work is not an option. He didn’t say “if I feel like it" or “if the Spirit moves me”. Jesus didn’t say, “I’ll do it when I get around to it” or “I’ll do it a little later”. What he did say is very much to the point. “I must work”.

So here we have Jesus, in all his Deity and yet in human form, a theophany if you will and yet he knows that he has a job that needs to be done. Jesus knows that he is the one that needs to do it; of this he has no question. Jesus knows that he “must” do it. Jesus knows that this is his personal obligation and that this obligation has been delegated to him by his Father in heaven. Now we would think that as God, Jesus could work at his own pace or at his leisure. If a task was to be done and more time was needed then he could just say a word and more time would be created. By saying the word, more time would be created in the clock of all creation and his word would reset that clock back to wherever he desired it to be. My friends, there is a lesson to be learned from this. Jesus never flaunted his authority! Jesus never misused his powers, and he did (and still does) have powers over all things in the heavens and on the earth. Remember at the time of his arrest Jesus said that should he desire, he could call down legions of angels to assist him. Jesus was always the example setter of his day for the followers that flocked after him. And thanks to the unction of the Holy Spirit, he inspired men to record the words and actions of Jesus so that for countless generations later Jesus is still the example setter to all mankind.

The words of Jesus show a sense of urgency about them. “I must work”. He’s saying that he must work because the time is short and the work must be done, and not only does it need to be done, it needs to be done now! Jesus is saying that there’s no time to waste, the opportunity is now and now is the time to work.

Many of us today take a very casual approach to work. “If I get it done today, well that’s good. But if I don’t get it done until tomorrow, well that’s okay as well”. Beloved this is not the agenda Jesus followed while he was here on earth. When Jesus said, “I must work” his statement showed urgency, his statement said that there was much to be done and that he carried about the responsibility to get that work completed. “I must work”. A bold and forceful statement to be sure, full of power and conviction. “I must work”; there’s no time like the present to do this. “I must work”, Jesus knew that once a minute or even a second had passed it was gone forever, never to return.

How many here should you see a car cash or a child fall into a pond or swimming pool would do nothing at all and look the other way? I would dare say that hopefully none of us would react by not reacting. I would pray that none of us would react in a careless or callus manner but would leap to the task and do whatever we could to help. Even if all we could do was call for assistance. I would think that everyone would assist the person in the car accident or the child in the water if at all possible. That Jesus’ “I must work” mentality would kick in and we would respond in some form or fashion. If we didn’t I’d venture to say that there would be something terribly amiss in that person.

“I must work!” Jesus isn’t passing the buck to another; he isn’t saying that he is above getting involved and getting his hands dirty. He’s saying that if there is work to be done, then he’s the one to do it. In working for the kingdom of God there will always be an abundance of work to be done until Christ returns. The work is never ending but the time allowed is, there is a duration of time known only to the Father and each of us needs to be willing to have the mindset of our Lord and say “I must work!” And a part of that mindset needs to know and acknowledge that we are working for the glory of God and not our own glory.

Point number 2. “I must work the works of him who sent me.” Jesus knew and understood the driving force that mandated why he must work.

Jesus wasn’t working for his own glory. He didn’t do works to make himself look good to the disciples or his other followers. Jesus didn’t work for a title or a lofty position; he didn’t work for a paycheck or the admiration of those around him. The work Jesus did was the work of the Father who sent him. Jesus wasn’t following his own agenda, he wasn’t trying to line up his own line of followers, the twelve disciples he enlisted and spent hours upon hours of time in training wasn’t done to bring glory to Jesus himself. It was time well spent to bring about glory to the Father in heaven! Jesus knew who sent him and why he was sent. Jesus knew who sent him and what the objective was, he knew his mission and the heart of his sender, and Jesus knew the Father. Jesus knew what was needed to bring the world salvation and the message about the kingdom of God the Father and he knew he was to give all glory to the Father retaining no glory for himself. Jesus’ personal agenda in all things was to have no personal agenda in anything, total giving in a world of total self-seeking. Not only was this a new concept for that day, but a new concept for today as well. Church, we need to learn from the works of Jesus Christ. There’s a lesson to be learned not only from every word Jesus said but also for every action he ever did!

How much time does the church of Jesus Christ spend today chasing after shallow and self-serving objectives? There are many people in the church of Jesus Christ today, as in years gone by, who are working long and hard hours and they don’t have a clue as to what or why the real reason is or should be for what they are doing. Their mindset is “Look at me! Look at all I’ve done. Look at all I’ve accomplished. Look at me! Look at me! I’m over here working; now I’m over here working. Look at me, look at me!” There are many people in the church of Jesus Christ who are working towards the goal of obtaining their own salvation. Working through their own labors, working to gain something that has already been bought with a price and freely given yet they don’t even recognize that it’s theirs for the asking. They can’t accept the fact that the grace of God is freely given to all who ask and they need not do a thing other than ask and receive this beautiful gift. They can’t seem to grasp the fact that works should be the fruit gained after we’ve experienced the grace of God, not the means by which we gain it! The jailer said; “What must I do to be saved?” The answer was “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.” For that jailer there were no strings attached to obtain his desire. There was nothing for him to do but believe.

My friend it hasn’t changed, the requirements are the same today as they were then. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ! Our works can’t buy salvation, our labors aren’t needed. If it didn’t come freely it wouldn’t be a gift it would be a reward. If it didn’t come freely it wouldn’t be a gift; it would be recompense. When we go to work and put in our time the paycheck we receive at the end of the week isn’t a gift given, it’s the just compensation for our labors. The paycheck we receive is the results of a negotiated agreement between our employer and us; it’s not a gift. A gift is when we do nothing and still receive remuneration. Then its grace freely given!

Make no mistake my friend. The church needs many workers, there is still much to be done. There are many people that need to be reached with the soul saving message of the Gospel. But we each individually need to look deep down in our heart to see just what our source of motivation is. We need to be asking ourselves the question, “what am I seeking to gain from my labors”? If we are looking to gain praise from others or a reserved parking space in the lot outside then we need to reconsider what we are doing and what our motivation is.

“I must work the works of him that sent me”. There is no selfishness in the words of Jesus. There is no hidden agenda, Jesus knew the mission he had been sent to do, and he knew he was sent to be a servant. A strange title for the King above all kings but he gladly accepted the role of a servant and never once complained. The Son of God, the King of kings, and yet he was a servant. That my friend is the personification of humility, what a lesson to be learned! There is beauty in this lesson and there is beauty to be seen in all who learn and follow. Can you see the lesson church? Can you see the beauty in this portrait of words and wisdom? I would that you absorb this lesson down to the very core of every fiber in your being. Were we to do this what a glorious church we would be!

Jesus is the Royal Servant. He is the King of kings. And yet his attitude is still the same today as it was when he walked the dusty streets of Jerusalem. Should we call upon him now this instant he will still respond as the Servant of man working as the intercessor between man and Father God. We must remember that the same Jesus, who said, “I must work the works of him who sent me” is also the Jesus that said, “No one comes to the Father except through me”. These two sentences go hand in hand. While on the earth the daily task of Jesus was to be the servant of men and women, ministering to them as only God could do. Now although in the heavenly places, Jesus still ministers to us as the servant through our prayers, he is working for us by interceding on our behalf before the Father. Our prayers rise to the ear of Jesus who hears every word and knows the intention of our hearts and he then presents them to the Father. So when we pray we should have the heart and mindset of Jesus while he ministered here on this earth. Our thoughts should be “I must work the works of him that sent me” and pursue the task in all sincerity while giving the glory to God. We need to know the direction the Father would have us go rather than plowing ahead under our own steam, working long and hard hours to obtain a goal that has its lead in futile misdirection.

So often within the church of Jesus Christ there are many who feel that their life’s work is to criticize and judge the works of others. They find fault with everything and voice their opinion on a regular basis producing sour grapes but seldom producing any good fruit. Within the church we hear the voices planting seeds of discord on a regular basis, “I don’t like the way they did that! If I were doing it I would have done it totally different and so much better! If I had done that it would have looked a lot nicer. I guess what they did is okay … but.” That my friend is not going about doing the work of him who sent us. What that is, is actually undermining the work of the ones that are trying to do the work of him who sent us. What the real workers are trying to build for God the false workers are trying to tear it down.

If we look in the book of Nehemiah in the fourth chapter we see Nehemiah has returned to Jerusalem after being in exile. The Lord had placed a burden upon his heart to rebuild the walls of the city because a wall around a city meant protection for the people that lived there. Nehemiah gathers the people together; assigns groups of dedicated workers to each work on a section of the wall, that way everyone has a hand in the repairs and they can all share in the experience. He gets Eliashib, the high priest to dedicate the project and they start in the rebuilding process. And just like any good project, once the work is started here comes the negative Nellies. There is always a negative Nelly in the group. We see one group, the hard workers giving it their all and all but we also see the negative ones in the mix as well. . Listen to the words of Tobiah and Sanballat, two of the negative Nelly’s. (Nehemiah 4:1-3) “1 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 2 and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?"
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, "What they are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!” Real words of encouragement don’t you think? While the real workers are doing the best they can the complainers are saying that even a little fox could knock their work apart. A little later in the same chapter we hear the negative words ring out again. “Before they know it or see us we will be right there among them and well will kill them and put an end to their work.” We can see the biblical principle here, there are going to be workers who are actively seeking to do the will of God and there are those whose only mission is to criticize and tear down. But have no fear, if we were to read the rest of Nehemiah’s story we would see that the wall was completed and the negative Nellie’s were frustrated, all of their negative efforts were for nothing.

Then of course there is another group who although they aren’t the complainers they aren’t the workers either. This is the group that will expend a great amount of effort and energy in avoiding working at all. “I don’t have the time to help you. I don’t have the education to do that. I don’t have the resources. I’ve never been trained for that. I don’t have the right clothes, my car isn’t good enough, my house is a mess, I’m to young or I’m to old. I firmly agree that something needs to be done but don’t look at me to be the one to do it. I’m to much this or to much that, I’ve always got an excuse!”

While reading the works of Charles Spurgeon, the great evangelist of the late 1800’s and my source of influence for this and many of my sermons and teachings I came across a quote that I think fits this situation quite well. Brother Spurgeon said; “Either be a Christian or give up being called a Christian!” I think that sums it up fairly well, either led or follow but for heavens sake don’t just stand in the way!

Rather than lining up a list of excuses why we can’t do the works of him who sent us, we need to be making up a list of all the things that we are capable of doing and then working from that list. Rather than making a list of negatives make a list of positives and if there are only two items on our positive list then use them both and praise God for them. “I may not be the best public speaker but I can pass out tracts, I can visit the elderly or the shut in. I can bake a batch of cookies or cook a meal. I can listen when someone needs to talk. I can send a card of encouragement or lift a down trodden spirit with a letter of hope. I can make a phone call, offer a cup of tea or just let you cry and I’ll hold you. I can teach a Sunday school class, host a prayer meeting, start a Bible study, assist financially, offer a ride, or just simply pray. I may not be able to do a lot but I know that I can do something!”

Young, old or in between, it doesn’t matter. Rich or poor or anyplace in the middle, it doesn’t matter. Good health or poor health it really doesn’t matter. I once read a story about a missionary that was going to go into the mission fields. He had a wife who did nothing but nag and complain and did everything she could to bring him down but he had a sister that was a prayer warrior. And with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the determination of the man and the prayers of his sister he had a very successful ministry. The sister, she never saw her brother’s ministry field because she was confined to bed, constantly sick and crippled over but she still prayed daily for her brother and the ministry God had called him to. You see my friends regardless of our situation, regardless of our circumstances, regardless of our health, wealth, age, nationality or gender. All of us are capable of doing something; all of us are capable of doing the works of him who sent us. My advice to you this day, pray for the discernment of the Holy Spirit so that we may know the will of the Father and have his revelation to guide us to the work he's called us to do. And when the Lord calls… listen with an open ear. Follow his direction and give God the glory for what takes place. “I must work the works of him who sent me.” Here the NIV really fits in nicely. “As long as it is day, we must do the work, of him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work.”

Point number 3. Actually this segment can be divided into two parts as 3a and 3b. In 3a Jesus says according to the NKJ, “while it is day” or in the NIV, “as long as it is day”. “I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day.” And no, Jesus isn’t saying that we can skip the mid-week evening service because we only need to attend day things! The implication here is that we need to be doing our work now while there is still time. We need not be procrastinating and making excuses. Jesus is telling us that there is no time better than the present to do the work we have been called to do, to do the work of God. My friends the time is coming to a close rapidly and before we know it we are going to hear that trumpet blow and the King of Glory is going to appear in the skies. We need to get the mindset that says treat every day like there is no tomorrow.

I’m sure I’m not the only one to have had this experience. The opportunity is placed before me to witness to someone and for one reason or another I’ve not done it or put it off thinking “I’ll have to witness to them the next time. For sure the next time we are together I’ll tell them about the saving grace of Jesus and introduce them to our Lord.” And then through some set of circumstances we come to find out that for that person there won’t be anymore tomorrows. All of their tomorrows have come to an end and we have missed the time to witness.

In my life I’ve had two good friends that have by their own hand ended their life. And there has been several whose life was ended by accident or illness when I mistakenly thought there was ample time to talk to them about Jesus. Try to think of how we would feel if for some reason we said “I must work the works of him who sent me but I’ll do it tomorrow” and the person we wanted to talk to about God’s gift of salvation and grace never got to hear that message. Try to think how you would feel if the person you wanted to talk to didn’t have another tomorrow and all of their tomorrows came to an end today. My friend; don’t allow your conscience to have to experience this kind of sorrow. In the book of Ecclesiastes Solomon says; “For who knows what is good for a man in his life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?” We may get only one opportunity to be a witness for our Lord Jesus Christ. Grab that opportunity and make the best of it. That person may never pass by your door again.

3b. “The night is coming when no one can work”. I believe what Jesus is saying here is that there is a time coming when we will no longer be able to be a witness to others because we don’t know how much time is left in our lives as well. None of us know with any certainty if there is going to be another tomorrow in our life! It’s not only the other person whose life is like grass that withers and is blown away, it’s all life, it’s mine, theirs and yours. I can’t promise you today that all of us will be here tomorrow. I can’t promise you today that I’ll be here tomorrow! My last breath of life could come before I finish this message. It’s all in the hands of the Lord. I may do things that influence the duration of my life or I may do things that speed up its demise. I can follow proper eating habits, which is a real problem for me because of my love of good cooking. I can follow the advice of my family doctor and hope that she’s correct in what she says. But then again I also have the option to live the life of a fool and do whatever I want regardless of the consequences and take as many chances as I want. But in the final analyses … only God knows the time of my demise.

I would dare to say that if it were different all of us would lead a far different life style. If we knew without a shadow of a doubt that on the 5th of December in the year of whatever our life was going to come to an end we would be far more attentive to the things that really matter. Our language would change; we would dearly guard our every word knowing that final judgment was nigh. We would spend more time hugging our children or more time in the company of our spouse. We would spend more time with our Lord and less time chasing the almighty dollar. Precious moments would last longer and memories would burn deeper in our hearts. If in exact certainty the moment of our death were known in advance our lives would be oh so different.

And that my friend is what our Lord is telling us in this reading. “The night is coming when no one can work.” None of us here know the hour or the minute when our night is due to arrive but arrive it will at some time. “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day.” As before stated, I can’t make a promise to myself or any of us here that there is a tomorrow in our lives because we don’t know when the night will come and no one can work, night may fall in an instant without warning or any call of alarm. We live in world of very few absolutes. What was absolute yesterday or today may not be absolute tomorrow. Certain illnesses of yesterday that would have absolutely killed us have been conquered by modern medicine. Facts and figures in the world of science that were absolute yesterday no longer hold that position. The absolute fastest a plane could go in 1930 was almost two thousand miles per hour slower than the F4 Phantom went in 1970. And the Raptor is almost twice as fast as the Phantom was. At one time the absolute highest a man could go was the height of the highest point on the earth, Mt. Everest. Now man routinely goes thousands of miles above the earth in space orbit. And even in that there is still no absolute, we are looking to go even further. I still haven’t figured out why.

But there is one promise I can make to you that will never be broken, there is one absolute that will never change. This promise; this absolute, lives within the word of God. Jesus said “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” And that my friend is absolute, that will never change! The Bible tells us that Jesus is the same today as he was yesterday and he will be the same tomorrow. There can be no question about this fact, it is absolute. Jesus also said the he was going to return to gather his bride to himself. That is absolute. It’s a promise that can’t be broken.

“I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work”. Jesus knew that he must work while it was day, while there was time because he also knew that his time was already predestined to come to an end. Jesus knew that the Father had given him a commission and it was his duty to fulfill that commission. My friends; the Father has given us the same commission. We must work the works of him that sent us while it is day. There is much work to be done and the night is rapidly approaching and a time when all work will end. Join with me now and let us all work the works of him that sent us. The day is still with us and the night hasn’t arrived yet and no one knows when it will. Time is of an essence; make wise use of what time we have left.

Grace & peace