John 9:4 — Community Reflections

JOHN 9:4 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”

I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work — Jesus establishes the necessity ('I must') of working the works the Father has sent him to do. The image of 'day' and 'night' (nyx) suggests the limited time of Jesus's ministry and the urgency of redemptive action. 'While it is day'—the time of Jesus's earthly ministry is the time for God's works. 'The night cometh, when no man can work'—once Jesus is gone, the opportunity for his direct miraculous ministry is ended. This creates urgency: the healing must happen now, in the day.

Church Fathers on John 9:4

The Jews having rejected Christ’s words, because of their depth, He went out of the temple, and healed the blind man; that His absence might appease their fury, and the miracle soften their hard hearts, and convince their unbelief. And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man which was blind from his birth. It is to be remarked here that, on going out of the temple, He betook Himself intently to this manifestation of His power. He first saw the blind man, not the blind man Him: and…
Chrysostom · 4th century

Mystically, our Lord, after being banished from the minds of the Jews, passed over to the Gentiles. The passage or journey here is His descent from heaven to earth, where He saw the blind man, i.e. looked with compassion on the human race.
Bede · 8th century

For the blind man here is the human race. Blindness came upon the first man by reason of sin: and from him we all derive it: i.e. man is blind from his birth.
Augustine · 4th century

Read all 18 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

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