Matthew 24:36-44, No One Knows that Day and Hour

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left.41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Comments

Jesus deliberately changes the subject from the destruction of the temple to the parousia, his second coming. Yet only the Father knows when this will be. If any person has figured it out, run away from them! If Jesus does not know the time and day, then that person is making it up. People will be caught unaware because they have taken their eye off Jesus. It is possible to be ready for the parousia, not by calculating the date, but by being prepared like Noah in response to God’s warnings.

The word “taken” implies to take someone to be with you, and therefore here points to the salvation rather than the destruction of the taken one. The point Jesus makes is the sharp division which the parousia will entail, recalling the separation of the wheat and the weeds, the good fish and the bad fish. Like the thief, the Son of Man does not announce his time of arrival. Therefore, we should be ready and not unprepared.

Prayer

Bring us, O Lord, at our last awaking

into the house and gate of heaven,

to enter into that gate and swell in that house

where shall be no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light;

no noise nor silence, but one equal music;

no fears nor hopes, but one equal possession;

no ends nor beginnings, but one equal eternity

in the habitations of your glory and dominion,

world without end.

(John Donne, 1573-1631)