Context No. 3168 of 4322 · Matthew

Matthew 24:36-44: in context

36“But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37As the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, 39and they didn’t know until the flood came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left. 42Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes. 43But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.

No one knows the day or hour of his coming, Jesus says, not even the angels of heaven, but only the Father. As in the days of Noah, people were eating and drinking, marrying, entirely unaware, until the flood came and swept them all away; so will his coming be. Two will be in the field, one taken and one left. Therefore watch, for you do not know the hour, and be ready, for the Son of Man comes when you do not expect.

The weight falls on watchfulness, precisely because the timing is unknown. Jesus deliberately says no one knows the day, only the Father, which should end all date-setting. And the danger in Noah's day, in this example, was not gross wickedness but ordinary distraction, eating, drinking, marrying, oblivious to what was coming. The call is not to anxious calculation but to constant readiness: live now as those who expect the Master, so that whenever he comes, we are found ready. Watchfulness is not knowing when, but living always as though it could be now.

Am I living in constant readiness for Christ's return, or lulled into distraction by ordinary life, forgetting he comes at an hour I do not expect?

Sources

Matthew 24:42: "Watch therefore, for you don't know in what hour your Lord comes."
Matthew 24:44: "Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don't expect, the Son of Man will come."
1 Thessalonians 5:2: "The day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night."