1750 | Matthew 24:36
The Day and Hour Unknown
24:37-39pp — Lk 17:26,27 24:45-51pp — Lk 12:42-46
36 “ But about that day or hour no one knows , not even the an gels in heaven , nor the Son , a but only the Fa ther . l 37 As it was in the days of Noah , m so it will be at the com ing of the Son of Man . 38 For in the days be fore the flood , peo ple were eat ing and drink ing , marrying and giving in marriage , n up to the day Noah en tered the ark ; 39 and they knew noth ing about what would hap pen un til the flood came and took them all away . That is how it will be at the com ing of the Son of Man . 40 Two men will be in the field ; one will be taken and the other left . o 41 Two women will be grind ing with a hand mill ; one will be taken and the other left . p
42 “ There fore keep watch , be cause you do not know on what day your Lord will come . q 43 But un der stand this : If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming , r he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be bro ken into . 44 So you also must be ready , s be cause the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not ex pect him .
45 “ Who then is the faith ful and wise ser vant , t whom the mas ter has put in charge of the ser vants in his house hold to give them their food at the proper time ? 46 It will be good for that ser vant whose mas ter finds him do ing so when he re turns . u 47 Truly I tell you , he will put him in charge of all his pos ses sions . v 48 But sup pose that ser vant is wicked and says to him self , ‘ My mas ter is stay ing away a long time ,’ 49 and he then be gins to beat his fel low ser vants and to eat and drink with drunk ards . w 50 The mas ter of that ser vant will come on a day when he does not ex pect him and at an hour he is not aware of . 51 He will cut him to pieces and as sign him a place with the hyp o crites , where there will be weep ing and gnash ing of teeth . x
24:36 l Ac 1:7 24:37 m Ge 6:5 ; 7:6‐23 24:38 n Mt 22:30 24:40 o Lk 17:34 24:41 p Lk 17:35
24:42 q Mt 25:13 ; Lk 12:40
24:43 r Lk 12:39 24:44 s 1Th 5:6 24:45 t Mt 25:21 , 23 24:46 u Rev 16:15 24:47 v Mt 25:21 , 23 24:49 w Lk 21:34 24:51 x Mt 8:12
25:1 y Mt 13:24 z Lk 12:35-38 ;
Ac 20:8 ; Rev 4:5 a Rev 19:7 ; 21:2
25:2 b Mt 24:45 25:5 c 1Th 5:6 25:8 d Lk 12:35
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25 “ At that time the king dom of heaven will be like y ten vir gins who took their lamps z
and went out to meet the bride groom . a 2 Five of them were fool ish and five were wise . b 3 The fool ish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them . 4 The wise ones , how ever , took oil in jars along with their lamps . 5 The bride groom was a long time in com ing , and they all be came drowsy and fell asleep . c 6 “ At mid night the cry rang out : ‘ Here ’ s the bride groom ! Come out to meet him !’ 7 “ Then all the vir gins woke up and trimmed their lamps . 8 The fool ish ones said to the wise , ‘ Give us some of your oil ; our lamps are go ing out .’ d
9 “ ‘ No ,’ they re plied , ‘ there may not be enough for both us and you . In stead , go to those who sell oil and buy some for your selves .’
a 36 Some manuscripts do not have nor the Son .
certain than even the present universe , which must give way one day to a new heaven and earth . 24:36 that day or hour . Does not mean that people should try to predict the month , year , generation , century , or millennium ! After all , Acts 1:7 uses the broadest terms in Greek for “ times or dates ” when Jesus says his followers will not know when the kingdom will be restored to Israel , i . e ., when the remaining OT prophecies that will accompany his return will be fulfilled . 24:37 – 41 Indeed , for unbelievers ( or believers not living with alert faithfulness ), the end will come as a complete surprise , just as the flood did for the people who paid no attention to Noah building the ark ( Gen 6 – 7 ). The rising water “ took them all away ” ( v . 39 ), i . e ., they perished in God ’ s judgment on the earth . The imagery , therefore , of two men in a field and two women grinding with a hand mill , in which one will in each case be taken and the other left ( vv . 40 – 41 ), also suggests that the one taken away will be judged . Thus there does not appear to be any secret rapture of believers taken away from the earth in this passage . 24:42 do not know . Jesus repeats the point from v . 36 ( see note there ) that no one can know when he will return . His followers , however , must always be prepared and alert . 24:43 — 25:46 Jesus ’ sermon concludes with a series of parables that reinforce the need for faithful service for however long or short the interval before Christ ’ s second coming . 24:43 – 44 Christ likens himself to a burglar , not in that he comes to steal something , but in terms of the surprise factor . Just as wise homeowners never leave their houses unprotected , Jesus ’ followers should never stop being ready for his return . 24:45 – 51 The Parable of the Faithful and Wise Servant . “ The faithful and wise servant ” ( v . 45 ) is the slave put in charge of the other slaves during his master ’ s absence . Faithful performance of the tasks delegated to him may lead to his becoming the manager over the entire estate ( vv . 45 – 47 ). Disorderly and abusive conduct , however , may be interrupted by the master returning home earlier than expected and severely punishing the slave ( vv . 48 – 51 ). At the spiritual level , this parable refers to heaven and hell as the destinies of the two kinds of servants .
25:1 – 13 The Parable of the Ten Virgins . In the previous two parables , the figure representing Christ ( or God ) arrives at a time that surprises the owner of the house ( 24:43 – 44 ) and arrives early ( 24:45 – 51 ). In this parable Jesus arrives surprisingly late . Jesus covers all possible options . Christians really must stop pretending to know or trying to predict when Jesus will return . 25:1 – 5 In an ancient Israelite village wedding , the father of the groom would negotiate the price of the bride ’ s dowry at the bride ’ s parents ’ home . Then the couple would proceed through the streets , accompanied by the wedding party , to the groom ’ s parents ’ home , where the festivities would be completed . 25:1 virgins . Bridesmaids . lamps . Oil-lit lamps to light the way for the procession . Because they may need to wait awhile before the bridegroom emerges from the bride ’ s home , they need a good supply of extra oil . 25:6 – 9 In this case , the bridegroom seems to have been considerably delayed . The young women who did not bring extra oil realize , when they trim the wicks of their lamps , that they have already used up all their oil . They ask those with extra to share with them , but the other bridesmaids do not have enough for everyone . At a real wedding , traders would have remained available precisely for last minute provisions like this on the night of a wedding .