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But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
“As the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. For 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, and they didn’t know until the flood came, and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Matthew 24:36-39 sits inside this longer paragraph.
“Now from the fig tree learn this parable. When its branch has now become tender, and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near. Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away, until all these things are accomplished. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
“As the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. For 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, and they didn’t know until the flood came, and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left. Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes. But 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. Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.
But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
“As the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
For 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,
and they didn’t know until the flood came, and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
But of that daye and houre knowith no man no not the angels of heven but my father only.
As the tyme of Noe was so lyke wyse shall the cominge of the sonne of man be.
For as in the dayes before the floud: they dyd eate and drynke mary and were maried even vnto the daye that Noe entred into the shyppe
and knewe of nothynge tyll the floude came and toke them all awaye. So shall also the commynge of the sonne of man be.
But of that day and houre knoweth no man, no not the Angels of heauen, but my father only.
But as the dayes of Noe were, so likewise shall the comming of the Sonne of man be.
For as in the dayes before the flood, they did eate and drinke, marrie, and giue in mariage, vnto the day that Noe entred into the Arke,
And knewe nothing, till the flood came, and tooke them all away, so shall also the comming of the Sonne of man be.
Historical claims about the natural world, weighed against the scientific record.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv36, 38 It is sufficient for us to know that God…
It is sufficient for us to know that God hath appointed a latter day for the restoring of all things, but when it shall be, it is hidden from us all, for our profit, that we may be so much the more watchful, that we be not taken as they were in old time in the flood.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv36–39 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no…
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Ver. 36. But of that day and hour knoweth no man] That the Lord will come it is certo certius, not more sure, than what time he will come is to us most uncertain. Various guesses have been given about it by both ancient and modern writers; most of which time hath already refuted. In the year of grace 1533 there was one that foolishly foretold that the day of judgment should happen in October next ensuing. And this he gathered out of these words, Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum. Likewise out of these, Videbunt in quem transfixerunt; the numerals of the former point to the year 1532, of the latter to 1533. Others there are who place the end of the world upon the year 1657. And for proof they make use of this chronogram, MVnDI Conf Lagrat Io; and further allege that the general deluge occured in the year of the world’s creation, 1657. The end of the world, saith another, will be in the year of Christ 1688, three jubilees and a half (or thereabouts) after the reformation of religion by Luther, &c. Joachimus Abbas had long since set the year 1258; Arnoldus de Villa Novo, the year 1345; Michael Stiphelius, St Luke’s day in the year 1533; Cyprianus Leonitius, the year 1583; Joannes Regiomontanus, the year 1588; Adelbertus Thermopedius, the year 1599, April 3; Nicolaus Cusanus, the year 1700; Cardanus, 1800; Picus Mirandula, 1905, &c. So great hath been the folly and sin of many learned men, who have thus childishly set their wits to play in so serious a business, as one well censureth it.
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But my Father only] Ordine videlicet sciendi a se, non ab alio. The Son knoweth it not but from his Father; like as he neither subsisteth nor worketh but from the Father. The set time of the general judgment God hath hid from us: 1. For his own glory, Pro 25:2; Rom 11:36; Rom 2:1-29. For our good, that we may watch always, and not wax secure as we would do with the evil servant, Mat 24:48, till the very day and hour, if we knew it. {a} The harlot in the Proverbs grew bold upon this, that her husband was gone forth for such a time, Pro 7:20.
{a} Ideo latet unus dies ut observentur omnes.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv36–37 Mark addeth, Mar 13:32, neither the Son, but the…
Mark addeth, Mar 13:32, neither the Son, but the Father. Of that day and hour, that is, the particular time when the heavens and the earth shall pass away, as he had before said, or when the end of the world shall be, which was one of the questions propounded to him by his disciples, Mat 24:3.
Knoweth no man, no mere man, nor have men any reason to be troubled at it; for it is a piece of knowledge which the Father hath reserved in his own power, and his own pleasure, from the angels, who continually behold his face. Nay, I myself, as man, know it not. Nor is it more absurd, or derogating from the perfection of Christ, than for to say, that Christ, as man, was not omnipotent, or omniscient, &c. By the way, this gives a great check to the curiosity of men’s inquiries after the particular time or year when the world shall have an end, or the day of judgment begin, or be.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v37 In these verses our Saviour declares that Jerusalem’s destruction,…
In these verses our Saviour declares that Jerusalem’s destruction, and the world’s final dissolution at the great day, would be much like the destruction of the old world; and that in two respects:
1. In regard of unexpectedness. 2. In regard of security and sensuality.
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How sensual and secure was the old world before the flood! They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. That is, wholly given up to sensuality and debauchery, and did not know of the flood’s coming; that is, did not consider it, till the flood swept them away.
Thus was it in the destruction of Jerusalem, and so will it be in the end of the world.
Learn hence, 1. That as the old world perished by infidelity, sins be prevailing before the destruction of this present world. As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be when the Son of man cometh.
2. That the true reason why sinners are drowned in sensuality, and given over to security, is this, because they do not believe the certainty, or consider the proximity and nearness, of an approaching judgment.
The old world knew not of the flood’s coming. Strange! when Noah had told them of it an hundred and twenty years together.
The meaning is, they did not consider it and prepare for it. To such as are unprepared for, and unapprehensive of death and judgment, those evils are always sudden, although men be never so often warned of them. But to such as are prepared, death is never sudden, let them die never so suddenly.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv36–39 But as the days of Noe were,.... So Noah…
But as the days of Noe were,.... So Noah is usually called Noe by the Septuagint: the sense is, as were the practices of the men of that generation, in which Noah lived, so will be the practices of the men of that age, in which the son of man comes; or as the flood, which happened in the days of Noah, was sudden and unexpected; it came upon men thoughtless about it, though they had warning of it; and was universal, swept them all away, excepting a few that were saved in the ark:
so shall also the coming of the son of man be; to take vengeance on the Jews, on a sudden, at an unawares, when they would be unthoughtful about it; though they were forewarned of it by Christ and his apostles, and their destruction be as universal; all would be involved in it, excepting a few, that were directed a little before, to go out of the city of Jerusalem to Pella; where they were saved, as Noah and his family were in the ark.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv36–37 But of that day - The day of judgment;…
But of that day - The day of judgment; Knoweth no man - Not while our Lord was on earth. Yet it might be afterward revealed to St. John consistently with this.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv36–39 Verse 36. But of that day and hour] ωρα,…
Verse 36. But of that day and hour] ωρα, here, is translated season by many eminent critics, and is used in this sense by both sacred and profane authors. As the day was not known, in which Jerusalem should be invested by the Romans, therefore our Lord advised his disciples to pray that it might not be on a Sabbath; and as the season was not known, therefore they were to pray that it might not be in the winter; Mt 24:20. See Clarke on Mr 13:32.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv36–37 Mat 24:36. But of that day and hour knoweth…
Mat 24:36. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, &c. — I consider ωρα, hour, here, says Grotius, as denoting, not a part of a day, but a larger portion of time. So also Bishop Newton, who observes, “It would seem improper to say, Of that day and hour knoweth no man; for if the day was not known, certainly the hour was not, and it was superfluous to make such an addition. I conceive, therefore, that the passage should be rendered, Of that day and season knoweth no man, as the word is frequently used in the best authors, both sacred and profane. It is true, our Saviour declares, ‘All these things shall be fulfilled in this generation;’ it is true also, the Prophet Daniel hath given some intimation of the time in his famous prophecy of the 70 weeks; but though this great revolution was to happen toward the conclusion of 70 weeks, or 490 years, to be computed from a certain date that is not easy to be fixed; yet the particular day, the particular season in which it was to happen, might still remain a secret to men and angels: and our Lord had before, (Mat 24:20,) advised his disciples to pray, that their flight might not be in the winter, nor on the sabbath day; the day not being known, they were to pray that their flight might not be on the sabbath day; the season not being known, they were to pray that it might not be in the winter.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv36–39 But of that day and hour - Of the…
But of that day and hour - Of the precise time of the fulfillment. The “general signs” of its approach have been given, as the budding of the fig-tree is a certain indication that summer is near; but “the precise time” is not indicated by these things. One part of their inquiry was Mat 24:3 when those things should be. He now replies to them by saying that the precise time would not be foretold. Compare the notes at Act 1:7.
Knoweth no man, no, not the angels - See the notes at Mar 13:32.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv36, 37, 39 No man knoweth ... but the Father alone. The…
No man knoweth ... but the Father alone. The words in St. Mark (xiii. 32.) are still harder: neither the angels, nor the Son, but the Father. The Arians objected this place, to shew that Christ being ignorant of the day of judgment, could not be truly God. By the same words, no one knoweth, but the Father alone, (as they expound them) the Holy Ghost must be excluded from being the true God. In answer to this difficulty, when it is said, but the Father alone, it is certain that the eternal Son and the Holy Ghost could never be ignorant of the day of judgment: because, as they are one and the same God, so they must hove one and the same nature, the same substance, wisdom, knowledge, and all absolute perfections. 2. It is also certain that Jesus Christ knew the day of judgment, and all things to come, by a knowledge which he could not but have, because of the union by which his human nature was united to the divine person and nature. See Colossians ii. 3. And so to attribute any ignorance to Christ, was the error of those heretics called Agnoitai. 3. But though Christ, as a man, knew the day of judgment, yet this knowledge was not due to him as he was man, or because he was man, but he only knew the day of judgment, because he was God as well as man. 4. It is the common answer of the fathers, that Christ here speaks to his disciples, only as he was the ambassador of his Father; and so he is only to know what he is to make known to men. He is said not to know, says St. Augustine[5], what he will not make others know, or what he will not reveal to them. (Witham) --- By this Jesus Christ wished to suppress the curiosity of his disciples. In the same manner after his resurrection, he answered the same question: ’Tis not for you to know the times and the moments, which the Father has placed in his own power. This last clause is added, that the apostles might not be discouraged and think their divine Master esteemed them unworthy of knowing these things. Some Greek manuscripts add nor even the Son, as in Mark xiii. 32. The Son is ignorant of it, not according to his divinity, nor even according to his humanity hypostatically united to his divinity, but according to his humanity, considered as separate from his divinity. (Bible de Vence)
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
St. Augustine, lib. 83. QQ. quæst. 60. tom. 6, p. 33. Ed. Ben. dicitur nescire filius, quia facit nescire homines, i.e. non prodit eis, quod inutiliter scirent. See the same St. Augustine, lib. 1. de Trin. chap. xii. tom. 8, p. 764 and 765. and lib. de Gen. cont. Manich. chap. xxii. p. 659. tom. 1.
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George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv36–38 36. But — In contrast to this approaching and…
36. But — In contrast to this approaching and calculable catastrophe. Of that day and hour — The word day is a minutely specified point of time; the word hour is more specific still. Knoweth no man — Our Lord here will indicate even his own ignorance of the time of the judgment day. What wonder, then, that his inspired apostles should confess an equal ignorance! See supplementary note to next chapter. Prof. Owen says that, as man, Jesus might be as ignorant of the day and hour of the destruction of Jerusalem as of the judgment day. But unfortunately there was no day or hour to that destruction which could be ignored. It was a diffusive series. Our Lord, however, could be ignorant of the time of the destruction of Jerusalem only as he was ignorant of every future event; and so it would follow that he was ignorant of the judgment day only as he was ignorant of every future event. But that view stands in positive contradiction to the solemn emphasis with which it is the clear purpose of this verse to affirm that the judgment day is unknown to every being below God the Father Almighty.
For reply to the argument drawn from this passage against the divinity of Christ, see Mar_13:32.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv36–37 36–End of Ch. 25. Parables and Teachings concerning the…
36–End of Ch. 25. Parables and Teachings concerning the Second Advent
36–51. The Coming of Christ; the Need of Watchfulness
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More briefly reported in Mar_13:32-37; Luk_21:34-36.
36. But of that day and hour] the Day of Judgment. The discourse turns from the type—the fall of Jerusalem—to the antitype—the Day of Judgment, and continues on this subject to the end of the following chapter.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv36, 37, 39 (36) No, not the angels of heaven.—St. Mark’s addition…
(36) No, not the angels of heaven.—St. Mark’s addition (Mar_13:32), “neither the Son”—or better, not even the Son—is every way remarkable. Assuming, what is well-nigh certain (see Introduction to St. Mark), the close connection of that Gospel with St. Peter, it is as if the Apostle who heard the discourse desired, for some special reason, to place on record the ipsissima verba of his Master. And that reason may be found in his own teaching. The over-eager expectations of some, and the inevitable reaction of doubt and scorn in others, both rested on their assumption that the Son of Man had definitely fixed the time of His appearing, and on their consequent forgetfulness of the “long-suffering” which might extend a day into a thousand years (2Pe_3:3-8). It is obviously doing violence to the plain meaning of the words to dilute them into the statement that the Son of Man did, not communicate the knowledge which He possessed as the Son of God. If we are perplexed at the mystery of this confession in One in whom we recosniise the presence of “the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Col_1:19; Col_2:9), we may find that which may help us at least to wait patiently for the full understanding of the mystery in St. Paul’s teaching, that the eternal Word in becoming flesh, “emptied Himself” (see Note on Php_2:7) of the infinity which belongs to the divine attributes, and took upon Him the limitations necessarily incidental to man’s nature, even when untainted by evil and in fullest fellowship, through the Eternal Spirit, with the Father.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv36–39 The apostles had asked (ver. 3), "When shall these…
The apostles had asked (ver. 3), "When shall these things be?" Christ does not now expressly answer this question; he puts forth strongly the uncertainty in the knowledge of these great events, and how this ignorance is disciplinary. Of that day (de die illa, Vulgate) and hour, viz. when Christ shall appear in judgment, The expression plainly, implies that a definite day and moment are fixed for this great appearing, but known only to God. Knoweth no man, no, not (oude , not even) the angels of heaven. A kind of climax. Man is naturally excluded from the knowledge; but even to the angels it has not been revealed. A further climax is added in St. Mark, and from that Gospel has been introduced by some very good manuscripts into this place, neither the Son (the Revised Version admits the clause). The words have given occasion to some erroneous statements. It is said by Arians and semi-Arians, and modern disputants who have followed in their steps, that the Son cannot be equal to the Father, if he knows not what the Father knows. Alford says boldly, "This matter was hidden from him." But when we consider such passages as "I and my Father are one;" "I am in the Father, and the Father in me", (Joh_10:30 Joh_14:11, etc.) we cannot believe that the time of the great consummation was unknown to him. What is meant, then, by this assertion? How is it true? Doubtless it is to be explained (if capable of explanation) by the hypostatic union of two natures in the Person of Christ, whereby the properties of the two natures are interchangeably predicated. From danger of error on this mysterious subject we are preserved by the precise terms of the Athanasian Creed, according to which we affirm that Christ is "equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead; and inferior to the Father, as touching his manhood...one altogether; not by confusion of substance, but by unity of Person," etc. If, then, Christ asserts that he is ignorant of anything, it must be that in his human nature he hath, willed not to know that which in his Divine nature he was cognizant of. This is a part of that voluntary self-surrender and self-limitation of which the apostle speaks when he says that Christ "emptied himself". (Php_2:7) He condescended to assume all the conditions of humanity, even willing to share the imperfection of our knowledge in some particulars. How the two natures thus interworked we know not, and need not conjecture; nor can we always divine why prominence at one time is given to the Divine, at another to the human. It is enough for us to know that, for reasons which seemed good unto him, he imposed restriction on his omniscience in this matter, and, to enhance the mysteriousness and awfulness of the great day, announced to his disciples his ignorance of the precise moment of its occurrence. This is a safer exposition than to say, with some, that Christ knew not the day so as to reveal it to us, that it was no part of his mission from the Father to divulge it to men, and therefore that he could truly say he knew it not. This seems rather an evasion than an explanation of the difficulty. But my Father only. The best manuscripts have "the Father." "But" is ei mh , except. So Christ said to his inquiring apostles, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power". (Act_1:7) These words do not exclude the Son"s participation in the knowledge, though he willed that it should not extend to his human nature. With this and such-like texts in view, how futile, presumptuous, and indeed profane, it is to attempt to settle the exact date and hour when the present age shall end!
The unknown day and hour.
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This is one of the most striking words of our Lord. The record of it shows the veracity of the Gospel writers. No early Christian would have invented such a sentence as this. The words themselves testify to the truthfulness and to the humility of Christ. They are significant also in the light they throw on the limitations of knowledge.
I THE FACT. No one but our Father in heaven knows the whole future. Some parts of it are revealed to all of us, some are within the perception of prophets, more may be specially known to angels, very much must have lain open before the eye of Christ. But God only knows the whole. The final judgment is known only to him. Why is this?
1. Perhaps the date is not fixed. To God, who is independent of time, all our uncertainties and contingencies must be visible and sure. But it is impossible for us to imagine the form of thought that comprehends such things. To us many things are uncertain, in part because they are dependent on changing conditions. Will a particular man be saved or lost? No one can say, because no fixed destiny determines his future. It will be conditioned by his conduct, by the action of his free will. It is open for him to repent at any time. So it may be that the date of the final judgment will be determined according to the conduct of men, according to the course of history. It may be hastened or it may be postponed, as the behaviour of the world changes.
2. Certainly full knowledge would be injurious. It is one of the greatest mercies of life that God hides the future. If any sorcery could reveal it, the depth of folly would belong to those people who resorted to that sorcery. The knowledge of future evil would crush us; the knowledge of future good would take the zest out of our joys and make the blessings of life stale and uninteresting. Moreover, God disciplines us by ignorances. This should not make us indifferent to truth; it must be our duty to learn what God teaches. But it cannot be healthy to attempt to pry into secrets which God means to keep to himself. Calculations of modern prophets about unfulfilled prophecy are here rebuked beforehand by our Lord.
II INFERENCES IN REGARD TO JESUS CHRIST.
1. The distinction between Christ and his Father. Clearly they are here seen as two Persons. Yet it is the fashion of popular theology to "confound the Persons," and to speak of Jesus as if he were just the same as the Father.
2. The comparative subordination of Christ. We dare not say, with Cyril, that the ignorance of Christ was only apparent. That must be to represent him as an unreal Actor. He meant what he said in all honesty. It may be that Athanasius was right in applying all such passages as that before us to the earthly humiliation of our Lord. Still, the statements of Scripture as to the Son being sent by the Father, (e.g. Joh_20:21) applying as they do to the first advent and the very origin of the Incarnation, suggest something like a secondary position even prior to the earthly life, as we shall see if we reverse the phrases, and think of the Son sending the Father a most improper notion. The Sender must be in some way superior to the Sent.
3. The Divinity of Christ. This is apparent even in this passage, where the secondary position is stated:
(1) Because Christ separates himself from all other men, and even places the angels between himself and them.
(2) Because Christ shows Divine knowledge of the fact of the ignorance of angels as well as men, and of the fact of his Father"s unique consciousness. W.F.A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John A. Broadus 1886 · Public Domain On v37 Mat 24:37 to Mat 25:13.
Mat 24:37 to Mat 25:13.
Watch Continually For The Coming Of Christ
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Only the early part of this section has a parallel in Mark (Mar 13:33-37) and Luke (Luk 22:34-36); but Luke has more extensive parallels in earlier discourse. As to the general contents and the divisions of this discourse on the Mount of Olives, see at the beginning of Matthew 24. From this point we have now reached, the destruction of Jerusalem sinks rapidly out of view. The passage in Mat 24:37-44 might be understood as having also a primary reference to that event, regarded as a coming of Christ, but it contains no expression requiring to be so understood. Still less indication is there of such a reference in the two illustrations of Mat 24:45-51 and Mat 25:1-13. But throughout this section everything naturally suggests that final coming of Christ to judgment, which is alone brought to view in the closing paragraph of the great discourse, Mat 25:31-46. There would be no profit in working out a possible allusion to the destruction of Jerusalem in some parts of this section, and we may confine ourselves to its obvious and supremely important teaching as regards preparation for the final coming. Our Lord first declares that his coming will be unexpected, as illustrated by the coming of the flood and the coming of a thief, and bases on this an injunction to watchfulness (Mat 24:37-44); he then further illustrates the same fact and consequent duty by the supposed case of a good and bad servant (Mat 24:45-51) and by the parable of the foolish and wise virgins. (Mat 25:1-13.)
I. Mat 24:37-44, Watch, For He Will Come Unexpectedly
Compare Mar 13:33 and Luke in the earlier discourses he gives in Luk 17:26-35, Luk 12:39 f.
(a) Illustration from the coming of Noah’s flood.—37-39. But as, Rev. Ver., and as. But some of the best documents read ’for as,’ which would easily be changed by copyists because somewhat obscure; it is therefore probably correct. (Lach., Treg., W. H.) It does not exactly give the reason why the day and hour is unknown, (Mat 24:36) but a confirmation of the statement that no one knows: men will not even be thinking of it when it arrives. Also is genuine in Luk 17:26, but not here, nor in Mat 24:39. The coming, see on "Mat 24:3". The Son of man, see on "Mat 8:20". On a former occasion our Lord had added another illustration to the same effect from the times of Lot, Luk 17:28-32. Here, as often before, the question arises whether we shall suppose that Jesus used these illustrations only once, and one or other Evangelist has made a dislocation; or that he repeated. To one who has had experience of itinerant preaching to popular audiences, the supposition that an illustration was repeated at some new place and time seems so perfectly natural that there is no occasion for the other hypothesis.—The coming of Christ will find men in general busy with the ordinary pursuits of life, as in the time of Noah; only those who are prepared as he was will escape the sudden and unexpected destruction. It follows that our Lord’s coming certainly cannot be at the end of a thousand years of universal and perfect piety, for in that case all would know the exact time, and all would be devoutly and eagerly expecting the event. Compare Luk 18:8. Took them all away, with emphasis on ’all.’
(b) Persons most intimately associated will be separated by that unexpected coming.—40f. Two (men). The Greek has only ’two,’ but the connected words are masculine, as with the following ’two’ they are feminine. In the field,[1] in the cultivated district appertaining to some supposed city. One shall be (lit., is) taken, taken along, perhaps by the angels sent to gather the elect. (Mat 24:31) The same Greek word is rendered ’receive’ in Joh 14:3; for the idea, compare 1Th 4:17. The Greek has here the present tense, which is more vivid than the future would be. Some understand the term to mean taken along by the destroying agencies attending Christ’s appearance, as the flood carried all away. In either view of this phrase the main thought of the passage remains the same; it shall be well with one and ill with the other, and there will be no time then for preparing. Two women grinding at the mill. This domestic labour is still frequently performed in Palestine by women, and was observed there by the present writer. The lower millstone, say twelve inches in diameter, is placed on the ground and perhaps fixed in it; the upper stone is turned by a peg near the outer edge. One woman sits on the ground, (Isa 47:1 f.) so as to have the mill steadied between her knees, the other crouches on the opposite side. Sometimes the stone is much larger, and each crouches on one side. One pulls the peg towards her through half a circle, the other seizes it above or below and completes the circle; or else both retain their hold, and one relaxes while the other pulls. With the free hand one now and then puts a little grain into the central orifice of the revolving stone. To the jerky motion of the stone they keep time by a low, wailing chant. "The sound of the grinding" (Ecc 12:4) may be only the rumbling and ringing noise made by the revolving stone, but more probably refers to this chant.[2] The two women are apt, in the nature of things, to be mother and daughter, or older and younger sister, or friendly neighbours, or slaves in the same house. Yet even these will be separated by the Lord’s second coming, the prepared one being accepted, the other having then no time to prepare.—Some larger millstones were turned by an ass, (Mat 18:6) and others by water, where this was available, as is now to be seen in many places. "The Greek Anthology" (Wet.) has a statement that "in ancient times" women used to grind, before the art of grinding by water was discovered.—A third illustration of the same kind is given in Luk 17:34 as used on an earlier occasion viz., that of two men on one bed.
[1] This expression was interpolated into the text of Luk 17:36, and Luk 17:34 was interpolated here, in both cases by the "Western "group of documents; the former interpolation passed into some "Syrian" documents, and so into K. James and the Elzevir, the Textus Receptus on the Continent, though not found in Stephens, the Textus Receptus in Great Britain.
[2] Dr. Robinson heard no such chant, but we heard it at El Jib (Gibeon). Labourers of many kinds all over the world have certain cries or songs to accompany and relieve monotonous work.
(c) Application of these illustrations.—42;[3] Mar 13:33. What hour. Rev. Ver., on what day. This is read by many of the best documents, and was easily changed by copyists into ’hour,’ by assimilation to Mat 24:44. Thus of the two words in Mat 24:36, we have one in Mat 24:42 and the other in Mat 24:44, and again both in Mat 24:50 and Mat 25:18. Your Lord cometh. Elsewhere he always says ’the Son of man cometh,’ as in Mat 24:44; compare Mat 24:27, Mat 24:30, Mat 24:37, Mat 24:39 Luk 12:40, Luk 17:24, Luk 17:26, Luk 17:30, Luk 21:36. The expression ’your Lord cometh’ connects itself closely with ’his Lord’ in the illustration that presently follows, Mat 24:45-50, and so in Luke. Probably this expression led to the phrase "our Lord cometh," which was so common a saying among the early Christians that Paul quotes it in the Aramaic, Maranatha; (1Co 16:22) compare Php 4:5 Jas 5:7, 2Th 2:2, 2Pe 1:16, 2Pe 3:10. Tyndale and Geneva use ’master’ all through Mat 24:42-50; Wyc., Cran., Rheims, have ’lord,’ K. James ’Lord.’ Wünsche says the Rabbis also declare that the Messiah will come when least expected; so every one must hold himself ready, and he who does not, will have himself to blame if he is shut out. Indeed, this is a principle applying to everything which is certain to come, but at an uncertain time. Hence it applies exactly to our own death, for which we ought to make ready in advance and to stay ready always.
[3] Persons learning a Bible lesson, at this point, may find the connection traced on Mat 24:37, and an outline of the whole discourse on Mat 24:3. Practical remarks on Mat 24:42-51 will be found below, after see on "Mat 25:13".
(d) A further illustration and its application.—43 f.; compare Luk 12:39 f. This illustration was often repeated by the apostles, 1Th 5:2, 1Th 5:4, 2Pe 3:10 Rev 3:3, Rev 16:15. Know this, or this ye know. The Greek second plural has the same form in the indicative as in the imperative, hence occasional ambiguities, as in Joh 5:39, Joh 14:1. The good man (master) of the house, see on "Mat 10:25". In what watch. The night, from sunset to sunrise, was divided by the Jews in earlier times into three, but under the Romans into four periods called "watches," compare Mar 13:35, and see above on Mat 14:25. Broken up, literally digged through (Rev. Ver. margin), implying walls made of mud or of sun-dried bricks, which are still common in many parts of the world, compare on Mat 6:19. Therefore (Mat 24:44), the propriety of the injunction being inferred from the foregoing illustration. Be, more exactly, become, get ready; ye also, as the householder must do if he would be ready whenever the thief comes. The Son of man, as in Mat 24:37, Mat 24:39; see on "Mat 8:20".
II. Mat 24:45-51. Let His Coming Find You A Good Servant And Not An Evil One
Mar 13:34-37 Luk 21:34-36; compare an earlier discourse in Luk 12:35-38, Luk 12:42-46.
Mat 24:45-47. Servant, doulos, slave, see on "Mat 8:6". Wise is not the general Greek word, but means more exactly prudent, discreet, shrewd, etc., with varying shades of good and bad meaning, as in Mat 7:24, Mat 10:16, Mat 25:2 ff.; Luk 16:8. It here probably signifies prudent and judicious in the means and methods of faithfully serving the master; or possibly, prudent in subserving his own true interest by fidelity to his master. Household. The Greek word denotes the whole body of domestics. The servant in question is the head steward, charged with the special duty of regularly supplying all the domestics with food; along with that he exercised a general control, observe, made ruler, or set over, and sometimes assumed the right to punish (Mat 24:49.). Meat, food, which was formerly the meaning of the English word ’meat.’ In due season. To distribute the food regularly and promptly was an important point of good management in a steward. Blessed is more exactly happy, as in Mat 5:3 ff.; another beatitude. His lord, when he cometh, from some journey, or some other place of residence. Shall find so doing, faithfully and judiciously supplying the domestics with food, i. e., performing the special duties of his position. Verily I say unto you, calling special attention, compare on Mat 5:18. Will make him ruler (or set him) over all his goods, over all his property of every kind, and not simply over his body of domestics. Compare Mat 25:21 Luk 19:17, Luk 19:26. Our Lord here puts honour upon those who serve him by comparing them, not to a menial or ordinary slave, but to the intelligent, faithful, and trusted head-slave of the household, like Joseph in Potiphar’s house. Many have understood a specific reference to ministers, and from this notion has arisen a singular mixed text, widely current in the language of devotional meetings, "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, and giving to each his portion (Luk 12:42) in due season" (but see Rev. Ver. of 2Ti 2:15). That our passage really refers to all Christians is confirmed by Mar 13:37, "And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." The passage may be applied to ministers a fortiori, as having all the ordinary responsibilities of Christian life, and others that are extraordinary.
Mat 24:48-51. With the faithful diligence and happy reward of the good head-servant (in any supposed case) is now contrasted the behaviour and punishment of the head-servant in case he turns out an evil one. Evil is opposed both to faithful and to prudent. (Mat 24:45.) But and if. So also in Tyndale and all his followers. In Middle English and was used in the sense of ’if’ (Skeet), afterwards distinguished from the copulative and by writing it an, as in Shakespeare’s "an it please you," "and thou lovest me," etc. When this conditional use of and grew indistinct to the mind it was strengthened by adding if, so as to make in Shakespeare ’an if,’ and here, ’but and if’; modern usage omits the and, and the old phrase ’but and if’ now looks very strange. Compare Luk 12:45, Luk 20:6 Joh 6:62, 1Co 7:11, 1Co 7:28, 1Pe 3:14; in the three last passages Rev. Ver. unwisely retains ’and.’ Shall say in his heart, compare ’to say within yourselves,’ in Mat 3:9. The heart, as always in Scripture, is here the seat of thought as well as of feeling, see on "Mat 6:19". Delayeth his coming. Tarrieth expresses the correct Greek text. It contained a delicate intimation to the disciples that Jesus was not coming again in a very short time (compare on Mat 25:19). Shall begin, com. On Mat 11:20. And to, rather, shall eat and drink with the drunken, carousing at the master’s expense, instead of keeping the household in order and exercising a prudent economy. In a day, implies that he comes from some distance; and in an hour, amplifies and makes more impressive, as so often in Hebrew parallelism. Shall cut him asunder, cut him in two. This is the exact meaning of the term, and no other has any support from Greek usage. The Old Latin translates by dividet, ’will divide,’ or findet, ’will cleave’; Pesh. ’will divide’; and Memph. takes great pains, ’will divide him in his middle.’ Such a severe punishment was practised among the Hebrews; (2Sa 12:31 Heb 11:37 Sus 1:55) and Wet. gives various examples from Greek and Roman writers. Some think it must be here simply a hyperbole for severe scourging, because of the following phrase: And appoint his portion with the hypocrites. This makes a sudden transition from the illustration to the thing illustrated. ’Cut him in two’ is the image, a severe temporal punishment; ’his portion with the hypocrites’ is in eternity. That hypocrites (see on "Mat 6:2") are grossly offensive in God’s sight, and must be severely punished, was a thought familiar to the minds of the disciples (Mat 6:2, Mat 6:5, Mat 6:16, Mat 15:7, Mat 16:3) and just freshened through the discourse of that same day. (Mat 23:13-29) The good servant will be exalted to the highest position a servant can have (Mat 24:47); the bad servant, who drank with the drunken, shall dwell with the hypocrites. Now if ’appoint his portion’ makes a transition from the earthly punishment to the punishment of hell, (Mat 25:41, Mat 25:46) there is no occasion for objecting to the literal and only established sense of ’cut him in two,’ and no ground for the alternative rendering of Rev. Ver., margin. The weeping and the gnashing of teeth (see on "Mat 8:12".)
Luke having given a similar comparison to the good and bad steward in an earlier discourse, (Luk 12:42-46) does not here repeat it, nor yet wholly pass it by, but sums up the thought in the comprehensive and impressive sentences of Mat 21:34-36.
Watch Continually For The Coming Of Christ, Continued
III. Mat 25:1-13. Parable Of The Ten Virgins
Not found elsewhere. This beautiful parable is a further illustration of the variously illustrated injunction to ’watch’, (Mat 24:42, Mat 24:44) which is repeated at its close, (Mat 25:13) in such a form as to recall also the great statement of Mat 24:36, and thus link all the discourse up to this point in the closest connection. Our Lord is still sitting on the Mount of Olives, late in the afternoon of his last day of public ministry (see on "Mat 24:1", see on "Mat 24:3".)
Mat 25:1. Then, viz., at the time of the Saviour’s coming (Mat 24:42, Mat 24:44) The kingdom of heaven, the Messianic Dispensation (see on "Mat 3:2".) Be likened unto (see on "Mat 13:24".) The omission of certain details, and the desire of interpreters to prepare for this or that homiletical application, have led to much difference of opinion as to some points of this tender and beautiful story. But scarcely any of these seriously affect the main lesson of the parable, and they should not be allowed to occupy much space in an expository sermon or Sunday-school lesson. It was the custom to hold weddings after nightfall. The bridegroom and some friends went to the house of the bride, and after religions ceremonies there he set forth towards his own abode in a grand procession, which was illuminated by torches or lamps in the hands of the participants, and often preceded by musicians. In the utterly dark street of an Asiatic city, every one who goes forth at night is expected, and in modern Jerusalem is strictly required by the authorities, to carry a light. (Compare Psa 119:105) Other invited guests, who had not gone to the bride’s home, could join the procession at any point, and enter with it into the bridegroom’s residence, to share in the festivities. But without a burning lamp or torch they could not march in the procession, and so could not enter the house. In order to join the procession conveniently, such persons might assemble beforehand at different points along the proposed route, and wait for the bridegroom’s approach. Some recent commentators urge that the bridegroom must here be conceived as on his way to the bride’s house, to hold the festivities there, since in the application Christ comes from heaven to earth to establish his kingdom; but it is useless for the sake of a painful literalism, to imagine a departure from custom. In 1Ma 9:39 only the bridegroom is mentioned as coming forth, with a grand procession and musicians; and yet just above (Mat 25:37) we see that they were "bringing the bride." When the bridegroom came from a distance, the festivities were sometimes held at the residence of the bride, as in Gen 29:22 Tob 8:20 ff. In that case, however, the virgins would not have lighted their lamps till news came that the bridegroom was near, and after that the delay on his part would be unnatural, whereas according to the common view, the delay of the wedding procession in setting out from the bride’s house is natural enough. In that case, also, not the bridegroom, but the father of the bride, would have decided whether the five should be admitted. It seems tolerably evident from Tob 8:10-12 that the marriage feast is at the house of the bridegroom. Still, the general lesson remains the same in either view of this particular. The "Western" type of text has, with its usual free handling, made it read ’went forth to meet the bridegroom and the bride,’ in order that the text might distinctly conform to custom. The bride is really not mentioned throughout the parable, doubtless because Christ’s people in this image are represented by the attendants.
The story in itself considered has curious points of naturalness and verisimilitude. Young girls would be specially interested in a wedding, prominent in its ceremonies, and distressed at missing the festivities. Bridal ceremonies are very apt to be delayed beyond the time appointed. It is evident that great delay is here supposed, for otherwise the maidens would not themselves have been arrayed and assembled so long beforehand as to have time for all falling asleep while they waited.
Ten may be regarded as merely a round number, sufficiently large to shew interest in the occasion. Compare Luk 19:13. We learn however from Lightfoot that the Jews "delighted mightily in the number ten. A synagogue must have at least ten present; an order or ring of men consisted not but of ten at the least." Wün. adds that ten men must be present at a wedding, in order to utter the requisite blessings. Compare Rth 4:2. Josephus says ("War," 6, 9, 3) that not less than ten men must assemble to partake of a paschal lamb. Morison reminds us how these uses of the number might be suggested by the ten fingers, as was the decimal basis of numeration.
The word for lamps is different-from that of Mat 5:15, and regularly means a torch, (Joh 18:3 Rev 8:10) and we know that the Greeks and Romans commonly used torches in marriage processions; but here it seems to denote a lamp fed with oil, though it might be a sort of torch fed with oil (Rev. Ver. margin). In processions, such a lamp was borne on a wooden pole (Edersheim); and was doubtless protected from the wind, probably (as now) by a covering of wood, or of cloth supported by a wire frame (Smith’s "Dict."). These lamps held but little oil, and would need to be replenished. As the lamp was indispensable, and the movements of a bridal procession were uncertain, prudent persons would carry with them vessels of oil, but these were very unpleasant for persons in festive apparel to carry, and the imprudent might conclude to risk it with the oil in their lamps. They would all set down the lamps and leave them burning, because they were constantly expecting the approach of the procession. If we conceive them as waiting at the bride’s house, it would have been silly to leave the lamps burning, before there was any announcement of the bridegroom’s approach; especially as in that view he would be coming from a great distance. Goebel maintains that the foolish had empty lamps, the vessels being those which formed part of the lamps. This fancy is devised in order that the oil may mean divine grace, without any hitch in the interpretation; but it makes the foolish virgins simpletons. Wise[1] is the word meaning prudent, etc., see on "Mat 24:45". Tarried is the same word as in Mat 24:48, and one of the links of connection between the two illustrations; compare also Mat 25:19. Slumbered and slept is lit., nodded and were sleeping Persons sitting up and overcome by drowsiness first nod and presently begin to sleep continuously.
[1] In Mat 25:2 the ’foolish’ are named first in the best documents (and so in all English versions before K. James,which probably followed Beza). This would seem to copyists an unnatural order, but really accords with the whole tone of the foregoing passage, which makes prominent the case of the unprepared. The change made here by copyists led to a corresponding change in Mat 25:3 (almost exactly the same documents), which properly reads ’for the foolish,’ introducing a proof of their folly.
Go ye out, or, come ye forth. The latter is more probably the meaning than ’go ye out’; the Greek word oftener means come than go, which is usually expressed in New Testament by the word used in Mat 25:9, compare Mat 3:5, Mat 20:29; and the cry would naturally be made by persons in the street who saw the procession approaching, rather than by persons in the house; nor would the latter have occasion for making a loud, clangourous cry, such as the Greek word denotes. There was a cry, or more literally a cry has arisen, a vivid expression which transports us into the midst of the scene. Behold, the bridegroom! like ’Behold, the Lamb of God!’; (Joh 1:36) but many copyists added, as in Com. Ver., cometh. Trimmed is the word rendered ’garnish’ in Mat 12:44, Mat 23:29, and denotes adorning, beautifying; they poured in oil, trimmed and drew up the wick, wiped off the lamp, did everything that would make it beautiful and bright. Our lamps are going out, the Greek having the present tense and not the perfect; correctly translated in Tyn., Rheims, and margin of Com. Ver. Lest there be not, Rev. Ver. says peradventure, etc. The wise kindly abstain from express refusal, and only imply it by the words, ’Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you, go rather, etc.’ (Compare Plumptre.) In attempting to buy oil at midnight, they would find few or no shops open, and would be much delayed. Bruce fancies that it was a second folly to go after oil, when if they had but remained they might have been admitted without it. But (1) the whole tone of the story, and all that we know of the wedding customs, implies that a burning light was necessary. Without it they would not have been showing honour to the bridegroom, and could not have been distinguished at the door from strangers or other persons having no right to be admitted. (2) The advice of the wise to go and buy must, on Bruce’s view, be taken as cruel mockery, or possibly as dictated by the unreflecting selfishness of persons hurried and disconcerted; either of which would seem excessively incongruous and improbable. To the marriage (feast), as in Mat 22:2 ff. The door was usually in the middle of one side of a house, leading by a passage under the second story to the inner court, upon which all the rooms of the house opened. When this outer door was shut, all connection with the outside world was cut off. Persistent knocking, and loud entreaty addressed to the bridegroom personally, might at length bring him to the door. Verily I say unto you, a solemn assurance, compare on Mat 5:18. I know you not. They have no claim to be received as guests; he does not even recognize them as acquaintances. (compare Mat 7:23)
The application of this beautiful parable is obvious, but is surpassingly tender and pathetic. It teaches the same lesson as Mat 24:37-42, Mat 24:43-51, that the only way to be ready when Jesus comes is to be ready always. The term ’virgins’ must not be given a spiritual significance, as if denoting pure Christians; for five of these represent persons not really Christians at all. The division into two halves must surely not be supposed to teach that at the coming of Christ half the people in the world or in any community will be ready to meet him, and half not ready; it was simply the most natural division of the round number, there being no special reason for dividing otherwise. The bridegroom tarried might suggest to the disciples that their Lord would not come immediately. (Compare on Mat 25:19) The fact that all the ten were sleeping should not be made a reproach to true Christians. It was not wrong for the virgins to sleep under the circumstances; they were neglecting no duty in so doing, provided they bad thoroughly made ready for the bridegroom’s coming. To understand it as meaning that the successive generations of mankind must fall asleep in death (various Fathers and some modern writers), is wholly unwarranted and seems strangely unsuitable. Whether the foolish virgins are to be considered as representing "church members," there is nothing to show; they are persons who profess, and honestly think that they are Christ’s friends, and expect to meet him with joy. To take lamps and no lasting supply of oil, suggests that superficial and temporary interest in divine things which is so often witnessed; compare Hos 6:4. The hurried and fruitless attempt, when the moment arrives, to make the preparation which ought to have been made in advance, is deeply pathetic, and touches a sadly common fault in regard to readiness for meeting Christ at his coming, or for meeting the messenger whom he sends to bear us away, even death. The inability of the prudent virgins to help the foolish in their extremity reminds us that piety involves personal conditions and relations to Christ that are not transferable. I know you not. This will not be rejecting persons who ask to be saved, but disowning persons who claim to have been saved, to have been ready and waiting for his coming.
To find some separate spiritual meaning in the lamps, the vessels, the oil, and the sellers of oil, etc., seems here worse than idle. (Compare on Mat 13:3) Maldonatus counts fifteen separate items having spiritual significance, and Keach thirteen. It is very unwise here to bring in the idea of the bride as meaning "the church." (Eph 5:25) The bride is not mentioned in the parable, and, as already suggested, for the obvious reason that Christians here appear as friends waiting to join the procession. Bring in the bride as the church, and you introduce inevitable confusion of idea through a mixture of distinct images. It ought to be everywhere carefully remembered that if "mixed metaphors" are bad for rhetoric, they are worse for exegesis.
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour[2]repeats the solemn refrain of Mat 24:42, Mat 24:44, Mat 24:50. The whole passage from Mat 24:36 to Mat 25:13 should be read in worship as one, and this refrain brought out with special emphasis; just as one reads Psalms 42 and Psalms 43, with the refrain of Psa 42:5, Psa 42:11 and Psa 43:5; or like the refrain in Psa 80:3, Psa 80:7, Psa 80:19, and various other Psalms. This is not saying that the passage before us is, properly speaking, poetical; it rather presents an oratorical repetition of the practical theme, after each separate illustration."Watch" does not here mean keep awake, as opposed to the sleeping of Mat 25:5, but be so heedfully expectant as not to be caught unprepared.
[2] ’Wherein the Son of man cometh’ is wanting in all the early versions and the leading Greek copies, and was easily added from Mat 24:44. In reality, the expression is more energetic without it, and amply perspicuous to one who has read what precedes, since Mat 24:36 The well meant but really enfeebling addition reminds one of that in 1Co 6:20.
Homiletical And Practical
Mat 24:37-39. The flood, as a picture of Christ’s final coming. (1) Men knew not when it would be, and did not really believe it would ever be; compare Luk 18:8. (2) Men were too busy with ordinary affairs to stop and think about God’s merciful warning. (3) Men in general were caught unprepared, and swept into destruction. (4) Those men who believed and made ready found themselves safe, and had a blessed future.
Mat 24:40 f. The most intimate associations of this life will in many cases be severed, in a moment and forever, by the coming of Christ. And so death, though for none an eternal sleep, will be for many, alas! an eternal separation.
Mat 24:42. The coming of our Lord. (1) We know not when he will come—need not know—cannot know—should not wish to know, compare Mat 24:36. (2) We shall be ready when he comes if we are ready always, compare Mat 24:43 f. (3) We should watch, not in dread but in hope, for it will be our Lord’s coming, compare 2Ti 4:8 Tit 2:11-14. (4) Thus are we better prepared to serve him when he does come; (a) with patience under trouble, compare Jas 5:7; (b) with gentleness and forbearance towards others, compare Php 4:5; (c) with all holy living and piety, compare 2Pe 3:11 f.; (d) with efforts to make all men likewise ready to meet him, compare Mat 24:14.
Mat 24:45-47. A good servant of Christ. (1) He is aware that the responsibilities of Christ’s service require not only faithfulness, but prudence, discretion, good sense. (2) He is conscious of duties to his fellow-men, and is exact and punctual in performing them, as being also duties to Christ. (3) He is always ready to meet Christ, because always busily engaged in Christ’s service. (4) He will be rewarded for serving Christ here by better opportunities of serving him hereafter.
Mat 24:45-51. The good and the bad servant contrasted. All men are in one or another sense Christ’s servants, and will be held by him to account, compare 1Co 5:10. (1) The good servant is faithful and wise; the bad servant is unfaithful and foolish. (2) The good servant is busy in serving Christ by benefiting others; the bad servant is unkind to others, and engrossed with selfish gratifications. (3) The good servant will welcome the Lord at any moment; the bad servant will be caught unawares. (4) The good servant will he exalted to higher honours and wider usefulness; the bad servant will be terribly punished, dwelling forever amid hypocrites, and filled with bitter but vain regrets.
Mat 25:1-13. The Ten Virgins. (1) The coming of our Lord ought to be thought of as a joyful event. (2) The time of his coming is uncertain and may be delayed, so that preparation for it must be permanent. (3) Not all those who call themselves his friends, and nominally await his coming, will be found really ready when he comes. (4) Hurried attempts to make ready then, will prove a failure. (5) Oh the bitter grief and disappointment of having meant, and professed, and long appeared, to be his friends, and then encountering the closed door and the solemn voice of refusal.
No light had we: for that we do repent:
And, learning this, the Bridegroom will relent.
’Too late, too late! ye cannot enter now.’
No light, so late! and dark and chill the night!
Oh, let us in that we may find the light!
’Too late, too late! ye cannot enter now.’
—Tennyson.
Mat 25:8. Henry: "Those will see their need of grace hereafter, when it should save them, who will not see their need of grace now, when it should sanctify and rule them."
Mat 25:11. Jerome: "What does it profit to invoke him with the voice whom by works you deny?"
Mat 25:12. Henry: "With regard to those that put off their great work to the last, it is a thousand to one that they have not time to do it then. While the poor awakened soul addresses itself, upon a sick-bed, to repentance and prayer, in awful confusion, it scarcely knows which end to begin at, or what to do first; and presently death comes, judgment comes, and the work is undone, and the poor sinner undone forever."
Mat 25:13. We need not wonder at the frequent repetition, and fourfold illustration, of "Watch, for ye know not," seeing that human nature is so prone to heedless sloth or to preoccupation with worldly affairs.—All these exhortations to watch, and be ready, for the Lord’s coming, will apply without material alteration to the duty of preparation for death, which will in an important sense summon us to meet Christ, and will leave fixed and permanent the relation in which we shall rise to meet him when he does come. (Joh 5:28 f.)
John A. Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (American Baptist Publication Society, 1886) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v38 And took them all away.
Mat_24:38-39
And took them all away.
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The moral of accidents
I. What are we to think? Let us now collect and enumerate a few thoughts that we ought to think when we are considering sad things that happen.
1. How many accidents are but slight as to the hurt they do in comparison with the service of the lesson they teach.
2. From how many things going to happen we are saved when loss and danger appear imminent.
3. How manifest and honourable are the work and courage of man in averting accidents, and in lessening the harm they do.
4. How incessant is the beneficial operation of the great natural laws, and how varied in kind is their benefit.
5. How careless and untrue is the work of many men; how needful is it that they should have a warning they will heed. And how often, after all, does the right accident happen obviously at the right time and to the right kind of person.
6. How certain it is that unfaithfulness in work will bring disasters, small and great, which are misnamed when we ca!l them accidents; for, though we knew not, we might have known that they were sure to happen. And-
7. How certain it is, too, that, if anything favourable to us unexpectedly occurs, we shall not be able to take advantage of it unless we are men of some resource and some character.
II. We come now to our second question: what are we to do? What are we to do, then? We are not to eat, drink, and marry, careless of the way in which we do these things, and unmindful of our duty to God in them, as if the world, that can take care of itself, would take care of us without any good heed of our own. We are to ask and get answered the question, What must I do to be saved? Let us, seeing that so much we have may at any time be the prey of the spoiler, store up the inconsumable, imperishable riches. Many men have lost their lives by accident; no man ever lost his soul by accident. (T. T. Lynch.)
Noahs flood
Three rules without an exception-
I. the flood came and took them all away.
1. Many in that time were wealthy. Not one rich man could escape with his hoards.
2. There were some in those days who were extremely poor. The pauper out of the ark perished as well as the prince.
3. There were in those days learned men in the world. Their knowledge could not deliver them.
4. There were many who were very zealous in the cause of religion. Their outward religion of no avail.
5. Some of the oldest men that have lived perished.
6. They wondered at Noah building his ark, as contrary to reason; criticised his building; some took his part; some worked for him. All out of Christ perished.
II. The flood found them all eating, drinking, and marrying-this without exception. The mass of men are busy about fleeting interests, and neglect the salvation of their souls. The reason-
1. Mens indifference about their souls.
2. Universal unbelief.
3. That they were always and altogether given to worldliness.
III. All who were in the ark were safe. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv36–37 36. Of that day and hour knoweth no one.…
36. Of that day and hour knoweth no one. How foolish then to be figuring out the time of the Lord's coming.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v36 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Mat_24:36-51
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Mat_24:36-51
The uncertainty of the end.—We ought to know the season, we cannot know the moment, of the “appearing” of Christ. So the Saviour teaches us here. “Of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the Son Himself,” in a sense (Mat_24:36). How will the appearing of Christ, in consequence, come on the world? How should the thought of it, meanwhile, tell on the church?
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I. How it will come on the world.—It will come on it, first, while men, as a rule, are thinking of everything else. The story of Noah and the deluge is an illustration of this. Coming on men as that did in almost total disbelief of his warnings (we read of no one outside his own family believing in them at all) it found the men of that day thinking of everything else. They were full of engagements which all took for granted that there was nothing to interrupt them at hand (Mat_24:38-39; cf. also Luk_17:28, “they planted, they builded”). And they were doing this to the very verge of the visitation itself. They did not believe in the flood till they found it had come, and never thought of it until it swept them away. Even so would it be, the Saviour declares here, with regard to His “coming.” What had been true of the type would be true of the antitype also. What had happened in Noah’s day would happen also in His. Not till that “door,” also, was being “shut” (Gen_7:16; Mat_25:10) would men see it was open. That day when it comes will find men, also, as they are to remain. Men will be found differing then, as they differ now, about the things of the kingdom. Although as a rule then they will not be thinking of the approaching appearing of Christ, there will be some among them who do. There will be some, then, in short, who “love His appearing,” although most others do not. These differing classes, also, will be found at that time, even as they are now, much mingled together. Just as now, in one “field” there may be “two men,” or, now, at “one mill” there may be “two women,” who are as far asunder in heart on this question of Christ’s appearing as they are near together in person, so will it also be then. But so, on the other hand, on that day of days, it will not continue to be any longer. That day, on the contrary, shall for ever separate these “unequally yoked” ones. And shall separate them also, be it further observed, to wholly separate lots. Those who are “left” are not left to be saved! Only those “taken” are taken to life. There is no intermingling, there is no re-arrangement, after that date!
II. How the knowledge of these things should tell on the church.—How it should tell on them, first, as to what they should do. They should use the information thus given them about the end in order to be prepared for it when it comes. It was even so, of course, that in regard to all things of importance, all men of sense would proceed. No householder, e.g., who had received information as to the time when the housebreaker intended to visit him, would fail to make use of it in getting thoroughly prepared for his visit (Mat_24:43). Even so must they act in regard to that day which was to “come as a thief.” Having been so expressly told this they must make use of this knowledge so as to be “prepared” for that day. And since it might come any day they must be prepared for it every day, as the only way to make sure (Mat_24:44). This same knowledge should show them, next, why they ought to do thus. They ought to do so, on the one hand, as a question of duty. The knowledge thus imparted to them, and the capacity bestowed on them by means of which they were enabled to realise both its importance and truth, were not things given them for their own advantage alone. They were more than a privilege. They were also a trust. And they were bound, therefore, to use these things for the benefit of others as well (Mat_24:45; 1Pe_4:10). And nothing, they might rely on it, would be more pleasing to their Master, and therefore more “blessed” for them, than to be found doing so at the end. Let them be always “ready,” therefore, if they would be ever doing what was best for themselves (Mat_24:46-47). Let them think of this also, on the other hand, even as a question of life. This duty was one which could only be neglected by them at their uttermost peril. Not thus to do was to do the opposite in effect. Not to impart thus to others was in practice to rob them. Not to argue from the uncertainty of the hour of Christ’s coming in the way of obedience was to go in the way of rebellion (Mat_24:48). It were hard to say, therefore, whether there was more of treachery or of presumption in such conduct; or anything more truly deserving the worst doom of which we hear in God’s Word. It would almost seem, in a word, as though not to be hoping for, and so not to be ready for, the appearing of Christ, was to be in a position in which we can expect nothing from it but ill.
How worse than valueless are the predictions of men!—Practically the voice of the antediluvian world was a prophecy in opposition to the preaching of Noah. The like is true of the voice of the world since, in regard to the preaching of Christ. We know what became of that earlier “voice.” We know what is to become of the other. The louder it cries, and the longer it lasts, and the more “prophets” it comes from, only the more manifest, at the last day, will be its falseness and shame. The revelation of this truth is almost as old as our race (Jud_1:14-15; see also Rom_3:4; Rom_3:19).
HOMILIES ON THE VERSES
Mat_24:37-39. The Flood.—
I. How universal the doom.
II. How marvellous the general apathy.
III. Safety only in the ark.
IV. Christ our ark.—J. C. Gray.
Mat_24:40-41. Diversity in character.—The world’s work will be going on then as now; there is also the thought of a real separation in this life beneath an external sameness.—A. Carr, M.A.
Mat_24:42. Christian watching.—I. In Christian watching there is implied a vigorous exercise of a Christian conscience.—
1. When we wish to quicken and increase the power of conscience, we must do so by teaching it to be more and more keen in perception. Conscience must stand before us, as a watcher on a ship stands, guiding the bark of the soul through the wild waves and the thick darkness of this deep night of life, and crying out to us, from moment to moment, in the voice of the great Lord whose echo it is, “What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.”
2. But conscience requires also to be wide in its range of vision—it must omit nothing. It must not fret over trifles, but it must not leave them out; it must recollect, it must learn increasingly to recollect, that attention to the little things of every day is an element in that attitude of a Christian which the Lord calls watching.
3. You must exercise conscience to assist you in wise decision.
4. Conscience must also, finally and above all things, be peremptory in command. Conscience may be wrong, it may make mistakes, but it must never be disobeyed. To disobey conscience is to commit the last disloyalty—it is to learn to be untrue to yourselves.
5. Conscience needs illumination It needs the illumination that comes from prayer, from the Scripture, from the wise advice of patient and experienced friends.
6. It needs more, it needs reinforcement; it needs the presence of the Lord of conscience; it needs to feed upon the power of Christ.
II. There is another point in Christian watching which I must note. It is not only by the exercise of conscience, it is by a patient practice of thoughtfulness.—To take thought and make it pass into a permanent form; to lay hold upon will and make it act in one definite direction;—to do that is to set the life sweeping onward, like a resistless current, in one direction; it is to place the whole soul in one steady attitude; and this definite directing of the current of life, and this steady fixing of the attitude of soul—this and nothing else is what our blessed Redeemer calls watching.—W. J. Knox-Little, M.A.
Watching for the Lord’s coming.—The idea is, Ye know not whether the day or hour of the Lord’s coming be characterised by the quality of comparative immediacy or of comparative remoteness. And yet the Lord had told His disciples that many events would occur before this glorious appearing. Wherein, then, the consistency of the injunction of this verse? It is found in a combination of two assumptions.
1. That the Lord was speaking, not merely to and for His Apostles, but to and for His disciples in all places and times.
2. That He took a broad view of spiritual realities, and the bearing of the great events connected with His kingdom on individual souls. So far as the soul’s real interests, and its great duties, are concerned, it is of no real moment whether it shall remain incarnate till the coming of the Lord, or be “absent from the body” long before that event. Spiritual watchfulness in either case is equally needed.—J. Morison, D.D.
Mat_24:43-44. The uncertainty of life the great reason for holiness.—
I. The character of the existing dispensation would be altogether changed were we enabled to foresee whatever could happen.—It would no longer be a dispensation of faith, but a dispensation of sight. We find it intensely difficult in our ignorance to submit ourselves to God, in whose hands we are. What would it be if we had acquaintance with the future, and so were in a measure independent; and could make our plans with certainty as to their issue. The wife would be a widow while her husband lived, the child would be an orphan while yet blessed with parents, if the funeral were foreknown and the day of separation clearly revealed.
II. It is practically of very little importance whether we can give satisfactory reasons why the future should be hidden, and for the declaration that the unveiling it would produce far greater preparedness for the termination of life. It might, on the whole, be advantageous, or it might on the whole be disastrous, that the day of death should be known; but the arrangement to which we are to conform is one in which the day is absolutely unknown; and it must be our business rather to labour at acting agreeably to the circumstances in which we are placed, than to determine what effect would be wrought were those circumstances changed.—H. Melvill, B.D.
Mat_24:45-51. The faithful servant and the wicked one.—
I. Their opposite spirit.—The one waits for the coming of the Lord; the other puts no faith in that coming.
II. Their acts.—The one takes care of the household’s nourishment; the other makes himself a despotic lord, who abuses the faithful, and wastes the goods of the house in riotous living.
III. Their recompense.—Blessed and miserable surprise at the advent of the Lord. The one is elevated to the highest dignity, the other is condemned and destroyed on the spot.—J. P. Lange, D.D.
Mat_24:45-47. The Lord’s true steward.—
I. Characteristics.
1. Faithful.—To his Lord. To the end (Mat_24:46).
2. Wise or prudent, for himself, and in relation to those under his care. The “word in the Greek is that which ethical writers had used to express the moral wisdom which adapts means to ends, as contrasted with the wisdom of pure contemplation, on the one hand, or technical skill on the other” (Plumptre).
II. Function.—“To give them meat (their food, R.V.) in due season.” The daily or monthly allowance. “This imagery, drawn from a large Roman estate, has given rise to the oft-recurring thought of the stewardship of the Apostles and ministers of Christ.” 1Co_4:1; Tit_1:7 (Cambridge Bible for Schools). “There is an art, as it were, of spiritual dietetics, which requires tact and discernment as well as faithfulness. The wise servant will seek to discover not only the right kind of food, but the right season for giving it” (Plumptre).
III. Reward.—“He will set him over all that he hath” (R.V.); “thus conferring upon him the highest honour and reward of which he is susceptible” (Morison).—H. M. Booth.
Mat_24:48-51. The unfaithful steward.—
I. His conduct.
1. Presumptuous.—“My Lord delayeth His coming.”
2. Self-assertive.—“Smite his fellow-servants.” More than neglect; “abusing them in the spirit of a petty tyrant” (Morison).
3. Self-indulgent.—“Eat and drink with the drunken.”
II. His punishment.
1. Absolutely certain.—“Shall come.” “Our putting off the thoughts of Christ’s coming will not put off His coming” (M. Henry).
2. Surprisingly sudden.—“In a day when he looketh not for Him.”
3. Terribly severe (Mat_24:51). “Some have felt surprised that our Lord did not shrink from the horror of the word (‘cut him asunder’). Ah! but it was the horror of the thing which He dreaded, and wished to avert. It was the infinite pity of His heart that led Him to use a word which might prove the very strongest deterrent. Besides, how significant it is! Think of whom He is speaking,—servants set over His household to give food in due season, who, instead of doing this, maltreat their fellow-servants and ruin themselves with excess. Think of the duplicity of such conduct. By office in the church, ‘exalted unto heaven’; by practice, ‘brought down to hell’! That unnatural combination cannot last. These monsters with two faces and one black heart cannot be tolerated in the universe of God. They shall be ‘cut asunder’; and then it will appear which of the two faces really belongs to the man” (Expositor’s Bible).—H. M Booth.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv36, 37, 39 (See Scofield "Heb 1:4")
angels
(See Scofield "Heb 1:4")
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v36 The time of Judgment Day:
The time of Judgment Day:
v. 36. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
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v. 37. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.
v. 38. For as in the days that were before the Flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
v. 39. and knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be
v. 40. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
v. 41. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Here is material for careful pondering, above all for those that make it a practice to predict the exact date of Christ’s coming to judgment, as many sects have been in the habit of doing since the beginning of the Christian Church, but especially since the year 1000 A. D. Neither men nor angels have a knowledge of the exact season and time, day and hour, when the Day of Judgment will break upon the world, not even Jesus according to His humanity, in the lowliness of His human nature only, Mar 13:32. It is a secret which is hidden in the councils of God the Father. The Son of God, according to His humanity, has renounced the right to this knowledge for the sake of men, lest they inquire after the day and the hour and give themselves over to a false security. But so much is sure: there will be a repetition of the confident carelessness which characterized the days before the Flood. As the time of Christ’s coming to Judgment draws near, there will be a continuous round of feasting and pleasure-seeking, without in any way regarding the gravity of the situation. Note: The Lord’s words, "marrying and giving in marriage," are not meant to discountenance the holy estate of matrimony, but they throw a spotlight upon conditions of the present time. For instead of understanding the holiness of the wedded estate, and seeking and entering into it in the fear of the Lord, people in our days have only the gratification of their lusts in mind. The sanctity of the marriage vow has been relegated to the rubbish heap, and while the majority of so-called Christian people do not yet openly profess free love, a great many come dangerously near sanctioning and practicing it. For them, as for the people in the time of Noah, the Day of Judgment will truly be a cataclysm, bringing them sudden, terrible punishment. For the guilty cannot escape, even if he be associated outwardly with the innocent, with the believer. Of two men working together, as partners, in the field or elsewhere, one will be accepted, the other will be left and thus rejected. Of two women busy with their housework, attending to the duties that fall to their lot, one will be accepted as a believer, the other will be rejected as an unbeliever. Christ here, in a single vivid flash, shows the routine of Oriental life—the men in the field, the women in the kitchen. "When the grain was cut, threshed, and winnowed, there were no mills to which it could be taken for grinding. This process had to be done in each home, and the labor of doing it fell to the women of the household. Grain was reduced to flour either by rubbing or by pounding. The process of rubbing or grinding was accomplished either by a flat, saddle-shaped stone over which another was rubbed, or by crushing between two stones, the top one of which was Revolved somewhat as a modern millstone. It required two women, as Jesus said, to grind at such a mill—one to feed it, while the other manipulated the rubbing stone. The upper stone was apparently rotated by twisting the wrist. It could thus be turned half-way round and then back again."
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv36–37 that day and hour
that day and hour
Here "day" and "hour" refer to the exact time that the Son of Man will return. (See: Metonymy)
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nor the Son
"not even the Son"
Son
This is an important title for Jesus, the Son of God. (See: Translating Son and Father)
Father
This is an important title for God. (See: Translating Son and Father)
translationWords
day
hour, hours
angel
heaven
Son of God
God the Father
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv36–37 24:36 The day is the day of judgment. •…
24:36 The day is the day of judgment. • or the Son: Jesus’ limited knowledge is suggested also in Acts 1:7. Because the day is unknown, Jesus’ hearers should be vigilant and faithful (see Matt 24:37–25:46). This statement ought to deter those who attempt to calculate the date of our Lord’s return.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.