36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,1 but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant,2 whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants3 and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Section Overview
Matthew 24 opened with the disciples’ admiring the buildings of Herod’s temple. When Jesus replied that it would be demolished, the disciples asked when that might be and “what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age” (vv. 1–3). Jesus replied that the temple would fall within a generation, by AD 70, and so it was. He also told them how to endure the attending tribulation. But he did not say when he would come or how “this age” would end. As for signs, verse 30 implied that there would be no sign but Christ himself, coming with trumpets and angels to gather his people to himself. Jesus states this explicitly in verse 36: no one knows the day when the Son returns. Because Jesus will come on an unknown day, at an unknown hour, disciples should be ready every hour. So chapter 24 does not say when Jesus returns; rather it describes who will be ready whenever he returns. Thus, according to Jesus’ way, he ignores the question put to him and answers the question they should have asked. The person who is awake, watching, and faithful every hour will be ready whenever Jesus returns.
Section Outline
VIII. The Fifth Discourse: Trouble, Perseverance, and the Eschaton (24:1–25:46) . . .
G. Day and Hour Unknown (24:36–41)
1. As in the Days of Noah (24:36–39)
2. As with Workers Laboring Side by Side (24:40–41)
H. Disciples Watch and Remain Prepared (24:42–25:46)
1. Watching, for the Son Comes Like a Thief at Night (24:42–44)
2. Prepared, for Servants Will Be Called to Account (24:45–51)
Matthew 24:36 opens with this passage’s thesis: no one but the Father knows the hour when the Son will come again. Four illustrations or microparables follow. First, in the days of Noah, the flood came when the people were “unaware,” and so will the Son of Man come unawares (vv. 37–39). When he comes, the divisions in mankind will be revealed. Second, then, two men or women may work side by side, but one will be taken and the other left (vv. 40–41). Therefore, Jesus commands, “Stay awake” (v. 42). Third, as a householder should stay awake to thwart a thief, disciples are always ready for the Son’s unexpected return (vv. 43–44). Fourth, disciples are like faithful stewards, always discharging their duties so the Master’s return will not be an unpleasant surprise (vv. 45–51).
Response
Matthew instructs Christians to stop attempting to discover the year, day, or hour of Jesus’ return. Instead, we should stay ready every hour, whatever we do (24:42, 44). Unbelievers should learn from Noah’s generation that the time to repent does end and should heed, even today, the offer of God’s mercy through Christ.
Jesus’ imagery of people working side by side, with one taken and the other left, reminds all believers of the need to present the gospel of Christ to family, friends, and coworkers. In cultures where the gospel seems implausible, the task is harder but no less necessary.
Verses 36–41 speak to everyone, but the exposition above has proposed that verses 42–51 focus on leaders. They must watch themselves and protect and nourish the flock under their care. Temptations arise when time stretches on and leaders detect opportunities to satisfy or feed themselves and ignore the needy (Ezekiel 34; Jude 12). The darker the hour, the greater the need for faithful church leaders who heed the warnings of Matthew 23:13–36 and 24:48–51. If chapter 23 “pronounces judgment on Pharisaic Judaism in harsh . . . terms,” then chapter 24 “by no means spares other leaders.”413 Let every pastor and elder remember Jesus’ condemnation of hypocrites and abusive leaders. Faithful servants do the Master’s will and receive the Master’s reward, but wicked servants abuse the Master’s trust and suffer his wrath.
The teaching on punishment also demands a response, since contemporary readers object to it. An absolutely literal interpretation of verse 51 is impossible, since the wicked servant is cut in pieces and then placed with hypocrites. Still, orthodox theologians have traditionally understood that Scripture, including chapters 24–25, teaches that judgment day brings positive joys and positive punishments. The Westminster Confession of Faith states that “then shall the righteous go into everlasting life, and receive that fullness of joy” that comes “from the presence of the Lord,” while the wicked, “who know not God, and obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ, shall be cast into eternal torments.”414
In recent decades, orthodox theologians have looked to soften 24:51. One view proposes that “cut in pieces” (or “cut in half,” Gk. dichotomeō) means to cut off or exclude from God’s people. Others, drawing on C. S. Lewis’s musings in The Great Divorce and on Jesus’ command “Depart from me” (25:41), interpret hell as nothing but privation. That is, metaphors for punishment represent the loss of God’s presence and blessings but not active punishment.415 I. Howard Marshall, an ordinarily orthodox scholar, opines that the consensus of “civilized people” rules out certain concepts of hell (cf. comment on 22:1–14). He writes, “In a number of parables spoken by Jesus the protagonist condemns unworthy servants to horrendous fates.” Marshall finds the imagery unacceptable: “There would be universal agreement among civilized people that no human being should perpetrate horrors of the kind described in the parabolic imagery.”416 To say this is to stop exegeting the text and to start judging it. Biblical theologians follow Scripture whether they particularly like what it says or not. This principle is especially important when biblical teachings run against the grain of a theologian’s culture.
Finally, we reject the view, allegedly based on 24:36–51 and a concept of a rapture found there, that believers should not seek a faithful presence in this world. In fact, this passage promotes the opposite: daily service to God and neighbor, day by day in every task, is the sure way to stay ready for Jesus.