Verse 36
The certainty of fulfillment should not lead the disciples to conclude that they could predict the time of fulfillment exactly. Jesus explained that only the heavenly Father knew precisely when the Son would return (cf. Acts 1:7).
"This verse becomes the main proposition which is developed from this point to Matthew 25:30." [Note: Toussaint, Behold the . . ., p. 280.]
Watchful preparation is necessary since no one knows the day or the hour when Jesus will return. We do not know the year or the month either. The alternative would be living life as usual without regard to the King’s return. Jesus deliberately discouraged His disciples from setting dates.
Jesus’ self-confessed ignorance has created a problem for some readers. How could He be God and not know everything? The answer is part of the problem of God becoming man, the Incarnation. Jesus voluntarily limited Himself, and limitation of His knowledge was part of His humiliation (Luke 2:52; Philippians 2:7).
"John’s Gospel, the one of the four Gospels most clearly insisting on Jesus’ deity, also insists with equal vigor on Jesus’ dependence on and obedience to his Father-a dependence reaching even to his knowledge of the divine. How NT insistence on Jesus’ deity is to be combined with NT insistence on his ignorance and dependence is a matter of profound importance to the church; and attempts to jettison one truth for the sake of preserving the other must be avoided." [Note: Carson, "Matthew," p. 508. For further discussion, see idem, Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility, pp. 146-60.]
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