KNEW NOTHING
Matthew 24:36-41 NET.
36 “But as for that day and hour no one knows it — not even the angels in heaven — except the Father alone. 37 For just like the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For in those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. 39 And they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away. It will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 There will be two women grinding grain with a mill; one will be taken and one left.
The Gospel of Matthew is about Jesus as the king and his coming Kingdom. The gospel can be divided into seven parts. The first part of Matthew explains who Jesus is and why he qualifies as the king. The final part explains why Jesus had to die on the cross. The second part, which begins in chapter 4, verse 12, describes how we can represent the coming Kingdom. That is the part that contains the sermon on the mount. The third part of Matthew explains how to spread the future Kingdom. The 4th part describes how to stay committed to the coming king. The 5th part explains how to live by the standards of the coming Kingdom. The 6th part, which contains today’s passage, tells us what we need to know about when the Kingdom will come.
Each part of Matthew’s gospel focuses on a particular sermon Jesus gave. The sermon in section 6 is in chapters 24 and 25 of the Gospel. We have been examining chapter 24 for several months now. By this time, you ought to remember the process we go through whenever we approach one of the texts in this chapter. The first thing we must establish is which question Jesus answers in this Passage. Is he talking about the destruction of Jerusalem? Or is he talking about the second coming? Or is he talking about the end of the age? Those were the three questions a disciple asked him while they left the temple into the Mount of Olives.
It is easy to find the answer to that question in today’s passage. Verse 39 says it will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man, so it is clear that Jesus is talking about his second coming here.
The principle: no one will know the timing of the second coming (36).
Many books about Bible prophecy appear to have some special knowledge about the second coming. But today’s passage teaches that that special knowledge does not exist. It says that as for that day and hour, no one knows it, not even the angels in heaven, except the Father alone.
Now, let’s get practical here. Lots of us know that Jesus is coming back. Lots of us are convinced that Jesus is coming back sooner rather than later. This world’s condition is an indicator that Jesus is coming back soon. I don’t think the fact that Jesus is coming again is what is in question here. Instead, the issue is the timing of the second coming. The principle that Jesus gives us in today’s text is that the timing of his second coming is something that no one will know. Even if you had an Angel from heaven and you grilled him about this secret he could not reveal it because he doesn’t know it. The father alone knows when the son is going to come back.
That is a good thing. All the instructions that Jesus gave us about how to live our lives as Christians representing his Kingdom assume that we are living those lives in ignorance of when he is going to come back. A life of faith demands a certain amount of unawareness. A life of faith requires that we live prepared for Christ’s second coming, not knowing exactly when it will happen. If we knew precisely when the Lord was coming back, we would be tempted to ease off on living according to his commands. The blessing on Christ’s servants is given to us because we keep working for him even though we don’t know precisely when he will return and reward us. We are blessed because we are found serving him when he returns.
The question that the disciple gave Jesus that day is, what is the sign of your coming? Jesus answered that question by telling his disciples that no one knows when he is coming. There will be no preparatory sign. When Jesus talks about his coming, he describes it as an event that will happen suddenly, and no one will be prepared for it. Possibly, the disciples wanted to know when Jesus was coming back so they could quickly prepare for it when the time came. But Jesus point is that there is no preparing for Christ second coming until it comes. There will be no pre-warning. Not even Christians will know when Christ will return. That is precisely why we need to be ready at all times on all occasions. Our master wants us to get prepared and stay prepared.
Jesus doesn’t want us to set our calendars based on our prophetic understanding and then rest until the time approaches. He wants us to live in expectation and anticipation of his return at all times. He wants us to be instant in and out of season. He wants us to represent his Kingdom at all times, not just at the end times. The New Testament frames our understanding of God’s timing in this way: we live in the last days. We don’t know how long these last days will last. But we must always be ready for the coming of the Son of Man at any time.
The precedent: it will be like the days of Noah were (37-39a).
Jesus said that his coming was going to be just like the days of Noah were. The book of Genesis describes Noah and the great flood. It tells that Noah was given the revelation that the flood would come. From then on, Noah had two jobs. He had the job of building the ark that would rescue humanity from the coming flood. He also had the job of preaching about the coming day of judgment to everyone who would listen.
So, Noah built. He built an ark. He built that ark so that it could contain all the animals that God wanted to rescue. He also built rooms in that arc for his family members. He probably also built rooms in that ark for people he desperately wanted to save. But he preached and preached. Nobody came down the aisle. Nobody wanted to be saved. God had warned of a coming day of judgment. God had set aside his messenger to proclaim that day of judgment. Noah built, and Noah preached. The ark grew more extensive, but the congregation remained the same. It was just the preacher, his wife, his three sons, and their wives. Eight people, week after week. Eight people, month after month. God planned to rescue humanity, but an entire generation ignored his plan.
They probably called Noah a lunatic, and he certainly seemed like one. He kept building and preaching, and the number in the pews remained the same.
Jesus said that his second coming would be like that, too. I’m so grateful that he didn’t mean that only eight people would be saved. He suggested that even though the gospel will be preached, people will stay eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage until the day comes, and they will miss their opportunity. Jesus is not promising that we will become famous preachers who reach many people for Christ. He’s not telling us to expect that. Instead, he tells us not to be surprised if we preach and preach and nobody cares about what we say. He’s telling us not to be surprised if the world thinks we’re crazy and sets us aside as insignificant. He’s telling us not to be surprised if the world ignores us and ignores our message.
Therefore, we should celebrate it whenever someone gives their life to Christ. A miracle has happened. A lost soul has been swept into God’s Kingdom against all odds. A generation that has learned to ignore God has produced another believer. What a miracle that is. If God has touched your life and assured you of the truth of his word, and you have put your faith in Jesus Christ according to that word, you are blessed beyond comprehension. You have been snatched not just from the flood but from the fire.
But Jesus tells us to be faithful like Noah was, even if we experience the same kind of rejection that Noah did. He does not guarantee that we will be successful. He warns us that we might not make a difference, but he calls on us to be faithful like Noah was.
Jesus said that that generation knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away. They could have known something. They could have put their faith in God’s word through his prophet Noah. But they chose to ignore him and so they knew nothing. We can know some things about the second coming of Christ. Just like Noah’s generation could have known much about what God was doing if they had listened to Noah. The tragedy is that there was something to know, but the generation chose to know nothing, so they knew nothing. We are living in such a generation today. They pride themselves on being agnostic. The word agnostic means ignorant. It means not knowing. There are people in this generation today who wear the title agnostic as if it is a badge of honor. It is not. It is a sign of shame. When God has given us his word in 66 books filled with infallible inherent knowledge, to claim to be an agnostic about God is ridiculous. Yet this generation continues to know less and less about the things that matter.
If you had been part of that generation during the days of Noah, you would have noticed the sky growing darker and the rains coming down. You might even have noticed that that boat that crazy Noah had built is now beginning to float. You might have wondered whether Noah was crazy or not. But even if your head raised your voice to the sky and cried out to the God of Noah, your prayers would not be answered. God gave that generation 100 years to listen to him. They never found the time to do that. Once the judgment began, there was no time to change their mind. The flood had come, and they had been left behind.
The purpose: we need to be ready (39b-41).
Jesus tells us that it will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man. Those who had never dared to enter the church will suddenly be interested in the Bible and the church. But it will be too late for them. There’ll be no time for church and Sunday school. There’ll be no time for preparation. The coming of the Son of Man will be a time of separation.
There will be two men in the field. One will be taken and one left. There’ll be two women grinding grain. One will be taken, and the other left. Scholars disagree over precisely what Jesus is describing here. He could be talking about the rapture. When Jesus appears in the sky and believers are caught up to be with him in the air. But he could also be talking about judgment. The people who are taken could be taken in judgment. Either way, Jesus is saying here that there will be a separation when he comes. The sheep will be separated from the goats. The wise will be separated from the foolish. The faithful will be separated from the unfaithful.
An immediate judgment will divide this world into the haves and the have-nots. Once again, there will be no time to change your status before God when Jesus returns. There will be people praying at that time, but they will be praying for the mountains to fall upon them to hide them from God’s wrath. They will be weeping in mourning over their eternal fate. They will be gnashing their teeth in anger at the God who is putting them on trial and punishing them for their sins.
But just as it was in Noah’s time, so it will be on the day when our Lord Jesus returns to this earth. The day of preparation will be over. The day of separation will come. The day of preparation is now. Tomorrow may be too late. Tonight may be too late. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the time to get ready for the coming king.
jeffersonvann 