The Lord Jesus now moves in His Olivet Discourse to addressing the conditions prior to His second coming and what is generally known as His Parousia.
NO ONE KNOWS (Matthew 24:36-41)
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then there will be two men 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.
The Lord Jesus now turns His attention to “that day” in v.36 by pointing to a more specific and determined time. This is associated with the OT expression the day of the Lord[1] or similarly stated earlier in the gospel of Matthew as the day of judgment[2]. That phrase, with reference to the final Judgment, must have been a familiar one to the disciples who would perceive it as the answer to their question concerning the time of the end of the age (24:3)[3]. It is a day that the wrongs of this world will finally be set right and that justice and righteousness will be put on full display. The secrecy behind the Parousia is clearly portrayed as that great day that is reserved to God the Father for His coming judgment. While the timing of that day is kept from the disciples, it is also kept from the angels as well as the Son Himself.
What exactly will things look like in the last days of history prior to this day of judgment? Much like they do today! The Lord compares the day of His Parousia to the days when Noah walked the earth just prior to the coming of the judgment of God in the flood. Those days were filled with the normal tendencies of men such as to eat, drink and to marry. There was nothing out of the ordinary and no indication that judgment was coming upon them. Notice that this happens “until that day that Noah entered the ark”. The day that he entered his vessel, the judgment began, and the inhabitants knew that something terrible was coming. There is a contrast between “those days” that the people were engaging in everyday life, and “that day” that when the judgment began[4].
Vs.40-41 are generally associated by futurists with the rapture of the church in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. When the Lord returns, some will be taken up to heaven to meet the Lord prior to the judgment while others will continue to go on with their lives on the earth. One will be taken, and one will be left behind. What we must consider prior to advancing this interpretation is what the text doesn’t say. The text doesn’t say where they’ll be taken or even why they are taken. The other thing we must consider prior to addressing the interpretation of this text is that this is directly linked with the days of Noah. In the story of Noah, who was taken and who was left? Noah and his family were the ones who remained, and the rest were taken away by the flood in judgment. The term “taken’ is better rendered as being taken in judgment. The parallel text in Luke seems to substantiate this interpretation. I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”] And answering they *said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered.” (Luke 17:34-37). The question of the disciples in v.37 “where Lord?” is in reference to where those that are taken would be brought. His answer is “where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered. This is referring to bodies that have died! In other words, those that are taken, are killed in judgment, not raptured off the earth in safety. When the Lord returns, the judgment will be swift and those who are said to “remain” will be saved while those who are “taken” will fall under the judgment of God[5].
The focal point of the Lord Jesus’ saying is to warn His disciples and future generations who are awaiting His coming that there will be no warning signs and that we should be ready. Life will be normal, and then suddenly that day will come upon the earth. It will be It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. (Luke 17:28-30). The apostle Paul refers to individuals in that same period While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
BE ON ALERT FOR HIS COMING (Matthew 24:42-51)
“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
While many will be eating, drinking, and marrying in those days, with no thought as to the finality at hand, the Lord teaches His disciples to be on alert for that day. The preparations in mind are not in storing food or drink, but in living a life that produces good fruit to offer to their master when He comes. His return will be a sudden and unexpected event and we must all be ready for the day when the Lord comes to gather His people and judge the wicked. This readiness is compared to the head of a house being prepared for the coming of a burglar. The theme of the thief in the night is used widely in the New Testament when discussing the coming of the Lord[6]. The head of a house was responsible for the well-being of his family and his possessions. If he knew the timing of the coming thief, he would not be caught off-guard. He would prepare for the invasion of his home and deal appropriately with this brigand. This mindset of “readiness” should also be kept in the minds of Christians because the coming of the Son of Man will happen at a time when you won’t think it will.
We are then introduced to another parable about how to react in the absence of a master. While the description could be of two slaves (mainly a faithful and sensible slave, and an evil slave), it could be speaking of one slave, with two possible reactions to the master’s absence. Either way, the essence of the parable is quite clear. The slave that takes care of the master’s household is faithful and sensible, while the slave who is evil beats the other slaves. This evil slave carries on in the same way as those in the days of Noah, eating and drinking, and in return, not taking care of the household, all because he doesn’t expect him to return anytime soon. When the master returns from his long journey, there is no announcement of his coming, but a sudden appearing. That appearing is not met in a positive fashion but with retribution. That slave is “cut in two” and assigned a place with the damned where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The same place where the hypocrites dwell. Interestingly, this same terminology is used exclusively in the gospel of Matthew for the religious leaders. They were not to be like the religious leaders who didn’t bear good fruit but to continue to work for the master faithfully even if they didn’t know the time of His return. The latter expression is used throughout the gospel relating to the judgment to come upon those unfaithful to the Lord
[1] Isaiah 13:6, 9
[2] Matthew 7:22, 10:15;11:22-24, 12:36 – Also see 1 Thessalonians 5:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:10; 2 Timothy 1:12,18; 4:8; Jude 6.
[3] J Marcellius Kik, P. 68
[4] This in contrast to some who see the moral corruption in the world getting at its peak prior to the 2nd coming. In Noah’s and Lot’s days, these moral corruptions were severe (Genesis 6:11; 19:1-11)
[5] Some have argued that the conditions in Noah’s day will reflect a time of unprecedented evil in this world where the mass of people will be morally corrupt to the extent that there may be few believers in this world. The reference to Noah’s text is focused upon the similarities with the way people are living their lives in everyday activities. There isn’t a focus in this text however upon societal decay or just how many people on this earth will be believers. If anything, we are told that the kingdom will grow into a great tree and that it will permeate the whole lump (Matthew 13:31-33)
[6] Jesus’ metaphor of the coming of a burglar as a model for the unexpected time of the Parousia made a strong impression on the early church: cf. Luke 12:39; 1 Thess 5:2,4; 2 Peter 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15; Gos. Thom.21,103. (France P. 942)
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