36"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
There are several contrasts here that I never noticed before. I always knew that no one would know the day nor the hour that the Son of Man would appear. Not even the angels in heaven would know.
But in the last verse Jesus said that when we see all the signs, we will know that it is near -- at the doors. But apparently, even though we would know it is near, at the doors, we would still carry on an ignorant life, continue in eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, working in the field and mill, with no outward appearance of preparing for the coming of the Son of Man.
Jesus paints a very carefree picture of man. We will have just lived through major chaos. We will have just suffered through the great tribulation. We will know the coming of the Son of Man is near, but we will not know the day nor the hour. So we will carry on life as if life were going to continue as is? It seems to me that some of us would be panicking.
But how do you prepare for the coming of the Son of Man? We do not know the day nor the hour. I believe Jesus wants us to continue in our normal activities. Yes, continue to work in the fields for you do not know how long you will need to continue supporting yourself and your family. Yes, continue working in the mill, for you do not know how much or how little time you will still need to feed yourself. No matter where you are or what you are doing, or who you are with, Jesus will find you, and take His elect. So continue what you must do. But he said as you do these things, watch. Watch and be ready.
The thing that really puzzles me with this text is Jesus’ example of the master of the house who seeks to prevent a thief from breaking into his house. Is He comparing His gathering of the elect to a thief taking something the from a master? This is a very negative connotation for something that I thought we should look forward to giving, not being taken away from us. This does not make sense to me. It seems more that He should be using a parable of a Master welcoming a Lord into the house, giving Him the best of everything.
It almost makes me wonder if the master in this parable is instead Satan. To Satan, the Son of Man would be the thief taking away those he is trying to hold onto. This almost sounds like a jail break! Maybe the reason no one knows the day or hour is not so much so we have a tough time preparing for it, but so Satan cannot prepare for it. Jesus wants us to prepare for it. He says to watch. He is coming to save us at an unexpected time. Jesus says to be ready. Be ready to leave with Jesus. Be ready so you can be one taken and not left behind. Be ready, for you do not know the hour.
But how do you be ready? I believe that is covered in the next verse.