Mark 13:32-33
“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Jesus is clarifying that while He knows the Father's timing, He, as the Son of Man, hasn't been commissioned to reveal it. This distinction highlights Jesus' full humanity and His reliance on the Father's divine timing, rather than an inherent limitation of His divine nature.
Jesus has just described signs that will precede the end times and the destruction of the temple, urging his followers to be vigilant. He uses the example of a fig tree to illustrate how signs indicate an approaching event, but then explicitly states that the exact day and hour are hidden from everyone. This statement about not knowing the timing is directly linked to the urgent call to watchfulness that follows.
Jesus, the Son of God, famously stated He didn't know the day or hour of His return. How can this be?
This verse highlights a profound truth about Jesus' humanity. While fully divine, Jesus also fully embraced His human nature. The commentators suggest that in His human capacity, His knowledge was finite, not because God the Father withheld information from His divine Son, but because the human experience itself is limited. Think of it like this: imagine a brilliant scientist who knows everything in physics. But when experiencing a new sensory input for the first time, they might say, 'I don't know yet what this feels like.' Their divine understanding is complete, but their human experience is still unfolding. Jesus, as the Son of Man, experienced life with limitations, including a finite human knowledge, which was part of His self-emptying for our salvation.
While angels and even the Son acknowledge a limit to their knowledge, one Person alone holds the key. What does this tell us about God's control?
The verse clearly states that 'only the Father' knows the day and the hour. This isn't a flaw in God's knowledge, but a deliberate divine arrangement. The Father, as the ultimate source and orchestrator of all things, reserves this specific knowledge to Himself. This emphasizes His supreme sovereignty and the unfolding of His plan according to His perfect timing. It means that His plans are not dependent on anyone else's knowledge or approval. Even though the Son, in His divine nature, shares in the Father's omniscience, the revelation of this particular timing was intentionally held back from creation and even from Jesus' human consciousness during His earthly ministry. This points to a beautiful, albeit mysterious, unity within the Trinity, where roles and responsibilities are distinct, yet the divine purpose is one.
If the exact time is hidden from everyone but the Father, what is Jesus' main point for us?
The primary purpose of Jesus revealing that the day and hour are unknown is not to fuel our curiosity, but to drive us to consistent watchfulness. The uncertainty about the timing of His return, or any significant divine intervention, is meant to keep us alert and prepared. It's a constant invitation to live each day with intentionality, as if it could be the day. This means living in active faith, obedience, and love, rather than passively waiting or trying to predict an unknowable future. The verse isn't a theological puzzle to be solved, but a practical directive. The focus shifts from 'When?' to 'Am I ready?' This call to vigilance is crucial for navigating life with eternal perspective, reminding us that our hope is fixed on Christ's certain return, even if its precise moment is hidden.
Understand the original words
huios · Greek Noun
The second person of the Trinity, who took on human flesh to fulfill the redemptive plan of the Father; while fully divine, He voluntarily limited the exercise of His omniscience during His earthly ministry.
patēr · Greek Noun
The first person of the Trinity, the supreme source and authority of all things, who alone possesses absolute, eternal, and exhaustive knowledge.
blepō / agrupneō · Greek Verb
A spiritual imperative to maintain moral and spiritual alertness, vigilance, and readiness against deception or moral lethargy, often in anticipation of Christ's return.
kairos · Greek Noun
A designated moment or season in God’s sovereign redemptive timeline; it refers to the decisive point of divine intervention in human history.
This verse speaks to Jesus' humanity and the divinely appointed purpose of concealing the exact timing of future judgments, encouraging constant vigilance rather than speculation.
c. 30-33 AD
Jesus' Ministry and Teachings
During His earthly ministry, Jesus taught extensively about the coming judgment and the signs that would precede it, including the destruction of Jerusalem.
c. 30-33 AD— this verse
Discourse on the Mount of Olives
Jesus delivers His Olivet Discourse, recorded in Mark 13 (and parallels in Matthew and Luke), detailing future events and the signs of the end times.
c. 60-62 AD
Writing of the Gospel of Mark
The Gospel of Mark is written, likely in Rome, preserving Jesus' teachings and events, including the Olivet Discourse and the statement about the unknowable day and hour.
70 AD
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
Jerusalem and its Temple are destroyed by the Roman army under Titus, a cataclysmic event that fulfilled many of Jesus' prophecies and served as a significant sign of the 'end times' Jesus described.
This passage in Matthew, also spoken by Jesus, states the same truth about the unknowable day and hour, highlighting that only the Father knows, reinforcing the consistent teaching on this mystery.
Acts 1:7Jesus tells His disciples, 'It is not for you to know the times or for seasons which the Father has set by His own authority.' This echoes the sentiment of Mark 13:32, emphasizing God's sovereign control over timing and our role in watching and being ready.
1 Thessalonians 5:2The Apostle Paul directly references the unknowable nature of the 'day of the Lord' coming like a thief in the night. This passage shows how this teaching from Jesus was understood and applied by the early church to encourage constant readiness.
Philippians 2:6-7This passage describes Jesus 'emptying himself' and taking the form of a servant. It provides theological context for Jesus' statement in Mark 13:32, suggesting a voluntary limitation of His divine knowledge in His human experience.
barnesMark 13:32: "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."
Neither the Son - This text has always presented serious difficulties. It has been asked, If Jesus had a divine nature, how could he say that he knew not the day and hour of a future event? In reply, it has been said that the passage was missing, according to Ambrose, in some Greek manuscripts; but it is now found in all, and there can be little doubt that the pas…
ellicottMark 13:32: "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."
(32-37) But of that day and that hour. —See Notes on Matthew 24:36-41 . Neither the Son.—The addition to St. Matthew’s report is every way remarkable. It indicates the self-imposed limitation of the divine attributes which had belonged to our Lord as the eternal Son, and the acquiescence in a power and knowledge which, like that of the human nature which He assume…
Jesus is clarifying that while He knows the Father's timing, He, as the Son of Man, hasn't been commissioned to reveal it. This distinction highlights Jesus' full humanity and His reliance on the Father's divine timing, rather than an inherent limitation of His divine nature.
Jesus has just described signs that will precede the end times and the destruction of the temple, urging his followers to be vigilant. He uses the example of a fig tree to illustrate how signs indicate an approaching event, but then explicitly states that the exact day and hour are hidden from everyone. This statement about not knowing the timing is directly linked to the urgent call to watchfulness that follows.
Jesus has just described signs that will precede the end times and the destruction of the temple, urging his followers to be vigilant. He uses the example of a fig tree to illustrate how signs indicate an approaching event, but then explicitly states that the exact day and hour are hidden from everyone. This statement about not knowing the timing is directly linked to the urgent call to watchfulness that follows.
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"“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come." — Jesus is clarifying that while He knows the Father's timing, He, as the Son of Man, hasn't been commissioned to reveal it. This distinction highlights Jesus' full humanity and His reliance on the F…
