Matthew 24:36 Kommentar

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple,.... He not only went out of it for that time, but took his final leave of it, never to return more to it; having foretold its desolation, which he, in part, by so doing, immediately fulfilled: this the disciples observing, and being intent on the outward splendour, and worldly grandeur of it, were concerned that so beautiful a structure should be deserted; and almost thought it incredible, that so strong, and firm a building could be destroyed. And his disciples came unto him: as he went, and as soon as he was come out of the temple, and whilst in view of it: for to show him the buildings of the temple; the walls of it, and courts adjoining to it, how beautiful and firm they were: whether this was done by them to raise in him admiration or commiseration, in hopes he might change the sentence he had passed upon it, is not easy to say; or whether this did not express their incredulity about the desolation of it; which Christ's answer, in the next verse, seems to imply. Mark says, it was "one of the disciples" that observed these to him, who might be accompanied with the rest, and in their name address him; and who, probably, might be Peter, since he was generally their mouth; and that he should speak to him in this manner: "master, see what manner of stones, and what buildings are here!" Luke says, "how it was adorned with goodly stones, and gifts." The Jews give very great encomiums of the second temple, as repaired by Herod; and it was undoubtedly a very fine structure. They say (p), that he built the house of the sanctuary, "an exceeding beautiful building"; and that he repaired the temple, in beauty "greatly exceeding" that of Solomon's (q). They moreover observe (r), that "he who has not seen the building of Herod, has never seen, , "a beautiful building." With what is it built? says Rabbah, with stones of green and white marble. And there are others say, that it was built with stones of spotted green and white marble.'' These, very likely, were the very stones the disciples pointed to, and admired; and were of a prodigious size, as well as worth. Some of the stones were, as Josephus (s) says, "forty five cubits long, five high, and six broad.'' Others of them, as he elsewhere affirm (t), "were twenty five cubits long, eight high, and twelve broad.'' And he also tells us, in the same place, that there were, "in the porches, four rows of pillars: the thickness of each pillar was as much as three men, with their arms stretched out, and joined together, could grasp; the length twenty seven feet, and the number of them an hundred and sixty two, and beautiful to a miracle.'' At the size of those stones, and the beauty of the work, it is said (u), Titus was astonished, when he destroyed the temple; at which time his soldiers plundered it, and took away "the gifts", with which it is also said to be adorned. These were rich and valuable things which were dedicated to it, and either laid up in it, or hung upon the walls and pillars of it, as it was usual in other temples (w). These may, intend the golden table given by Pompey, and the spoils which Herod dedicated; and particularly the golden vine, which was a gift of his (x); besides multitudes of other valuable things, which were greatly enriching and ornamental to it. Now the disciples suggest, by observing these, what a pity it was such a grand edifice should be destroyed; or how unaccountable it was; that a place of so much strength, could easily be demolished. (p) Juchasin, fol. 139. 1. (q) Ganz Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 24. 2. (r) T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 4. 1. & Succa, fol. 51. 2. (s) De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 5. (t) Antiq. Jud. l. 15. c. 14. (u) Egesippus, l. 5. c. 43. (w) Vid. Ryckium de Capitol. Rom. c. 21, &c. (x) Joseph. Antiq. l. 15.

But as the days of Noe were,.... So Noah is usually called Noe by the Septuagint: the sense is, as were the practices of the men of that generation, in which Noah lived, so will be the practices of the men of that age, in which the son of man comes; or as the flood, which happened in the days of Noah, was sudden and unexpected; it came upon men thoughtless about it, though they had warning of it; and was universal, swept them all away, excepting a few that were saved in the ark: so shall also the coming of the son of man be; to take vengeance on the Jews, on a sudden, at an unawares, when they would be unthoughtful about it; though they were forewarned of it by Christ and his apostles, and their destruction be as universal; all would be involved in it, excepting a few, that were directed a little before, to go out of the city of Jerusalem to Pella; where they were saved, as Noah and his family were in the ark.

Watch for your life's sake. Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ye ready, for ye know not the hour in which our Lord cometh. But often shall ye come together, seeking the things which are befitting to your souls: for the whole time of your faith will not profit you, if ye be not made perfect in the last time. For in the last days false prophets and corrupters shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate; for when lawlessness increaseth, they shall hate and persecute and betray one another, and then shall appear the world-deceiver as Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands, and he shall do iniquitous things which have never yet come to pass since the beginning. Then shall the creation of men come into the fire of trial, and many shall be made to stumble and shall perish; but they that endure in their faith shall be saved from under the curse itself. And then shall appear the signs of the truth; first, the sign of an out-spreading in heaven; then the sign of the sound of the trumpet; and the third, the resurrection of the dead; yet not of all, but as it is said: The Lord shall come and all His saints with Him. Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven.

He also introduces a parable of the mission to the vineyard of the Son (not the Father), who was sent after so many servants, and slain by the husbandmen, and avenged by the Father. He is also ignorant of the last day and hour, which is known to the Father only. He awards the kingdom to His disciples, as He says it had been appointed to Himself by the Father.

Otherwise; So long as the Church which is Christ's body knows not that day and hour, so long the Son Himself is said not to know that day and hour. The word know is used according to its proper usual meaning in Scripture. The Apostle speaks of Christ, as him who knew no sin, (2 Cor. 5:21.) i. e. sinned not. The knowledge of that day and hour the Son reserves in store for the fellow-heirs of the promise, that all may know at once, i. e. in the day when it shall come upon them, what things God hath prepared for them that love him. (1 Cor. 2:9.)

When Christ taught us that no one knows the day on which the end of time will come, not the angels and not even himself, he removed from us any need to be concerned about its date. O immeasurable mercy of divine goodness! Since the Son said, “All things have been delivered to me by my Father,” we know that the Father did not deny him the knowledge of this day. If anything was denied him, he could not have said that all things were delivered to him. But because the Son has handed on to us everything the Father gave him and the Word of God does not contain in himself as much assurance of the future as of things already accomplished, therefore it was established by God that the date of the end should be indefinite. Thus he could allow us an abundant amount of time for repentance yet still keep us solicitous for fear of the uncertain and so as to avoid giving anyone the idea of a particular day by expressing his will. For just as at the time of the flood, in the normal course of our life, in our activities and in our sufferings, that great day will suddenly appear.

And has indeed God the Father denied the knowledge of that day to the Son, when He has declared, All things are committed to me of my Father? (Luke 10:22.) but if any thing has been denied, all things are not committed to Him.

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of Heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." By saying, not the angels, He stopped their mouths, that they should not seek to learn what these angels know not; and by saying, "neither the Son," forbids them not only to learn, but even to inquire. For in proof that therefore He said this, see after His resurrection, when He saw they were become over curious, how He stopped their mouths more decidedly. For now indeed He hath mentioned infallible signs, many and endless; but then He saith merely, "It is not for you to know times or seasons." And then that they might not say, we are driven to perplexity, we are utterly scorned, we are not held worthy so much as of this, He says, "which the Father hath put in His own power." And this, because He was exceedingly careful to honor them, and to conceal nothing from them. Therefore He refers it to His Father, both to make the thing awful, and to exclude that of which He had spoken from their inquiry. Since if it be not this, but He is ignorant of it, when will He know it? Will it be together with us? But who would say this? And the Father He knoweth clearly, even as clearly as He knoweth the Son; and of the day is He ignorant? Moreover, "the Spirit indeed searcheth even the deep things of God," and doth not He know so much as the time of the judgment? But how He ought to judge He knoweth, and of the secrets of each He hath a full perception; and what is far more common than that, of this could He be ignorant? And how, if "all things were made by Him, and without Him was not even one thing made," was He ignorant of the day? For He who made the worlds, it is quite plain that He made the times also; and if the times, even that day. How then is He ignorant of that which He made? And ye indeed say that ye know even His substance, but that the Son not even the day, the Son, who is always in the bosom of the Father; and yet His substance is much greater than the days, even infinitely greater. How then, while assigning to yourselves the greater things, do you not allow even the less to the Son, "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." But neither do you know what God is in His substance, though ten thousand times ye talk thus madly, neither is the Son ignorant of the day, but is even in full certainty thereof. For this cause, I say, when He had told all things, both the times and the seasons, and had brought it to the very doors ("for it is near," He saith, "even at the doors"), He was silent as to the day. For if thou seek after the day and hour, thou shall not hear them of me, saith He; but if of times and preludes, without hiding anything, I will tell thee all exactly. For that indeed I am not ignorant of it, I have shown by many things; having mentioned intervals, and all the things that are to occur, and how short from this present time until the day itself (for this did the parable of the fig tree indicate), and I lead thee to the very vestibule; and if I do not open unto thee the doors, this also I do for your good.

(Ver. 36.) But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, except the Father alone. In some Latin manuscripts, it is added, not even the Son: since in Greek and especially in the exemplars of Adamantius and Pierius, this is not found written, but because it is read in some, it seems worthy of discussion. Arius and Eunomius rejoice, as if the ignorance of the teacher is the glory of the disciples, and they say: One who knows and one who is ignorant cannot be equal. Against whom are these things to be said briefly: When Jesus has done all things, that is, the Word of God: For all things were made through him, and without him was made nothing (John 1:3), in all times, even the day of judgment: by what consequence can he ignore a part of which he knows the whole? This also must be said: What is greater, the knowledge of the Father, or of the judgment? If he knows the greater, how does he not know what is lesser? We have read the scripture. All that belongs to the Father has been handed over to me (Luke 10:22). If all that belongs to the Father also belongs to the Son, then how is it that the Son reserved the knowledge of one day for himself and did not want to share it with the Son? But we must also infer this: If he is ignorant of the last day of times, he is also ignorant of nearly the last, and, looking backward, of all. For it cannot happen that one who is ignorant of the first knows what the second is. Therefore, because we have proven that the Son does not ignore the day of the consummation of all things (God is added in some versions), a reason must be given why he is said to be ignorant. The Apostle writes about the Savior: In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). Therefore, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Christ, but they are hidden. Why are they hidden? After the resurrection, when questioned by the apostles, he answered more explicitly about the day: It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established in His own authority (Acts 1:7). When he says, 'It is not for you to know,' he shows that he himself knows, but it is not expedient for the apostles to know, so that they may always live uncertain about the coming of the Judge, as if every day were a different Judgment Day. Finally, the consistent sermon of the Gospel urges us to understand this same thing, saying that only the Father knows: in the Father he includes the Son. For every father, the name of the son is.

In some Latin copies is added here, "neither the Son:" but in the Greek copies, and particularly those of Adamantius and Pierius, it is not foundh But because it is read in some, it seems to require our notice. Whereat Arius and Eunomius rejoice greatly; for say they, He who knows and He who is ignorant cannot be both equal. Against these we answer shortly; Seeing that Jesus, that is, The Word of God, made all times, (for By him all things were made, and without him was not any thing made that was made,) (John 1:3.) and that the day of judgment must be in all time, by what reasoning can He who knows the whole be shown to be ignorant of a part? This we will further say; Which is the greater, the knowledge of the Father, or the knowledge of the judgment? If He knows the greater, how can He be ignorant of the less? Having then shown that the Son of God cannot be ignorant of the day of the consummation, we must now show a cause why He should be said to be ignorant. When after the resurrection He is demanded concerning this day by the Apostles, He answers more openly; It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in his own power. (Acts 1:7.) Wherein He shows that Himself knows, but that it was not expedient for the Apostles to know, that being in uncertainty of the coming of their Judge, they should live every day as though they were to be judged that day.

(de Trin. i. 12.) When He says here, Knows not, He means,' makes others not to know;' i. e. He knew not then, so as to tell His disciples; as it was said to Abraham, Now I know that thou fearest God; (Gen. 22:19.) i. e. 'Now have I caused that thou shouldest know,' because by the temptation he came to know himself. (Serm. 97. 1.) He says that the Father knoweth, implies that in the Father the Son also knows. For what can there be in time which was not made by the Word, seeing that time itself was made by the Word! (Lib. 83 Quaest. q. 60.) That the Father alone knows maybe well understood in the above-mentioned manner of knowing, that He makes the Son to know; but the Son is said not to know, because he does not make men to know. (Ep. 199, 16.) The Gospel then says, Of that day and hour knoweth no man; but you say, That neither the month nor the year of His coming can be known. This exactness of yours up to this point seems as if you meant that the year could not be known, but that the week or the decade of years might be known, as though it was possible to fix or assign it to some seven, ten, or a hundred, or some number of years more or less. If you allow that you cannot so limit it, you think with me.

For in the last days false prophets shall be multiplied, and such as corrupt the word; and the sheep shall be changed into wolves, and love into hatred: for through the abounding of iniquity the love of many shall wax cold. For men shall hate, and persecute, and betray one another. And then shall appear the deceiver of the world, the enemy of the truth, the prince of lies, [2 Thessalonians 2:3-12] whom the Lord Jesus "shall destroy with the spirit of His mouth, who takes away the wicked with His lips; and many shall be offended at Him. But they that endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven;" [Isaiah 11:4; Matthew 24:1-51] and afterwards shall be the voice of a trumpet by the archangel; and in that interval shall be the revival of those that were asleep. And then shall the Lord come, and all His saints with Him, with a great concussion above the clouds, with the angels of His power, [Matthew 16:27] in the throne of His kingdom, to condemn the devil, the deceiver of the world, and to render to every one according to his deeds. "Then shall the wicked go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous shall go into life eternal," [Matthew 25:46] to inherit those things "which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, such things as God has prepared for them that love Him;" [1 Corinthians 2:9] and they shall rejoice in the kingdom of God, which is in Christ Jesus.

And Mark has the addition. (Mark 13:32.)

I have read also in some one's book, that the Son here is not to be taken of the Only-begotten, but of the adopted, for that He would not have put the Angels before the Only-begotten Son, saying, Not the Angels of heaven, neither the Son.i

Here He teaches the disciples not to seek to know things that exceed human knowledge. By saying "not the angels," He restrains them from seeking to learn now that which even the angels do not know. By saying "My Father only," He also prevents them from seeking to learn thereafter. For if He had said, "I know, but I do not wish to tell you," they would have been grieved as though He had disdained them. But now by saying, "Not even the Son knows, but My Father only," He prevents them from asking. It is like a father who will often hold something in his hands and when his children ask for it and he does not want to give it, he hides it and says, "I do not have what you are asking for," and so the children stop crying for it. So too the Lord says, "Even I do not know, but My Father only," in order to put an end to the desire of the apostles to know the day and the hour. That He Himself does know that day and hour is clear from many other things. All that the Father has, belongs to the Son. As the Father has knowledge of the hour, so the Son surely has the same knowledge. It is even more clear from this: how is it possible for the Son to be ignorant of the day, when He knows the things that precede the day, that is, the signs that He has just foretold? For he who has lead another into the vestibule surely knows where the door is as well. But it was for their good that Christ did not open it. For it is never to our benefit to know the time of the end, lest we become lazy. Not knowing, we remain alert.

But of that day and hour no one knows. In this part he determines the uncertainty of the time. And regarding this he does two things. First, he sets forth the uncertainty of the time; secondly, he urges vigilance by a similitude; thirdly, he shows the future outcome. He says, they shall see the Son of man. You say this indeterminately; tell us determinately if it is true. But of that day and hour no one knows, not the angels of heaven. What he says about the angels of heaven is clear, and it presents no great difficulty, because there is natural knowledge in them, and this does not extend except to those things that happen according to the course of nature; but the judgment will not happen except according to the will of God. Likewise, there is another knowledge, the knowledge of glory, and in this they know only as much as the Lord wills to reveal, and this he has kept to himself; Malachi 3:2: Behold, the Lord shall come, and who shall be able to know his coming? 1 Thessalonians 5:2: The day of the Lord shall so come as a thief in the night. But there is a question here, according to Jerome, because Mark 13:26 says: nor even the Son of man; from which Arius seems to confirm his heresy, because if the Father knows what the Son does not know, then the Father is greater than the Son. Therefore it can be said that the Son knows, and that the day of judgment is determined according to a certain plan, and whatever is determined by God is determined by his eternal Word; therefore it is impossible that the Word should not know. But why is he said not to know? Augustine and Jerome say that it is a customary manner of speaking to say that someone does not know something when he does not make it known; just as it is said in Genesis 22:12: Now I know that you fear God, i.e., I have made it known. Therefore the Son is said not to know because he does not make it known. In another way, Origen says that Christ and the Church are like head and body, because just as head and body are like one person, so Christ and the Church. But Christ sometimes takes the form of the Church, as in Psalm 21:2: O God, my God, look upon me. Hence what is said, that Christ does not know, is understood to mean that the Church does not know; hence the Lord says in Acts 1:7: It is not for you to know the times or moments etc. Note that Augustine says that the Lord wished to show by certain signs that the coming of the judgment cannot be known determinately, because he does not determine any particular time. The proof says that it cannot be known, because as it is with the ages of man, so it is with the ages of the world. Hence just as the last age of man does not have a fixed term but sometimes extends more than the others, so also it must be said of the last part of the world, that it does not have a fixed term and could last longer than all the other parts.

PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS. (Mat 25:1-13) Then--at the time referred to at the close of the preceding chapter, the time of the Lord's Second Coming to reward His faithful servants and take vengeance on the faithless. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom--This supplies a key to the parable, whose object is, in the main, the same as that of the last parable--to illustrate the vigilant and expectant attitude of faith, in respect of which believers are described as "they that look for Him" (Heb 9:28), and "love His appearing" (Ti2 4:8). In the last parable it was that of servants waiting for their absent Lord; in this it is that of virgin attendants on a Bride, whose duty it was to go forth at night with lamps, and be ready on the appearance of the Bridegroom to conduct the Bride to his house, and go in with him to the marriage. This entire and beautiful change of figure brings out the lesson of the former parable in quite a new light. But let it be observed that, just as in the parable of the Marriage Supper, so in this--the Bride does not come into view at all in this parable; the Virgins and the Bridegroom holding forth all the intended instruction: nor could believers be represented both as Bride and Bridal Attendants without incongruity.