Matthew 24:36-39

Matthew 24:36-39
“But of that day and hour…” What day and hour? Is Jesus switching subjects to now talk about the end of time? Or, is He still talking about the coming destruction of Jerusalem? Nothing in the text indicates that Jesus is changing the subject. The questions of the disciples had only to do with the fall of the nation and Jesus is continuing to answer those questions. Jesus’ concern in the rest of His discourse is that His disciples will be prepared for the coming judgment against Israel. Of the exact day and hour when the destruction would begin was only in the knowledge of God. At the present time, not even Jesus knew when it would happen.
Therefore, they needed to understand that this judgment would happen on them in similar fashion as the judgment of the flood happened to the old world. In fact, before every judgment brought by the Lord, life seemed to go on as usual right up until the day in which the disaster took place. “Marrying and giving in marriage” are events that occur when a society is confident of the future. Man typically has the mistaken belief that when times are good, times will always be good. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only does the Bible tell us that life is filled with both good and bad days (Ecc. 7:13-14), but there is assuredly a judgment coming. In this text, it was a temporal judgment against Israel. But one day the whole world will be judged (2 Peter 3:3-12) and it will happen just like the days of Noah; no one will know right up until the time when it happens. By that time, it will be too late for those who are unprepared.
Notice that Jesus refers to the coming destruction as “the coming of the Son of Man.” Jesus Himself would be the one who would direct the Roman armies to destroy Israel. Jesus was the one who led that judgment. In the same way, Jesus will one day lead the final judgment on mankind (Mt. 25:31-33). Since we do not know when that will be, we must always be prepared.
Berry Kercheville