Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 24:42-44

"Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through. Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh." — Matthew 24:42-44 (ASV)

St. Jerome: Having declared that of that hour knoweth no man, but the Father only, He shows that it was not expedient for the Apostles to know this, so that in their ignorance they might live in perpetual expectation of His coming. Concluding the whole matter, He says, Watch therefore... He does not say, "Because we do not know," but "Because you do not know," showing that He Himself is not ignorant of the day of judgment.

St. John Chrysostom: He wanted them to be always ready, and therefore He says, Watch.

St. Gregory the Great: To watch is to keep the eyes open and look out for the true light, to do and observe what one believes, and to cast away the darkness of laziness and negligence.¹

Origen of Alexandria: Those with a more plain understanding say that He spoke this about His second coming. Others, however, would say that it applies to an intellectual coming of the Word into the understanding of the disciples, for He was not yet in their understanding as He was meant to be.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He said this, Watch, not only to those who heard Him speak at the time, but also to those who came after them, to us, and to all who will live after us until His second coming, for it concerns everyone.

That day comes for each of us when our time comes to depart from this world, at which point we will be judged according to the state we are in. Therefore, every Christian ought to watch so that the Lord’s coming does not find them unprepared. For anyone whom the last day of life finds unprepared will also be unprepared for the day of His coming.²

All those are foolish who profess to know the day of the world’s end or even the end of their own life. No one can know these things unless they are illuminated by the Holy Spirit.³

St. Jerome: And through the example of the master of the household, He teaches more plainly why He keeps the day of the end a secret.

Origen of Alexandria: The master of the household is the understanding, the house is the soul, and the thief is the Devil. The thief also represents every contrary doctrine that enters the soul of the unwary through some means other than the natural entrance. It breaks into the house by pulling down the soul's natural defenses—that is, the natural powers of understanding—and enters through the breach to plunder the soul.

Sometimes, one catches the thief in the act of breaking in, seizes him, stabs him with a word, and slays him. The thief does not come in the daytime, when the soul of a thoughtful person is illuminated by the Sun of Righteousness, but in the night—that is, in a time of prevailing wickedness. When someone is plunged into this darkness, it is possible, even without the full power of the sun, to be illuminated by some rays from the Word, as if from a lamp. This can happen while a person is still continuing in evil, yet has a better purpose and is watchful that this purpose should not be broken.

Alternatively, the time of temptation or any calamity is when the thief is most often found trying to break into the house of the soul.

St. Gregory the Great: Alternatively, the thief breaks into the house through the neglect of its master, when the spirit has fallen asleep at its guard post. Then death enters the dwelling of our flesh unexpectedly and, finding the lord of the house sleeping, slays him. This means that the spirit, having made little provision for coming evils, is carried off by death, unprepared, to its punishment.⁴

But if the master had watched, he would have been secure from the thief. That is, by looking forward to the coming of the Judge who takes our lives unexpectedly, he would meet Him with penitence and not perish without it. The Lord therefore intended the last hour to be unknown so that it might always be in suspense, and because we are unable to foresee it, we might never be unprepared for it.

St. John Chrysostom: In this, He rebukes those who have less care for their souls than they have for guarding their money against an expected thief.

1. Hom. in Ev., ii, 3
2. Ep. 199, 3
3. non occ.
4. Hom. in Ev., xiii, 5