Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 13:32

"But of that day or that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." — Mark 13:32 (ASV)

“That day” clearly refers to the Parousia, the great eschatological day that will bring to an end “those days” (vv.17, 19, 24). Of the days that precede the time of the End, certain signs have been given; but of “that day” neither the angels of heaven nor Jesus himself knows the time. Only the Father knows that time. And Jesus, at his ascension, clearly said that it was not for the disciples “to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:7). A map of the future would be a hindrance, not a help, to faith. Their responsibility—and ours—is to get busy and do his work without being concerned about date setting.

Jesus’ ignorance of the day or hour of his return must be understood in terms of the NT teaching concerning the Incarnation. A genuine Incarnation involved such lack of knowledge. Jesus purposely laid aside temporarily the exercise of his omniscience as part of what was involved in his becoming a human being.