John Calvin Commentary Matthew 24:36

"But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only." — Matthew 24:36 (ASV)

But of that day and hour. By this statement, Christ intended to keep the minds of believers in suspense so that they would not, through a false notion, set any specific time for the final redemption. We know how fickle our minds are, and how much we are enticed by a vain curiosity to know more than is proper. Christ also perceived that the disciples were rushing forward with excessive haste to enjoy a triumph. He therefore desires the day of His coming to be the object of such expectation and desire that no one will dare to inquire when it will happen. In short, He desires His disciples to walk in the light of faith in such a way that, while they are uncertain about the time, they may patiently wait for His revelation.

We ought therefore to be on our guard, so that our anxiety about the time is not carried further than the Lord allows, for the main part of our wisdom lies in soberly confining ourselves within the limits of God’s word. So that people may not feel uneasy at not knowing that day, Christ presents angels as their companions in this matter. For it would be a proof of excessive pride and wicked covetousness to desire that we who creep on the earth should know more than is permitted to the angels in heaven.¹⁵⁷

Mark adds, nor the Son himself. And surely that person must be exceptionally foolish who would hesitate to submit to the ignorance which even the Son of God Himself did not hesitate to endure on our behalf. But many people, thinking that this was unworthy of Christ, have endeavored to lessen the harshness of this statement by a contrivance of their own. Perhaps they were driven to use a subterfuge by the malice of the Arians, who attempted to prove from it that Christ is not the true and only God.

So then, according to those people, Christ did not know the last day because He did not choose to reveal it to humanity. But since it is clear that the same kind of ignorance is ascribed to Christ as is ascribed to the angels, we must endeavor to find some other meaning that is more suitable. Before stating it, however, I will briefly address the objections of those who think that it is an insult offered to the Son of God if it is said that any kind of ignorance can properly apply to Him.

As to the first objection—that nothing is unknown to God—the answer is easy. For we know that in Christ the two natures were united into one person in such a manner that each retained its own properties. More especially, the Divine nature was in a state of repose and did not exert itself at all¹⁵⁸ whenever it was necessary for the human nature to act separately, according to what was peculiar to itself, in discharging the office of Mediator. Therefore, there would be no impropriety in saying that Christ, who knew all things (John 21:17), was ignorant of something in respect of His perception as a man. For otherwise, He could not have been liable to grief and anxiety, and could not have been like us (Hebrews 2:17).

Again, the objection urged by some—that ignorance cannot apply to Christ because it is the punishment of sin—is beyond measure ridiculous. For, first, it is prodigious folly to assert that the ignorance ascribed to angels proceeds from sin. But they show themselves to be equally foolish on another ground by not perceiving that Christ clothed Himself with our flesh for the purpose of enduring the punishment due to our sins. And if Christ, as man, did not know the last day, that does not any more detract from His Divine nature than His having been mortal.

I have no doubt that He refers to the office appointed to Him by the Father, as in a former instance when He said that it did not belong to Him to place this or that person at His right or left hand (Matthew 20:23; Mark 5:40). For (as I explained concerning that passage¹⁵⁹) He did not absolutely say that this was not in His power, but the meaning was that He had not been sent by the Father with this commission as long as He lived among mortals. So now I understand that, insofar as He had come down to us to be Mediator, until He had fully discharged His office, that information was not given to Him which He received after His resurrection; for then He expressly declared that power over all things had been given to Him (Matthew 28:18).

¹⁵⁷ “Aux anges de Paradis;” — “to the angels in Paradise.”;” — “to the angels in Paradise.”

¹⁵⁸ “La Divinité s’est tenue comme cachee; c’est à dire, n’a point demonstré sa vertu;” — “the Divine nature was kept, as it were, concealed; that is, did not display `its power.”;” — “the Divine nature was kept, as it were, concealed; that is, did not display `its power.”

¹⁵⁹ Harmony, , vol. 2, p. 421