Question 1

What does it mean that no one knows the day or the hour?

Accepted Answer

When Jesus says no one knows the day or hour, he is saying that the exact time of God’s final judgment and his return is hidden. No person on earth knows it, not even the angels in heaven. He even says that, in the way he was speaking as the Son of man, he had not been given to reveal that time. Only the Father knows it. This keeps people from guessing dates and instead pushes them to live ready, watching and praying every day, not just when they think the time is near.

Question 2

Why does Jesus tell the disciples to watch and pray in this passage?

Accepted Answer

Jesus tells the disciples to watch and pray because they do not know when the time will come. Since the exact moment of judgment and his coming is hidden, the right response is not curiosity, but steady watchfulness. Watching means staying spiritually awake, not drifting into laziness or sin. Praying means asking God for grace to stay faithful. Jesus wants his followers to be alert and on guard, so that when he comes he finds them doing their duty, not sleeping and unprepared.

Question 3

What is the meaning of the man taking a far journey and his servants?

Accepted Answer

The picture of a man taking a far journey is a way of talking about Jesus going away and then returning. The man leaves his house, gives authority to his servants, and assigns each one work to do. He also tells the porter to watch. In the same way, Jesus has gone to the Father and left his people with work, gifts, and responsibility in his church. Some lead, others serve in many ways, but all have a task. When he returns, he will ask how they have used what he gave them, so they must stay ready.

Question 4

Why does Jesus mention evening, midnight, cockcrowing, and morning?

Accepted Answer

Jesus lists evening, midnight, cockcrowing, and morning to picture the different watches of the night. His point is that the master of the house could return in any watch, at any time. In the same way, his coming in judgment, whether on a nation or at the end, and even his coming to each person in death, can happen unexpectedly. We do not know if it will be early or late in our life. So we should not delay repentance or obedience, but live as if he could come at any moment and find us awake.

Question 5

What does it mean for Jesus to find his servants sleeping?

Accepted Answer

For Jesus to find his servants sleeping means finding them careless and unprepared. It is not talking about normal rest, but about a spiritual sleep where a person is dull toward God, not praying, not watching over their heart, and not doing the work given to them. Jesus warns that his coming will be sudden, and for those who are asleep like this, it will be a shock and a terror. His words urge believers to keep their hearts awake, to resist spiritual laziness, and to stay faithful in daily obedience.

Question 6

Who does Jesus mean when he says, "What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch"?

Accepted Answer

When Jesus says, “What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch,” he starts by speaking to the four disciples who asked him questions, but then widens it to all his followers. This warning is not only for that small group or that first generation. It reaches every disciple in every age. All believers are to live as watchmen, awake and ready for their Lord. The dangers, temptations, and suddenness of his coming are not just for one time in history, so the call to watch is for all Christians.

Question 7

How does this passage relate to the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world?

Accepted Answer

In the wider talk, Jesus has warned first about the coming fall of Jerusalem and also about the final judgment. Some parts point more to the near event of that city’s ruin, and others reach to the world’s end. Here he speaks in a way that fits both. People would see signs that trouble was near, but the exact hour was still unknown. In the same way, we know there will be a final day of judgment, but not when. The same lesson holds in both cases: do not live guessing dates, but stay ready and faithful.

Question 8

Why does Jesus say "neither the Son" knows the hour, and how is this understood?

Accepted Answer

This line has been read in more than one way, but the passage itself helps us. Jesus is speaking as the Son of man, the promised Messiah who had taken on a real human nature. In that role, he lived as a servant, receiving from the Father what to say and do. So when he says the Son does not know, it can mean that, in his human life and mission, he was not given to reveal or use that knowledge. The main point stands clear: the exact time is kept with God, so we should not chase it, but watch and obey.

Question 9

How should a believer today apply Jesus command to watch?

Accepted Answer

To apply Jesus’ command to watch, a believer should live every day as a steward, not an owner. Watching means guarding your heart, staying awake to sin and temptation, and not letting comfort or busyness dull your sense that Jesus will return. It also means staying at your post, doing the work he has given you in your home, church, and daily life. Prayer is part of this, because we cannot stay ready in our own strength. We keep looking to him, so that whenever he comes, he finds us faithful, not drifting.

Mark 13:32

But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

Readiness at Any Hour

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Mark 13:32

But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

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Readiness at Any Hour

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