But of that day or of that hour no one knows, neither the angels who are in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father.
Only Mark records the words "nor the Son." Readers have argued over that one clause ever since. Does the Lord who knows all things admit ignorance? Commentators answer by asking what place He had taken, and what the silence about the date is meant to do to us.
Kelly reads "the Son" here in a specific sense. He takes it to mean not the Son as one with the Father, but the Son born into the world and serving God on earth:
He had fully taken the place of Son on earth. I do not think it refers to Him in His highest character, as one with the Father. It refers to Him as Son and Prophet on earth. The title of Son applies to Christ in more ways than one. It is true of Him in the Deity, true of Him as born into the world, and true of Him also in the resurrection. It is the second of these that we find here… He is speaking as a servant, in the place He took here below: the prophet who was serving God on earth.
Another writer turns to what the Lord was commissioned to say. The limit is on His message, not on His mind:
It matters that only Mark has the phrase "neither the Son." Mark writes of the Lord as the Servant-prophet. So it is as Servant-prophet that He says He does not know what the Father had put in His own power (Acts 1:7)… The real point of Mark 13:32 is that God alone knows the day and hour. Even the Son, in taking the place of subjection and service, had received no direction to reveal that time. For, as He says, "The Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak" (John 12:49). So Mark does not show a limit on the Lord's own divine knowledge. It shows a limit on His teaching in the place of a servant, which He took for the glory of God… The day itself refers to the time when the once lowly Son of Man will be shown in glory. What could suit His place of dependence better than to wait in expectation until it pleases the Father to make His enemies His footstool?
Bellett shifts attention from the Speaker to the subject He is speaking about. The Lord is talking about the kingdom, and He takes that kingdom by human title:
Christ takes the kingdom as the Son and Heir of David, the Kinsman of men, and the Servant of God. He takes it not by divine title but by human title. That is why He says, "Neither the Son." Those words do not qualify the person of the Son. They qualify the character of the kingdom, as we ought to understand at once. For the Lord is not speaking about Himself at the time. He is speaking about the introduction or beginning of the kingdom.
Hole places this verse beside two other sayings where the Lord holds something back. He also warns that unbelieving teachers have twisted the "emptying" of Philippians 2:
In Matthew 20:23, Jesus uttered the actual words, "It is not mine to grant." In Mark 13:32, He said in effect, "Not mine to know." Here [in John] He says in effect, "Not mine to do." He said all three in view of the lowly place of dependence He took for the glory of the Godhead and our salvation. They do not in the least argue against His supreme place in the unity of the Godhead. They show us something of what it means that He made Himself "of no reputation," or "emptied Himself," as Philippians 2 says. This is the true "emptying" that Scripture speaks of. It is far removed from the evil "kenosis theory" invented by unbelieving theologians, which attributes fallibility and error to our Lord.
Vine turns the verse around. The very existence of this secret, he argues, points to the Son's full knowledge:
There is one undisclosed secret, which remains with the Father. It concerns the time of the Son of Man's return in majesty and power… This is clearly by divine arrangement. And it only emphasizes the Son's omniscience, for it was He who told us of it. How could He have done so had He been less than He was?
Mawson turns the verse on people who set dates, and points to the Lord's own next words:
Fixing dates for the coming of the Lord is a harmful thing, and those who do it are presumptuous people… Yes, says someone, but we know the year. Really? Then why did the Lord add, "Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come" (verse 33)? … If the Father in His wisdom kept this knowledge from the apostles, where is there any sign in the Word that He would reveal it to us?
- Place — Mark is the Gospel of the Servant, and only Mark records "nor the Son." The words fit the place the Lord had taken on earth as Son and Prophet.
- Silence — The limit is on His message, not on His mind. He spoke only what the Father gave Him to speak, and the date was not part of it.
- Subject — The clause qualifies the kingdom, not the Person. He takes that kingdom by human title as Servant, so its timing waits on the Father.
- Safeguard — "Not mine to grant," "not mine to know," "not mine to do" all express dependence, not failure. The true emptying of Philippians 2 never makes Christ capable of error.
- Watch — No one gets the day, so date-setting is presumption. The answer to an unknown hour is to stay awake.
Take heed, watch and pray, for ye do not know when the time is
The Lord has just said that no one knows the day or hour — not even the angels, not even the Son. What He gives His disciples instead of a date is a duty: stay alert, keep praying, because the moment is hidden.
The verse opens with a warning the reader has met before. Older translations read it as "Take heed, watch and pray," and the writers quoted here use that wording. One writer counts how often the warning falls in this chapter, and takes heed, watching and prayer together.
The five verses which close this chapter contain a very solemn appeal, which should come home to all of us. In verse 33 we get the words "Take … heed" for the fourth time. The Lord opened His discourse with these words, and He closed with them. He also said them twice in between (verses 9 and 23). The prophetic revelations He gave are all made to bear upon our consciences and lives: He forewarns us that we may be forearmed. We know His words never fail, but we do not know when the time is. So we are to "watch" — that is, to be wide awake and observant. We are also to pray, for we are no match for the powers of darkness. So we must keep depending on God. We are left to do our appointed work in a spirit of expectancy, looking for the coming of the Son of Man.
The word for "the time" points to a moment God has appointed (The Bible Treasury). The time is set. God has simply not told us when it is. That has a sharp edge for anyone who claims to have worked it out.
Fixing dates for the coming of the Lord is a harmful thing, and those who do it are presumptuous people. The Lord Himself said, "But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Mark 13:32). Yes, says someone, but we know the year. Really? Then why did the Lord add, "Watch and pray, for you do not know when the time is"? ... The apostles gave us the Word of God by the Holy Spirit's inspiration. Yet the Lord said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority" (Acts 1). If this knowledge was withheld from them in the Father's wisdom, where is there any hint in the Word that it would be revealed to us?
The command has an object. It is not vigilance in general, and not preparation for dying.
What our Lord said to the early disciples He says to all: "watch." And this is with a view to His own coming, not to death — for He is the conqueror of death (Mark 13:33-37). ... Such was the uniform expectation formed by our Lord's own teaching. Its moral bearing we find in Luke 12:35 and following. This is the constant hope of the heart: sure He is coming, not sure when, but always looking out for Him day by day.
Being ready and watching are not the same thing.
Both have their place, but watching means expectancy — the heart is engaged. A servant might be quite ready for his master's return, simply obeying a command. But if he is watching, it shows that his master's return fills his thoughts.
Alertness by itself can still be self-confident. Prayer is what admits that the watchman cannot keep himself awake.
Watchfulness alone is not enough. We need to realise our dependence on our Lord and His help and guidance in every circumstance. So instead of "a little folding of the hands to sleep," a lot of folding of the hands to pray would be a far better exercise.
Commentators differ on the immediate audience. Some read the disciples here as standing for a future faithful group in Israel rather than for the church:
This is a fitting word for a servant watching while his Master is away. He has gone, He left His house, but He is coming back again. ... At that time the disciples stood for the faithful remnant of the last days, not for Christians. That remnant will be in much the same position.
Others take the closing words — "what I say to you I say to all" — as reaching us directly. The pull of the world can make our minds "drowsy and unalert" (F. B. Hole). Either way, the call to watch reaches us.
- Heed. The fourth "take heed" in the chapter turns prophecy toward the conscience. He forewarns us so that we may be forearmed.
- Hiddenness. The time is set, but God has not told us when. Setting dates is presumption: what the Father kept from the apostles He never promised to us.
- Watching. The hidden hour calls for expectancy, not anxiety. We look out for Him day by day, waiting for His coming, not for death.
- Praying. Watching alone is not enough. We are no match for the powers of darkness, so we lean on God.
- All. Readiness obeys an order. Watching means His return fills our thoughts — and this word is for everyone: "what I say to you I say to all."