ACC ~ Matthew 24 v36 - 44

OVERVIEW:

By saying that he does not know the day and the hour, Christ associates himself with his body, the church (ORIGEN). By declaring that no one knows the day, Christ removes from us any need to be concerned about a particular date. This uncertainty is beneficial for our spiritual life (HILARY OF POITIERS). The Lord indicates that he will return unexpectedly, when many will pursue the life of pleasure, luxury and unlawful passions. Yet for the saints it will be a time of tribulations (CHRYSOSTOM). When speaking about those eating and drinking in the time of the deluge, the Lord does not forbid these activities; rather he teaches us to exercise them spiritually, to the glory of God, as opposed to pleasing the flesh. As in the time of Noah only those in the ark were saved, so also in the second coming only those in the church will be saved. The outsiders, the heretics, will perish (INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW). Those who live according to the gospel do not attempt to find out the date of the end. Rather, knowing that our personal end—death—may happen at any moment, they pursue vigilance (ORIGEN). The second coming will be completely unexpected. Neither occupation or social status will matter for the final judgment (CHRYSOSTOM). Christ’s judgment is the final separation between the saints and the sinners (HILARY OF POITIERS). As one has to be always prepared to confront a thief, so one has to be always prepared to face the end of life and the following judgment. To keep us always vigilant and active the Lord does not indicate the precise day of his second coming (CHRYSOSTOM, HILARY OF POITIERS). To be ready means to keep all of the possible entrances (that is, all of the senses) shut to sin and the devil, the thief. Since the date of the second coming as well as the date of personal death are not known to us, every generation should live in the constant expectation of Christ’s return (INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW).

24:36 | Of That Time Only the Father Knows

KNOWING THE DAY AND HOUR

ORIGEN: As long as the church, Christ’s body, does not know that day and hour, the Son himself is said not to know it in order that he may be understood to learn of that day and hour only when all of his members do. But “to know” is given its own special meaning here (as is customary with sacred Scripture), for only he who remains to meet its arrival will know that day and hour. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 55. [1]

[1] GCS 38.2:126-27.

WHETHER THE SON KNOWS THE DAY

HILARY OF POITIERS: When Christ taught us that no one knows the day on which the end of time will come, not the angels and not even himself, he removed from us any need to be concerned about its date. O immeasurable mercy of divine goodness! Since the Son said, “All things have been delivered to me by my Father,” [1] we know that the Father did not deny him the knowledge of this day. If anything was denied him, he could not have said that all things were delivered to him. But because the Son has handed on to us everything the Father gave him and the Word of God does not contain in himself as much assurance of the future as of things already accomplished, therefore it was established by God that the date of the end should be indefinite. Thus he could allow us an abundant amount of time for repentance yet still keep us solicitous for fear of the uncertain and so as to avoid giving anyone the idea of a particular day by expressing his will. For just as at the time of the flood, in the normal course of our life, in our activities and in our sufferings, that great day will suddenly appear. ON MATTHEW 26.4. [2]

[1] Mt 11:27.

[2] SC 258:196-98.

THE DAY AND HOUR NO ONE KNOWS

CHRYSOSTOM: He spoke these things in order to show that he would return unexpectedly and suddenly and when many were living luxuriously. For Paul also says this: “When they shall speak of peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them.” [1] To show just how unexpectedly he uses the metaphor “as travail comes upon a woman with child.” THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 77.2. [2]

[1] 1 Thess 5:3.

[2] PG 58:703-4; NPNF 1 10:464.

24:37 | As Were the Days of Noah

PURSUING PLEASURES

CHRYSOSTOM: What then is meant by “after the tribulation of those days”? If there is to be luxury at that time, and peace and safety, as Paul indicates, how then can he say, “after the tribulation of those days”? If there is luxury, how is there also tribulation? The luxury is spoken of those who are in a state of insensibility and peace. He does not say that there will be peace but rather “when they speak of peace and safety,” indicating that their insensibility would be something like those in Noah’s time, that even amid such evils they lived in luxury. Yet it will not be a time of peace and luxury for the righteous. The righteous will be passing through this time of tribulation in dejection. He shows that when antichrist has come, the pursuit of unlawful pleasures shall be more eagerly pursued among the transgressors, who have learned to despair of their own salvation. There will then be gluttony, partying and drunkenness. He then offers an example of this. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 77.2. [1]

[1] PG 58:704; NPNF 1 10:464.

24:38 | Those Days Before the Flood

IN THE DAYS BEFORE THE FLOOD

INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: Christ did not forbid eating, drinking and marrying when he said “As in the days of Noah, they were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage.” He would never destroy what he himself established. Instead, he was commanding that what we do with our bodies, we do spiritually and to the glory of God so that our flesh might be made spiritual on account of the spiritual purposes for which we use it… .

Before the flood, people were fleeing from the fear of God and doing nothing for his glory. Everything they did was only for their own flesh. Whenever they ate or drank, they ate and drank only to satisfy their bodily desires, not to glorify God as the apostle had commanded. [1] What Christ wanted to say here is that it will be like this again near the end of the world… .

At the end of the world, the destruction will be universal and sudden like it was “in the days of Noah.” Just as every creature of the earth was destroyed in the flood, except only those who escaped in the ark, so also at the consummation of the world every heresy will be destroyed, but only one ark will be saved—the church of Christ, composed of the righteous. Everything outside of the ark died in the flood. Likewise, at the end of the world whoever is found to be outside the one true church will perish. HOMILY 50. [2]

[1] 1 Cor 10:3-4.

[2] PG 56:922.

24:39 | So Will Be the Coming of the Son of Man

THEY DID NOT KNOW UNTIL THE FLOOD CAME

ORIGEN: All who listen to the depths of the gospel and live it so completely that none of it remains veiled from them care very little about whether the end of the world will come suddenly and all at once or gradually and little by little. Instead, they bear in mind only that each individual’s end or death will arrive on a day and hour unknown to him and that upon each one of us “the day of the Lord will come like a thief.” [1] It is important therefore to be vigilant, whether in the evening (that is, in one’s youth) or in the middle of the night (that is, at human life’s darkest hour) or when the cock crows (at full maturity) or in the morning (when one is well advanced in old age). When God the Word comes and brings an end to the progress of this life, he will gather up the one who gave “no sleep to his eyes nor slumber to his eyelids” [2] and kept the commandment of the One who said, “Be vigilant at all times.” [3] …

But I know another kind of end [4] for the righteous person who is able to say along with the apostle, “Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me and I to the world.” [5] In a certain sense, the end of the world has already come for the person to whom the world is crucified. And to one who is dead to worldly things the day of the Lord has already arrived, for the Son of man comes to the soul of the one who no longer lives for sin or for the world. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 56. [6]

[1] 1 Thess 5:2.

[2] Ps 132:4 (131:4 LXX).

[3] Lk 21:36.

[4] The greek telos, like consummatio in Latin, signifies completion, thus end and also perfection. Origen, little interested in the matter of the end of the world as a whole, takes the term in the first interpretation to refer to the death of the individual Christian, who must always be prepared for death. In this second interpretation, he reads the term as the perfection one reaches in Christ by dying to the world.

[5] Gal 6:14.

[6] GCS 38.2:130-31.

24:40-41 | One Taken, One Left

IN THE FIELD, AT THE MILL

CHRYSOSTOM: All these things are demonstrations that he knew what was to come. It would be like the days of Noah: “Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left,” so unexpected will it be. It is without thought that they will be taken. “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left.” This is not the employment of those who are contemplating such a calamity.

From both employees and employers some will be taken and some will be left. Among those who are at ease and those who labor, some will be taken, some left. Rank or station will not matter, as it says in the Old Testament: “From him that sits upon the throne to the captive woman who is at the mill.” [1] Even though he had said earlier that it is hard for a rich man to be saved, here he shows that not even the rich are altogether lost, neither are all the poor saved, but out of both groups people are saved and lost.

And to me he seems to indicate that the advent will come at night, like a thief, as Luke also indicates. It is amazing how fully he knows all things. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 77.2. [2]

[1] Ex 11:5 (variation on LXX).

[2] PG 58:704; NPNF 1 10:464.

A JUDGMENT COMING

HILARY OF POITIERS: Christ shows that a judgment is coming, since between two people in a field, one is taken up and one left behind. Between two grinding at the mill, one is chosen and one rejected. Between two lying in bed, one departs and one remains. This teaching means that the separation of the faithful from the unfaithful will consist in one being accepted and the other abandoned. For, like the prophet says, when the wrath of God rises, the saints will be hidden in God’s chambers but the faithless will be left exposed to celestial fire. The two in the field therefore represent the faithful and the unfaithful, both of whom will be surprised by the day of the Lord in the midst of the world, in the course of their life’s work. They will be separated, one taken and the other left. It will be the same for the two grinding at the mill, which represents the work of the law. For only some of the Jews, like Elijah, believed through the apostles that they must be justified by faith. One group will be taken up through the faith that produces good works, and the other group will be abandoned in the fruitless works of the law, grinding in vain at a mill that will never produce heavenly food. The two lying in bed are proclaiming the repose of the Lord after his Passion, which both Catholics and heretics confess alike. But because the truth of the Catholic faith preaches the unity of the Father and the Son, which we call their deity, whereas the false doctrine of heretics attacks this unity with many different insults, one of the two lying in bed will be taken up but the other will be left behind. For by accepting one and rejecting the other, God’s judgment will prove the merit of each confession. ON MATTHEW 26.5. [1]

[1] SC 258:198-200.

24:42 | You Do Not Know the Day

WATCH THEREFORE

CHRYSOSTOM: But his meaning is like this: If ordinary persons knew when they were going to die, they would surely be striving earnestly at that hour. In order therefore that they may strive, not at that hour only, he does not tell them the hour or day. He wants to keep them on their toes looking for it, that they may be always striving. This is why he made the end of each person’s life so uncertain.

In this passage he openly implies that he himself is Lord. Nowhere before has he spoken of this so distinctly. But here he seems to me also to be putting to shame those who remain careless about his lordship. They take much more care about a thief taking their money than about their own soul. Those who care about their house and do not want their possessions stolen take measures against the thief. They watch; they are prepared for the thief. So it is with you. You do not know when he will come. But you know assuredly that he will come. If you do not continue to watch, you will not be ready on that day. You will be unprepared. Destruction will come in your sleep. If the person had known when the thief was coming, he would have been prepared. So be like the one who is prepared at all times, so you will escape free.

Having then mentioned the judgment, he directs his thoughts next to teachers, speaking of honorable and dishonorable actions. His discourse closes with that which is alarming, for he speaks first of those who do right, then of those who continue in sin. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 77.2-3. [1]

[1] PG 58:705; NPNF 1 10:465.

24:43 | The Householder Would Have Watched

YOU DO NOT KNOW THE TIME

HILARY OF POITIERS: To teach us that our ignorance of the date of his return (which his silence has kept hidden from everyone) is not without its usefulness, Christ warns us to keep all his commandments. We should also be occupied with constant prayer in order to guard against the coming of the thief. For the thief is the devil who seeks to invade our bodily homes with the darts of his thoughts and allurements in order to ruin us while we are sleepy and careless. It is good therefore that we be prepared. Our ignorance of the day of Christ’s return should provoke us to be careful as we eagerly await his coming. ON MATTHEW 26.6. [1]

[1] SC 258:200.

24:44 | At an Hour You Do Not Expect

YOU MUST BE READY

INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: Does the soul not know when the thief has gained access through one of these entrances? Indeed, it does not know until it has been led into sin. [1] The soul must be vigilant, therefore, and close all its ports of entry. The mouth should be occupied with holy speech, the ears with pious sounds; the eyes with a vision of the wondrous works of God; and the mind with heavenly thoughts. It is not sufficient merely to refrain from speaking, hearing, seeing or thinking evil things. For to do that is only to block the access of good spirits along with the bad. Whoever renounces evil but fails to take up the good is said to have left the gates to his soul open. The enemy enters easily when he finds them vacant. It is necessary therefore that the portals to the soul of the just not only be free of evil but also be fully occupied with the good, lest evil find a way to gain access. HOMILY 51. [2]

[1] The careless soul becomes aware of the condition of sin when it is already deeply entangled in it, because it did not notice the insidious beginning of the actions of the thief (the devil) against it.

[2] PG 56:925.

LIVING IN EXPECTATION

INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW: Why is the date of an individual’s death hidden from him? Clearly it is so that he might always do good, since he can expect to die at any moment. The date of Christ’s second advent is withheld from the world for the same reason, namely, so that every generation might live in the expectation of Christ’s return. This is why when his disciples asked him, “Lord, will you restore the kingdom to Israel at this time?” Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know the times and the seasons which the Father has established by his authority.” [1]

“But know this, that if the head of the household had known the hour at which the thief would arrive, he would have been vigilant and would never have allowed his house to be burglarized.” The head of the household represents the human soul, the thief is the devil, the house is the body, the doors are the mouth and ears and the windows are the eyes. Like the thief who gains access through the doors and windows to despoil the householder, the devil also finds easy access to the soul of a man through his mouth, ears and eyes to take him captive. This is why Jeremiah wrote, “For death entered through our windows.” [2] If you wish to be secure, install a bolt on your door, which is to say, put the law of the fear of God in your mouth so that you can say with the psalmist, “I will guard my ways that I might not sin with my tongue. I will put a guard at my mouth.” [3] HOMILY 51. [4]

[1] Acts 1:6-7.

[2] Jer 9:21.

[3] Ps 39:1 (38:1 LXX).

[4] PG 56:924.