Matthew 24:42-44
“Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
The warning in Matthew 24:42-44 is from Jesus Christ, Himself. He compels us how to be prepared and how to use our time and energy when the evidence of His return begins to appear.
Although we may believe that we are living in the time of the end, we do not know exactly when Christ will return. So we have to live in readiness, every day. The theme of this brief parable is expectation. Knowing the general signs of His coming, we are to live expecting the unexpected.
Jesus utilizes the comparison of His coming to that of a thief. We normally do not look for thieves. Understandably, thieves do not advertise their coming, but by taking precautions, we prepare against their coming. We may lock our houses and hide our valuables in safe places. Some may install security alarms and exterior lighting to discourage burglary.
In the same way, Jesus urges His people to be vigilant, alert, wakeful, and constantly watchful, because a thief’s principal weapon is surprise. Even to those who are aware, it appears from Jesus’ own word, His coming will occur with a sense of suddenness—and more so to those who are distracted by ordinary occupations, “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.” The teaching point of this parable is that if we live without vigilance, we are inviting disaster. We are to be in state of readiness, because Jesus will return when we do not expect Him to return.
