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Mark 13 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
No one knows the day or hour.
This is a familiar passage, yet, there is one question that I’ve always wondered. If Jesus was both God and man, then why didn’t He know the day or the hour?
Colossians instructs us of His deity in a human body.
For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
Colossians 2:9-10 NASB
However, verse 10 also states He is the head over all rule and authority. One would assume that Jesus would know the day and the hour. In John 21, Peter is asked by Jesus if he loves Him and Peter confesses that Jesus “knows all things.” So how do we reconcile passages that state Jesus knows all things with this passage in Mark that claims He doesn’t know the day or the hour? I don’t think there is a perfect answer, but I will present the interpretation that I have landed on.
In Hebrews 2, we read that Jesus was made a little lower than angels. In Philippians 2, Paul writes of how Jesus emptied Himself.
But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
Hebrews 2:9 NASB
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8 NASB
This means that Jesus accepted the Father’s will to become human and accepted the conditions and limitations that came with that role. This is a theme we see all throughout Scripture. A few notable examples are how Jesus eats and sleeps. God does not need food to sustain Himself or sleep to replenish His strength, yet, Jesus lowered Himself to experience these basic human needs. The confirmation of becoming human and fulfilling the Father’s will did not take away from the fact that He was still divine. In fact, I believe that today Jesus may very well know the day and hour since He resurrected with all knowledge and authority (Mat 28:18).
After He returned, Jesus was far different than during his ministry. He appeared whenever and wherever He wanted. He veiled Himself and revealed Himself as He wished. In faith, there is no contradiction between being fully God and accepting the human condition in order to accomplish Salvation. Jesus did this at every turn. In many ways, this is a lesson for us in authority as most of us would have appealed to our superiority rather than lowering ourselves in humility.
Jesus lowered Himself to death, even death on a cross. He accomplished this for two reasons; (1) He loved God the Father and was sent to do His will. (2) He loved us enough to sacrifice Himself for the atonement of sin. This is the embodiment of the greatest commandment to love God with everything and love your neighbor as yourself.