What does Matthew 24:39 mean?
Jesus has told the disciples that nobody other than God the Father knows the day or hour of the second coming (Matthew 24:36). Now He is emphasizing that nobody will even see it coming. There will be no time for last-minute preparations. The signs of His return will be obvious to everyone—when they happen (Matthew 24:29–31)—but leading up to those moments, there will be no warning.Christ has compared His return as judge and king (Revelation 19:11–15) to the onset of the flood of Noah's day. Moments before being wiped from the earth, people lived as they had always lived. They were eating, drinking, planning weddings, moving from one day to the next as if nothing would ever change. Realization came only in the last, too-late moments as the waters of the flood roared over them and swept them away.
Jesus does not mention the wickedness of the earth in the days of Noah (Genesis 6:5–8). Some believe that sin and evil on earth will mirror that of Noah's era. That's possible, but it's not something Christ explicitly predicts here. He only warns of the suddenness of the judgment of God. He has pictured His own return as something the nations will mourn (Matthew 24:30) and for which His people must live in a constant state of readiness (2 Peter 3:3–7; James 4:13–14).
Matthew 24:36–51 contains an explicit warning which has frequently been ignored by false teachers. Nobody will know the precise time of His return to earth. Only God the Father knows when it will happen. Everyone will be caught by surprise at the sudden appearance of those signs, just as the people swept away in Noah's flood. Jesus' followers must live in constant readiness for His return. He uses a parable to illustrate this, describing the choices of two servants while their master was away. One was faithful and wise, the other wicked. When the master returned, the faithful one was rewarded, and the wicked one was cut into pieces.
Jesus makes a dire prediction about the destruction of the temple. Immediately after this, while seated on the Mount of Olives, Jesus responds to a question from the disciples. They ask when judgment will come and what signs will signal His return. Christ describes a season of unimaginable world turmoil and persecution. He points to a specific moment of defilement of the temple, at which point people should run for their lives. Jesus speaks of world-threatening tribulation which will be cut short right before He returns as King and Judge. Since nobody can possibly know when He will return, His followers must live in readiness.
