What does Jesus mean when he says in Matt 24:36-37: “No one knows about
that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the
Son of Man.”

I have wondered myself about what Jesus means when he says, to paraphrase,
‘not even the Son knows the hour.’ I am not absolutely sure what to
believe in this sort of thing. I have concluded that while in the physical
body, Jesus purposely allowed himself to be limited to some extent, even
in his omniscience. While a baby, Jesus was not fully aware of everything
he would have been aware of if he had not allowed himself to be limited to
a physical form. Did the infant Jesus know that he was God? At the age of
nine, did Jesus know all things in his limited physical form? Did he know
already that he would be crucified in Jerusalem at the age of about 33
when he was four years old? I say no. We will not be able to nail down
such questions because the Bible does not clearly delineate what Jesus, in
his limited physical self, knew or did not know. However, I choose to take
Matthew 24:36,37 at face value. Jesus at that time, did not know the day
or hour.

John Oakes, PhD

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