Let us consider how another verse from the same passage could seem to be contradictory but actually isn't: "So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates" (Matthew 24:33). Jesus asserts here that we can know that he is near. So even though there is no hope of knowing the specific day of His return, we can know when he is near, 'at the very gates.' Jesus explained that in the same way that we can discern the seasons by observing the transformation of fruit trees we can understand the times we are in by observing the signs of the times (Matthew 24:32-33).
Many times when I hear people quote Matthew 24:36, explaining that no one knows the day of Jesus' return, I perceive a fatalistic attitude. There is this idea I sometimes encounter that since we can't know, then there is no reason to study these things or pay attention to them. Tragically, however, that is the opposite of why Jesus expressed that in the first place! Jesus was warning his disciples to stay awake, and alert; to pay attention. Many times Jesus warned his disciples to be ready for him at his return (Matthew 25; Luke 12:35-40). Jesus would not have given so many exhortations to be prepared for him when he comes back unless it was a very real danger for us to be unprepared!
There are six places in the Bible which clearly refer to Jesus' second coming as like the unexpected coming of a thief:
Matthew 24:43-44: But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Luke 12:39-40: But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
1 Thessalonians 5:2-4: For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
2 Peter 3:10-11: But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness.
Revelation 3:3: Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
Revelation 16:15: Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!
From the context around Matthew 24:43-44, from 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 and also from Revelation 3:3 it is clear that Jesus' return will not be as a thief in the night for those who are prepared and alert.
Luke 21, one of the places where Jesus' response to his disciples' question is recorded, does not have the word thief. However, it still has a very strong and clear warning to the same effect:
“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
I find it alarming that Jesus told his own disciples to pray for strength to stand before him. I believe we will need strength to stand before him because in that moment our hearts will be fully exposed. I imagine that moment may very well be terrifying just as it was for John in Revelation 1.
The point I am trying to make in all of this is for us to stay alert and to be prepared. I am not trying to say that we should be scouring the news websites or youtube for signs of who might be the anti-christ. I am not trying to say that we should become frantic or anxious or obsessed with these things. I believe preparation and being alert are actually as simple as allowing ourselves to be quiet before God in prayer everyday. In choosing to allow God to speak to us by the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God. As we read our Bibles and pray into these matters, God will reveal himself to us. He will help us to be ready.
