Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 24:44
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Be ye also ready – Luke Luk 21:36 says that he charged them to pray always, that they might be accounted worthy to escape those things – the judgments coming upon the wicked – and to stand before the Son of man – that is, to stand there approved by him, or to be admitted to his favor. He also charged them Luk 21:34 to take heed and not to suffer their hearts to be overcharged with surfeiting, or too much eating, or drunkenness, or the cares of this life, lest that day should come upon them unawares; things improper if there were no judgment – especially mad and wicked when the judgment is near.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mat 24:44
Them be ye also ready.
I. The coming of the Son of Man. His title. His coming is death. There is certainty in His coming.
II. That man in his unconverted state is unready for his coming. Man is not ready-
1. For he is born under the curse of the law.
2. For he is under the dominion of sin.
3. For his life is one of disobedience to the commands of heaven.
4. For he is unfit for the glorified state.
III. The absolute necessity for being ready.
1. The nature of the readiness. Not being born in a Christian land-not mere profession. Be ready: the act is ours, the grace is Gods.
1. Ready in state.
2. Ready in life.
(1) It is necessary that we are regenerate.
(2) That our generation-work be done.
(3) That the mind be weaned from the world, and fixed on spiritual objects.
IV. The argument used to enforce this necessity-For in such an hour.
1. Youthful hour.
2. Hour of health.
3. Hour of carnal amusement.
4. Hour of worldly prosperity. (T. Jones.)
Ready for death
I. To speak of death.
1. At death, the body is dissolved into dust.
2. At death, the soul and body separate.
3. At death, the soul appears before God.
II. Who are ready for death?
1. All who are prepared to die see their lost state by nature.
2. All who love God.
3. All who have God.
III. Reasons why we should be prepared to die.
1. Death is sure.
2. The time is uncertain.
3. This is the only world where you can be prepared to die.
4. Now is the time God has given you to prepare to die.
5. He is a wise man who prepares to die.
6. He is a fool who refuses to prepare to die. (A. Fletcher, M. A.)
Comfort under bereavement
I. The admonition. To be ready for the coming of Christ ought to be the great end of life.
1. To be ready for death, is to have obtained the pardon of all sins.
2. It is to possess renewed natures.
3. It is to have all the graces of the Spirit in vigorous exercise.
II. The motive and argument employed.
1. The uncertainty of the event in question. 2. Death may come when, according to human calculation, there is the least Prospect of it.
3. It may call us when our earthly concerns may make it most inconvenient for us to depart.
4. It may approach when we are least ready for its approach. (T. Brown, D. D.)
The shortness and uncertainty of life
I. The scriptural account of the uncertainty of human life.
II. Inquire how the uncertainty of life so seldom leads men prepare for leaving it.
1. Want of consideration.
2. Love of this world and its enjoyments.
3. A vague impression that death is a distant event.
III. Some of the comforts and advantages of being prepared for death.
1. It secures the testimony of a good conscience, connected with the favour of God, and the happiness that results from both.
2. Preparation for death alleviates the afflictions of life, and affords much consolation under them.
3. It frees from slavish fear of that event. (A. Grant, D. D.)
The great business of life
I. The event predicted.
1. His coming at the day of judgment.
2. At the hour of death.
II. The duty enjoined.
1. It is an evangelical readiness.
2. It is a gracious readiness.
3. It is an habitual readiness. (T. Hitchin.)
The second advent
I. What is revealed concerning our Lords character and appearance?
1. Preparation made.
2. His first coming was in weakness; His second, in illimitable power. His first, in humiliation; His second, in glory.
II. The effect of His coming.
1. Renovation.
2. Dissolution.
3. Manifestation. (E. Fisk, LL. B.)
Ready to die
A ship in a port, with all its provisions and sails and men on board, is in one sense of the word, ready-ready for sea; but it may not be ready in the sense this text enjoins. Its sails must be in their places, its anchor must be up, every man must be at his post: then it is actually ready for the ocean and its storms. Let the command come, and in a minute or two it is disengaged from the fastenings that held it, lies down to the breeze, and without hurry or alarm is gone. And this is the readiness our Lord has here in His mind-a state of actual readiness, preparedness of mind and heart. (C. Bradley.)
I. A call to a state of preparation. The readiness to which we are called is a state that will give us admission to Paradise. The qualification for such a distinction and privilege is-
1. The possession of Christian acceptance and holiness.
2. A faithful and assiduous fulfilment of trust. Trusts of the most important kind are committed to man, for which he is accountable and responsible.
3. Habitual watchfulness.
II. Our Lord enforces this call by the declaration of an impressive fact.
1. The coming of the Son of Man.
2. The purposes of His coming.
3. Mans ignorance of the period of His coming. (J. Rattenbury.)
Preparation for death
I. The event for which we are to be ready.
1. At death, the body turns to its original dust.
2. At death, the soul and body separate.
3. At death, the soul appears before God.
II. What is implied in being ready? Great events require suitable preparation. Preparation for death implies-
1. A perception of unfitness for death, without an interest in the favour of God.
2. Faith in Christ, which is instrumental in obtaining pardon of sin, etc.
3. Holiness.
4. Diligence in the use of the public and private means of grace.
III. Motives to urge us to be ready.
1. Death is sure to come.
2. The time of deaths approach is uncertain.
3. Abundant provision is made to induce this preparation.
4. The present life is the only period in which we can prepare for death.
5. To be ready indicates true wisdom, and gives peace. (W. N.)
Ready
I. What are we to be ready for? To be ready to leave all that is about us and all that belongs to us, however cherished.
1. To be ready to leave this world, with all its cares, its troubles, and anxieties, for a better.
2. To be willing to be rid of many things that now burden us, and that every Christian more or less feebly desires to be rid of: sin, sorrow, sickness, appetites, disquiet, etc.
3. To be ready to stand at the judgment-seat of Christ. How do you expect to appear there?
II. Why we are to be ready.
1. It is Christs command. Surely that is enough.
2. He who commands is competent to say what the readiness consists in. It is not what we think, nor what the minister prescribes, nor what custom says; but what Christ has inspired in His own holy word. Faith in Christ, etc.
3. He has promised to make us ready. He is the author first, and the finisher next, of our faith.
4. Why is it so important to be ready? We are to see the Son of God, etc.
5. Such readiness will not interfere with the duties of this world. (J. Cumming, D. D.)
Getting ready for heaven
Mamma, said a child, my Sunday-school teacher tells me that this world is only a place in which God lets us live a little while, that we may prepare for a better world; but, mother, I do not See anybody preparing. I see you preparing to go into the country, and Aunt Eliza is preparing to come here; but I do not see any one preparing to go to heaven. If everybody wants to go there, why dont they try to get ready?
Always ready
Sir Colin Campbell, when summoned to go to India to quell the rebellion, was asked, How long would it take him to get ready? He replied promptly, Half-an-hour. As a good soldier he lived in constant readiness for the call of duty. What a lesson for Christian soldiers! Suetonius tells us that it was a piece of Julius Caesars policy never to fore-acquaint his soldiers of any set time of removal or onset, that he might ever have them in readiness to draw forth whithersoever he would. Christ, in like manner, who is called the Captain of our salvation (Heb 2:10). Our enemy is always ready to annoy us; should we not therefore look to our stand, and be vigilant? Solomons wisdom, Lots integrity, and Noahs sobriety, felt the smart of the serpents sting. The first was seduced, the second stumbled, and the third fell, while the eye of watchfulness was fallen asleep. (John Trapp.)
Judgment not the less certain because unexpected
Every judgment, coming of Christ, is as the springing of a mine. There is a moment of deep suspense after the match has been applied to the fuse which is to fire the train. Men stand at a distance, and hold their breath. There is nothing seen but a thin, small column of white smoke, rising fainter and fainter, till it seems to die away. Then men breathe again; and the inexperienced soldier would approach the place, thinking that the thing has been a failure. It is only faith in the experience of the commander, or the veterans, which keeps men from hurrying to the spot again-till just when expectation has begun to die away, the low, deep thunder sends up the column of earth majestically to heaven, and all that was on it comes crushing down again in its far circle, shattered and blackened with the blast. It is so with the world. By Gods Word the world is doomed. The moment of suspense is past: the first centuries in which men expected the convulsion to take place at once-for even Apostles were looking for it in their lifetime. We have fallen upon days of scepticism. There are no signs of ruin yet. We tread upon it like a solid thing fortified by its adamantine hills for ever. There is nothing against that, but a few words in a printed book. But the world is mined; and the spark has fallen; and just at the moment when serenity is at its height, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the feet of the Avenger shall stand on the earth. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Sudden death
I. The solemn events for which we ought always to be ready.
1. Death.
2. Judgment.
3. Eternity.
II. In what this readiness consists, and how it is to be obtained. It consists in a proper arrangement of all our temporal and spiritual concerns. The preparation of the heart for the worship of God on earth and in heaven is from the Lord, and includes-
1. Divine illumination.
2. There must be faith.
3. A life of faith must be evidenced by a life of holiness.
4. We must live a life of prayer.
III. The importance of being always ready, Reasons-
1. It is certain the Son of Man will come.
2. It is uncertain when the Son of Man will appear. (Essex Remembrancer.)
The latter end considered
Why do men refuse to heed the caution, and shrink from contemplations on their latter end.
1. The love of life is a powerful instinct. As men shrink from death by this vital instinct, so the thoughts of it are disagreeable.
2. The sentiments and symbols of men respecting death which have a painful and mischievous effect upon the imagination and feelings.
3. There are reasons which act powerfully from out of the affections, to make men slow to think of death. The mother could think of death except as a separation from her child.
4. Do you fear to come to God because of sin. Christ removes this. The pain of dying is small. We shall enter upon another life divested of the hindrances of this. Why is it not as easy to think of death as a golden gate, as to think of it as a murky gate? (H. W. Beecher.)
Watching for the future no hindrance to present duty
I remark, then, in view of this subject thus far opened, that a proper Christian watchfulness and forethoughtfulness in regard to death and the future life will not abstract us from this world, but return us back to it better fitted to perform our part here than ever before. You are, after a long, weary summers day, suffocated with heat, grimed with dust, covered with perspiration, and fretted of skin; and you are permitted to go down to the shore of the ocean, and bathe in its translucent waters; and your body is cleansed and cooled, and reinvigorated; and you return along the shadow of the evening, grateful, and stronger than you went. Now, Gods ocean of eternity is so near, that the soul, moiled with trouble, may cast itself in, and bathe its troubles away, and return to its life again, bright, clear, inspired, strong. If you think of death as a slave, looking upon it as going into servitude under a hard master, then it may weaken you, and take away the comfort that you have; but if you think of it, as every child of God has a right to think of it, as going to your Fathers house, where a rich banquet is prepared for you, and where you shall enjoy the companionship of saints and angels, it will be a source of comfort and strength to you. We can afford to take trouble here for the sake of gaining such an inheritance. What would I care for being poor, if I knew that at the end of one year I should have ten millions of dollars? Men would toil hard, and unremittingly, and without complaint, if they could be assured that the boundary of their toil was within their computation, and that all beyond was to be enjoyment and the amplest wealth. Men do endure everything in the hope of securing wealth and enjoyment. How will they pursue laborious industry in the chilling regions of the North, or how will they plunge into the heat of the tropics, encountering sickness, and the malaria of every delta that has commerce in it, in the hope that they may return to their fathers house, or the village or neighbourhood of their birth, and spend the few closing days of their life in pleasure and comfort. And if such is the strength of the hope of a short period of earthly peace and rest, how much greater must be the strength of that mans hope who expects, after a few years (he cares not how few, so that Gods will is done) he shall rise out of this world of trouble, and care, and vicissitudes, into the land of glory; Gods land of freedom, of nobility, of purity, of truth? (H. W. Beecher.)
Dying in work
It was Augustines wish that Christ, when He came, might find him either praying or preaching. It was Latimers wish (and he had it) that he might shed his heart-blood for Christ. It was Jewels wish that he might die preaching, and he did so, for presently, after his last sermon at Lacock, in Wiltshire, he was, by reason of sickness, forced to his bed, from whence he never came off till his translation to glory. I have heard the like of Mr. Lancaster, a precious man of God, some time pastor of Bloxham, in Oxfordshire, a man very famous for his living by faith. Cushamerns, a Dutch divine, and one of the first preachers of the gospel at Erfurt, in Germany, had his pulpit poisoned by the malicious Papists there, and so took his death in Gods work. What l would you that the Lord, when He comes, should find me idle? said Calvin to his friends, who wished him to forbear studying awhile for his healths sake. And such a like answer made Dr. Reynolds to his physician upon the like occasion. Elijah was going on and talking with Elisha (about heavenly things, no doubt) when the chariot of heaven came to fetch him. There can be no better posture or state for the messenger of our dissolution to find-us in than in a diligent prosecution of our general or particular calling. (John Trapp.)
Always ready to die
Mr. Wesley was once asked by a lady, Suppose you knew you were to die at twelve oclock to-morrow night, how would you spend the intervening time? How, madam? he replied; why, just as I intend to spend it now. I should preach this night at Gloucester, and again at five to-morrow morning. After that I should ride to Tewkesbury, preach in the afternoon, and meet the societies in the evening. I should then repair to friend Martins house, who expects to entertain me, converse and pray with the family as usual, retire to my room at ten oclock, commend myself to my heavenly Father, lie down to rest, and wake up in glory.
A minister is a steward
I. What Christs ministers are entrusted with?
1. The gospel.
2. The ordinances.
3. The care of the Church.
4. The souls of the members.
II. What ministers may be said to be stewards and rulers; teachers and preachers; elders or pastors?
III. Who are wise, faithful servants of Jesus Christ?
1. Such as serve Christ because they love Him.
2. Such as serve Christ in all humility.
3. Such as serve Him with a perfect heart.
4. Such as feed the Masters household with all that food the Master hath provided or appointed for them.
5. Such as feeds the whole household.
6. Such as seeks the honour of Christ in all he does, not his own gain.
7. Such as cares for the weak babes, or little children, of his Masters family. (Benjamin Keach.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Therefore be ye also ready,…. Or prepared for the coming of the son of man; which as it is said to be like a thief in the night, expresses the suddenness of it, may excite to watchfulness and readiness; which readiness is to be understood, not of a readiness to do the will and work of God, though this is absolutely necessary; as to watch and pray, to hear the word preached, to confess Christ, and give a reason of the hope that is in us, to communicate to the support of the cause and interest of Christ, and to suffer for his sake; but of a preparedness to meet the Lord in the way of his judgments, when desolating judgments are coming on the earth, such as these in Jerusalem; by faith and trust in the power, providence, and care of God; by humiliation before him, and resignation to his will: and if this can be applied to a readiness for a future state after death; for the second coming of Christ, and last judgment; this lies not in a dependence on the absolute mercy of God; nor in an external humiliation for sin; nor in an abstinence from grosser sins, or in mere negative holiness; nor in any outward, legal, civil, and moral righteousness; nor in a submission to Gospel ordinances; nor in a mere profession of religion; but in being in Christ, having on his righteousness, and being washed in his blood; and also in regeneration and sanctification, in having true knowledge of Christ, and faith in him; for all which it becomes men to be concerned, as also all believers to be actually, as well as habitually ready; being in the lively exercise of grace, and cheerful discharge of duty, though without trusting to either. And such a readiness in either branch of it, is not of themselves, but lies in the grace of God, which gives a meetness for glory; and in the righteousness of Christ, the fine linen, clean and white, which being granted by him, his people are made ready for him: and as for their faith, and the exercise of it, and their constant performance of duty, these are not from the strength of nature and the power of freewill, but from the Spirit of God and his grace; who makes ready a people prepared for the Lord, and all according to the ancient settlements of grace, in which provision is made for the vessels of mercy, afore prepared for glory: though there should be a studious concern in men for such readiness, for nothing is more certain than death, and nothing more uncertain than when it will be; and after death, no readiness can be had, but he that is then righteous, shall be righteous still, and he that is filthy, shall be filthy still, and a deathbed is by no means to be trusted to; and though a person may not be snatched away suddenly, but may have space given him to repent, yet if grace is not given him, to repent and believe in Christ, he never will; the grave is ready for men, and in a little time all will be brought to this house, appointed for all living, where there is no wisdom, knowledge, and device; and therefore whatever we are directed to do, should be now done, with all that might, and strength, and grace, that is given us; to which may be added, that after death comes judgment; the day is fixed, the judge is appointed, and all must stand before his judgment seat; and nothing is more sure than that Christ will come a second time, to judge both quick and dead; and happy will those be that are ready; they will be received by Christ into everlasting habitations, and be for ever with him: and miserable will those be, who will not be ready, who will not have the oil of grace in their hearts with their lamps, nor the wedding garment on them; they will be shut out, and bid to depart into everlasting burnings: how fit and proper is such an advice and exhortation as this, “be ye also ready”. A readiness the Jews report Bath Kol, or the voice from heaven, gave out concerning the Israelites.
“Bath Kol (say y they) went out, and said to them,
, “ye are all of you ready for the life of the world to come”.”
And elsewhere it is said of Bath Kol, that it went forth and affirmed of some particular Rabbins, that they were ready for eternal life; as of Ketiah bar Shalom, R. Eleazar ben Durdia, and R. Chanina z:
for in such an hour as ye think not, the son of man cometh: this is true of his coming in power to destroy Jerusalem, and of his second coming to judgment. The Jews say much the same of the coming of the Messiah, whom they expect:
“there are three things, they say a, which come,
, “without knowledge”, or unthought of, at an unawares; and they are these, the Messiah, anything that is found, and a scorpion.”
y T. Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 9. 1. z T. Bab Avoda Zara, fol. 10. 2. & 17. 1. & 18. 1. & Callah, fol. 17. 2. & Cetubot, fol. 103. 2. a T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 97. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
That ye think not ( ). It is useless to set the day and hour for Christ’s coming. It is folly to neglect it. This figure of the thief will be used also by Paul concerning the unexpectedness of Christ’s second coming (1Th 5:2). See also Mt 24:50 for the unexpectedness of the coming with punishment for the evil servant.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Mat 24:44
. But know this. Another similitude is now employed by Christ, in exhorting his disciples to keep diligent watch; for if any person shall hear that robbers are prowling in the night, fear and suspicion will not allow him to sleep. Since, therefore, we are informed that Christ’s coming will be sudden and unexpected, like that of a robber, and since we are expressly forewarned that we must always watch, lest he come upon us when asleep, and we be swallowed up with the ungodly, there is no excuse for our indolence; more especially since there is reason to dread not only a breach of the wall, and a loss of our property, but a deadly wound to ruin our soul, unless we are on our guard. The tendency of these words therefore is, that the warning of Christ should arouse us; for, though the last judgment be delayed for a long time, yet it hangs over us every hour; and, therefore, when there is ground for alarm, and when danger is near, it is unreasonable that we should be sluggish.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(44) In such an hour as ye think not.The words are important as showing that even the signs which were to be as the budding of the fig-tree at the approach of summer were intended only to rouse the faithful to watchfulness, not to enable men to fix the times and the seasons which the Father hath set in His own power. The apparent destiny of failure which has attended on all attempts to go beyond this in the interpretation of the apocalyptic eschatology of Scripture might have been avoided had men been more careful to restrain here also their efforts after knowledge within the limits of the knowable.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
44. Therefore be ye also ready As, like the householder, ye know not at what hour, or at which watch, the spoiler will come, so all the night is watch time. Be ye, like the householder, at all time ready. For the individual death is the virtual coming of the Son of man. Not that the coming of the Son of man here is death, nor truly to be identified with death; but the being on the watch for judgment is pressed instead of the being on the watch for death, inasmuch as death is nothing but a passage to judgment. If a man live in preparation for judgment he is in preparation for death. Death is simply a transition into the world where retribution reigns, and where the virtual judgment throne of Christ is in spirit continually in session.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“Therefore be you also ready, for in an hour that you think not, the Son of man comes.”
But when it cones down to the coming of the Son of Man we cannot afford to make that mistake. We must be watching all the time, and living in the light of His coming, for He will come at an hour when we do not expect Him. The only way to be ready therefore, is to watch all the time.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 24:44. Therefore, be ye also ready As the miseries which men were to undergo at the destruction of Jerusalem, the reasons of that destruction, the passions which its approach would raise in their minds, together with the suddenness and unexpectedness of it, nearly resembled what shall happen at the destruction of the world and the general judgment; it was natural for our Lord, on this occasion, to put the disciples in mind of that judgment, and to exhort them to the faithful discharge of their duty, from the uncertainty of the time of his coming to call every particular person to an account at death. Concerning the form and structure of the parable in the next verses, we shall enlarge, when we come to Luk 12:42., &c.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 24:44 . ] in order that, as regards your salvation, your case may not be similar to the householder in question, who ought to have watched, although he did not know the of the thief.
] as the householder would have been had he watched.
] spoken of their spiritual readiness for the second advent, which would take them by surprise (Mat 25:10 ; Tit 3:1 ). This preparedness they were to acquire for themselves ( ).
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Ver. 44. Therefore be ye also ready ] Suetonius tells us that it was a piece of Julius Caesar’s policy never to forewarn his soldiers of any set time of removal or onset, that he might ever have them in readiness to draw forth whithersoever he would. a Christ, in like manner, who is called the “Captain of our salvation,” Heb 2:10 . Our enemy is always ready to annoy us, should we not, therefore look to our stand, and be vigilant? Solomon’s wisdom, Lot’s integrity, and Noah’s sobriety, felt the smart of the serpent’s sting. The first was seduced, the second stumbled, and the third fell, while the eye of watchfulness was fallen asleep.
For in such an hour, &c. ] Christ will soonest seize upon the secure,1Th 5:31Th 5:3 ; such shall sleep as Sisera, who ere he awaked had his head fastened to the ground, as if it had been now listening what was become of the soul. See Trapp on “ Mat 24:42 “
a
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Therefore = on this account. Greek. dia touto. App-104. Mat 24:2.
be = become.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mat 24:44. , cometh) The present tense.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Son of man
(See Scofield “Mat 8:20”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Mat 25:10, Mat 25:13, Luk 12:40, Phi 4:5, Jam 5:9, Rev 19:7
Reciprocal: Exo 19:15 – Be ready Jdg 20:34 – knew not Ecc 8:7 – he knoweth Amo 4:12 – prepare Mat 24:36 – General Mat 24:42 – for Mat 25:6 – at Mar 13:35 – General Luk 12:39 – General Joh 21:22 – If Jam 5:7 – unto
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
4:44
In such an hour as ye think not. Unlike the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, the second coming of Christ will not be heralded by specific signs. Instead, the world in general will be going on in the pursuit of earthly interests, feeling a sense of security and satisfaction, and hence will be taken by surprise as it is awakened to a sense of the awful doom just upon it (1Th 5:1-3).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 24:44. Therefore be ye also ready. Comp. Luk 21:34; Luk 21:36. To be ready at all is to be ready always. The caution of this passage is not a threatening for the Lords people. He does not rule them by terror; those ready find Him a Friend; only those not ready find His coming as uncomfortable as that of a thief.