Mark 13:32 Meaning: Jesus Admits He Doesn't Know the Hour
“But of that day or that hour no one knows—not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
But of that day or that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
`And concerning that day and the hour no one hath known--not even the messengers who are in the heaven, not even the Son--except the Father.
But of that day or of that hour no one knows, neither the angels who are in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father.
Meaning in one sentence
Jesus says even He doesn't know the day of His return, revealing His genuine humanity and calling us to trust the Father's timing.
Context
Jesus and his disciples sat on the Mount of Olives, looking across at the temple. They had asked him when these things would happen. He had been telling them about wars, persecution, and the destruction of Jerusalem, and then about his own return in glory. He gave signs, the fig tree's leaves, the sun darkened, but then he said something startling: the exact day and hour are known to no one, not even to him. This was not a riddle. It was a boundary. The chapter closes with a call to watch and pray, because the master could come at any time.
Key Words
The Greek word behind “knows” is oiden, it means to perceive or have knowledge of. Some early Christian writers noted that this same word can also carry the sense of “make known,” so that Jesus might be saying he had not been given the task of revealing the hour. But most interpreters take it at face value: as the Son of Man, Jesus set aside the full exercise of his divine knowledge.
The word for “Son” (huios) is crucial. Jesus calls himself the Son in relation to the Father. He is not a lesser being; he is the Son who voluntarily accepts a role of submission. The Father alone holds this knowledge. That is not a failure in Jesus but a window into the intimacy and trust within the Trinity itself. For us, it means we do not need to know the schedule. We need to know the Person.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians have read this verse in different ways across the centuries. Some, like John Calvin and many Protestant commentators, take it literally: as a man, Jesus genuinely did not know the time. Others, following Augustine and Martin Luther, suggest the verb “know” means “make known”, so Jesus is saying that he was not authorized to reveal this secret. Still others, like Matthew Henry, emphasize that Jesus speaks as the Son of Man, not as the Son of God. All agree the verse humbles our curiosity and points us to the Father's sovereignty. The differences show how the church has wrestled honestly with the mystery of Christ's two natures.
A common misunderstanding
Some readers take this verse as proof that Jesus is not fully divine. In fact, the earliest Christians, who affirmed Jesus' full divinity, had no trouble with this statement. They understood it as a genuine expression of his human limitation during his earthly life. Jesus “increased in wisdom” (Luke 2:52) and did not constantly access his divine knowledge. This verse shows his true humanity, not a lack of deity.
Living This Out
This week, you may feel pressure to figure out God's timeline for your life, when a hard season will end, when prayer will be answered, when Christ will return. This verse invites you to release the need to know. Instead, you can take up the posture Jesus commands next: watch and pray. That means living today with alert trust, not anxious calculation. It might mean putting down your phone and looking for where God is already at work. It might mean talking to the Father about what you don't understand, and letting him hold the schedule.
Main takeaway: Only the Father knows the day of Christ's return, so we are freed to trust and watch rather than calculate.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
Jesus said no one knows the day He will come back, not even Jesus Himself. Only God knows. So we don't have to worry about when. We just have to be ready and love Jesus every day.
For ages 9, 12
In Mark 13, Jesus told his disciples that even He didn't know the exact day of His return. The angels didn't know either. Only God the Father knew. Jesus said this to help us stop guessing and start being faithful. Instead of trying to figure out dates, we get to live every day ready for Jesus, doing what He asked us to do: loving God and loving others. That's what it means to watch.
Questions People Ask
Why did Jesus say He didn't know the day or hour?
Jesus was speaking as the Son of Man, with a genuine human nature that had limits. His divine nature always knew all things, but during his earthly life he chose not to exercise that knowledge in every area. This was part of his voluntary humility. The Father alone kept this detail in his own authority.
Does Mark 13:32 prove Jesus is not God?
No. The earliest Christians who confessed Jesus as fully God had no difficulty with this verse. They understood it as a mystery of the incarnation: Jesus was both truly God and truly human. As a man, he grew in wisdom and could be ignorant of some things. His divinity was not diminished by his genuine humanity.
What does 'nor the Son' mean in this verse?
It means that Jesus, in his human nature, did not know the exact time of his return. Some commentators also suggest it means he was not commissioned to make that knowledge known. Either way, it emphasizes that the Father holds the timetable. The Son willingly submitted to the Father's plan.
How should we respond to this verse?
We should stop trying to calculate dates and instead watch and pray. Jesus says this right after the verse: Take heed, watch and pray, for you do not know when the time is. Our job is not to predict but to be faithful every day, ready for the Master's return.
For pastors & researchers
Greek interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study