“You too, be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will.” Luke 12:40 NASB.
Other Translations
Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. KJV
You also, be ready; for the Son of Man comes in the hour you do not expect. BLT
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. NAB
Be you also ready, for at an hour when you are not expecting Him the Son of Man will come. WNT
and ye, then, become ye ready, because at the hour ye think not, the Son of Man doth come. YTL
The Readiness of Living Ready
You get an idea, the Lord is telling you and I directly that we are to be ready for His appearing. We are to be watchful, expectant, and prepared to meet Him when He comes because:
First, we know He is coming. He said it right here, “…because the Son of Man is coming…”
Second, We don’t know when, “…at an hour you do not expect.”
In fact, He compared His unexpected and surprising coming to a thief, “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into,” Luke 12:39.
Third, this is a moment by moment readiness, “…at an hour…”.
At an hour can also be said, at any moment, at any time. I can’t slack or slumber in waiting. He can come as I am typing this. He can show up at 7p.m when I usually watch the news. The Lord is basically keeping us on our toes here. If we knew the hour or Day, guess what? We would be sinning and sinning and right before His appearing we would stop sinning. Do you see why we don’t know when?
I was meditating on this verse in the light of recent scandal that plague the reformed christian world. A well known 73 year old reformed preacher, whom I have reference his sermons and videos many times here or elsewhere, was a massive hypocrite due to his five year long secret adulterous life with a twenty something woman. I cannot tell you the reproach this man has brought to Christ and His church. This one was hard to swallow. I wondered then, isn’t what the Lord is talking about here knowing our hearts? Clearly this preacher would have split the gate of hades for his hypocrisy should Christ had come during those five years. I don’t mean he would have lost his salvation, if he is indeed saved, I am saying, a saved person would not have continued living in sin continually for that long. I heard that he came out only because the woman’s father threatened to expose him. That is, if the father or anyone said nothing, this “preacher” had no fear of God in his heart.
Jesus said, “then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the unbelievers,”Luke 12:46.
A place of unbelievers is a place where you either repent or be thrown into the lake of fire. A place of unbelievers is where one risks to perish forever. This person is either a double minded man or total pagan. Which is which with Steven Lawson? Which is which with you?
Live Ready
So I asked myself, How do I live then? How do I live ready? Did He mean’t I can’t go to sleep?
I think Luke 21:34 gives us an answer, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.”
All these verses that I have reference here are saying the same thing, we don’t know when He is coming yet we are to be ready for His coming for He is coming.
We live ready by not letting our hearts be weighed down or burdened with carousing (dissipation), drunkenness, and cares of this life.
We can physically sleep or rest with an unburdened heart. We can sleep and our sleep will be sweet (God’s gift for us by the way) if your hearts are light, clean, and holy. Drunkenness and dissipation represent sin. They represent a life of sinner, someone who live as though he doesn’t know God. You and I know God. We know His will, the Lord is saying, live like children of the light. Don’t get yourself caught up with the world and what it has to offer. He is coming and His rewards are in His hands.
1 Corinthians 16:13, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” Colossians 4:2, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Luke 21:36, “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.”
Cross References
Mark 13:33
Be on your guard and stay alert! For you do not know when the appointed time will come.
Luke 21:34
But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life–and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
Luke 21:36
So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Definition
You
ὑμεῖς (hymeis)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun – Nominative 2nd Person Plural
Strong’s 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.
Ready
ἕτοιμοι (hetoimoi)
Adjective – Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong’s 2092: Ready, prepared. From an old noun heteos.
Your Turn:
Are you living ready? If not, what is weighing down your heart? None of us know when the Son of Man is coming. It’s one thing to know and another to not know. Let us live ready at all times. Let us always remember He is coming an hour we do not expect. Let us keep our lamps filled with oil and lit at all times.
And for those who don’t know God. For you who don’t know Christ, you don’t want to be in a group of unbelievers at His coming. You too can be ready to meet Him and be with Him forever. Hear the gospel here and commit your life to Christ. Do not put off to repent of your sins since you don’t know an hour of His coming.