To all:
I am looking for a “succinct” explanation of one part of Matthew 24:36.
Below is from the New American translation. Jesus is talking
“As for the exact day or hour, no knows it, neither the angels in heaven nor
the Son, but the Father only.”
The key part would like to key on is “the Son”. If taken literally someone
could infer that Jesus did not know when the end times were. Some non
Christians use that to say look-that shows that Jesus is not God.
Is the answer-that since Jesus when talking was both God and man. That
his human side did not know the answer about the end times. But his divine side
did?
Thanks for clearing this up. Also if have an answer-please sight a source.
Timothy
Timothy,
I am not sure if this is succintly put but this is the commentary in my bible under the verse that you quoted. I was orginally going to post what the dogma said, but as it was too complex for me to explain, I thought I would use the commentary instead.
This is the commentary out of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament, Second Catholic Edition RSV
Matthew 24:36, nor the Son, but the Father: This syaing is comparable to Matthew 20:23, where Jesus says that the Father, not the Son, makes royal appointments of rank. Here also ONLY THE Father appoints the time of the Son’s royal return in glory. Christ’s professed ignorance of this DAY and HOURS may be understood as hyperbole [overstatement], a teaching device used by Jewish rabbis and Jesus himself [see the following passages for examples, Matthew 5:34, Matthew 23:9, Luke 14:26].
Tradition maintains that Jesus’ apparant ignorance is not a literal statement, but a figurative expression; for the Father and the Son share everything in common, including their divine knowledge: Matthew 11:27, John 3:35, John 10:15, and John 17:25. Here Jesus does not display any HUMAN knowledge of the time when the Father will send the Son to judge all nations, because this mystery lies beyond the scope of what the Father intends the Son to reveal.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Paragraph 472 - This human soul that the Son of God assumed is endowed with a true human knowledge. As such, this knowledge could not in itself be unlimited: it was excercised in the historical conditions of his existence in space and time. This is why the SOn of God could, when he became man, 'increase in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man," and would even have to inquire for himself about what one in the human condition can learn only from experience. This corresponded to the reality of his voluntary emptying of himself, taking “the form of a slave.”
Paragraph 473 - But at the same time, this truly human knowledge of God’s Son expressed the divine life of his person. "The human nature of God’s Son, NOT BY ITSELF BUT BY ITS UNION WITH THE WORD, knew and showed forth in itself everything that pertains to God. Such is first of all the case with the intimate and immediate knowledge that the Son of God made man has of his Father. The Son in his human knowledge also showed the divine penetration he had into the secret thoughts of human hearts.
Paragraph 474 - By its union to the divine wisdom in the person of the Word incarnate, Christ enjoyed in his human knowledge the fullness of understanding of the eternal plans he had come to reveal. What he admitted to not knowing in this area, he elsewhere declared himself not sent to reveal. [See Mark 13:32, Acts. 1:7].
If you look in the CCC, these paragraphs also list scripture references and other references to other documents. I hope that this helps. I hope that this citations will help.
Little One0307
