Luke 12:39-40 39But 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. 40And you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
Jesus gives a second short illustration about the need for disciples to be ready. He has not mentioned many times yet his second coming, but there was always the expectation that the kingdom was only at the starting stage and would grow and one day be fulfilled. His teaching about his second coming will be more explicit in chapter 21. The central figure, again, is the master of the house, but a new figure of a thief enters the story. In this story, the master represents disciples who should be ready at any point for a thief to come. The thief represents Jesus, who could come at any point. The image of a thief is often used in the New Testament for Jesus’ second coming (1 Thessalonians 5:2–4; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 3:3; 16:15).
Verse 40 is the key idea of the whole section. Jesus clearly refers to himself as the Son of Man, one of his favorite and most used self-descriptions. Hour can simply refer to a point in time. Disciples may be vigilant for a while, but then they can begin to feel safe, which can lead to laziness. This kind of situation often occurs is matters of safety and security. Some bad event happens, and security goes up; everyone is concerned safety. Over time, when everything settles down and it is quiet and safe again, people let their guards down. This situation can happen to us spiritually as well, particularly as we await Jesus’ coming again. We should not need a crisis in the world to raise our awareness of Jesus’ immanent return. We should live with a readiness that comes when we are doing what Jesus has commanded us to do.
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