Paul, Augustine & Jesus’ Knowledge of the Day & Hour

The quotations from St. Augustine are taken from On the Trinity, Book 1. The beloved saint will show that the words of our Lord Jesus in Mark 13:32 do not imply that the Son was ignorant of the Day or Hour, but that he chose to veil that knowledge for the express purpose of not making it known to his disciples. Augustine then quotes the Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2:2 to explain that not knowing can and often does refer to not making something known to others. All emphasis will be mine.

Chapter 12.— In What Manner the Son is Said Not to Know the Day and the Hour Which the Father Knows. Some Things Said of Christ According to the Form of God, Other Things According to the Form of a Servant. In What Way It is of Christ to Give the Kingdom, in What Not of Christ. Christ Will Both Judge and Not Judge.

Again, Of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven; neither the Son, but the Father. For He is ignorant of this, as making others ignorant; that is, in that He did not so know as at that time to show His disciples: as it was said to Abraham, Now I know that you fear God, that is, now I have caused you to know it; because he himself, being tried in that temptation, became known to himself. For He was certainly going to tell this same thing to His disciples at the fitting time; speaking of which yet future as if past, He says, Henceforth I call you not servants, but friends; for the servant knows not what his Lord does: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you; which He had not yet done, but spoke as though He had already done it, because He certainly would do it. For He says to the disciples themselves, I have yet many things to say unto you; but you cannot bear them now. Among which is to be understood also, Of the day and hour. For the apostle also says, I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified; because he was speaking to those who were not able to receive higher things concerning the Godhead of Christ. To whom also a little while after he says, I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal. He was ignorant, therefore, among them of that which they were not able to know from him. And that only he said that he knew, which it was fitting that they should know from him. In short, he knew among the perfect what he knew not among babes; for he there says: We speak wisdom among them that are perfect. For a man is said not to know what he hides, after that kind of speech, after which a ditch is called blind which is hidden. For the Scriptures do not use any other kind of speech than may be found in use among men, because they speak to men.

Further Reading

Irenaeus, Jesus & the Hour