In Luke 12:40 the verse tells you to be ready, but it also states that the Son of man will come at an hour you do not expect. Am I missing something here?
To answer your good question, let’s read Luke 12:37-40, “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find WATCHING: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore READY also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” I encourage you to read Matthew 24. This is a ‘parallel’ chapter to what we have before us and verses 42-44 are almost identical to Luke 12:37-40.
The Lord Jesus is talking to His disciples about His return to the earth at the end of the Tribulation Period. This is made very clear when reading Matthew 24. When the Lord does return physically to the earth, He will establish His Millennial Kingdom on the earth. When will this occur? Matthew 24:36 tells us, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Luke 12:40 says that, “…the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” When man’s heart is turned away from the Lord, when the inhabitants of the earth have completely ignored the Lord’s warnings, when He is least expected…the Lord will return to execute judgment and to set up His kingdom on the earth. The Apostle Peter describes it like this: “But the day of the Lord will come as A THIEF IN THE NIGHT; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2 Peter 3:10).
Peter goes on to say in 2 Peter 3:11, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness.” Realizing that all the things of the earth will be done away with, how should that impact the way we live? When we consider that everything that is in the world is temporary, we should not live for those things. We should live Godly lives that honor the Lord that has saved us from judgment and destruction.
Let’s consider 1 Corinthians 11:31-32, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” This is speaking of self-judgment before partaking of the Lord’s Supper. Yet, we see that the chastening hand of the Lord on His children is contrasted with His condemnation of the word. This shows us that this world is condemned! All these things shall be dissolved! In view of that, may we Christians live with eternity before us.
How can we live and be ready for the coming of the Lord? It is to live in expectation of the soon return of the Lord. I can remember many times as a child waiting for my dad to come home from work. I wasn’t sure when he would pull up in the driveway, but I would often watch through the window for him to arrive. I anticipated his arrival and was ready for him to come home. To be ready for the Lord’s return is to know Him as your Lord and savior. Only those who are saved can rejoice at His appearing. For those who have rejected Him, it will be a sad day of merciless judgment. 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 speak of the Lord coming, “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” My friend, are you ready for the Lord to return? While we wait for Him to return in the sky to rapture His church (which precedes His coming to the earth by seven years), we should be aware of His coming to judge the world. Are you ready to face the Lord? Are your sins forgiven? Do you know Christ as your savior? (317.6)