The lecture deeply explains the verse where Christ said: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32).
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III clarifies that this verse does not mean ignorance of the Son but expresses the depth of the relationship between divinity and humanity in Christ and the scriptural way of expressing divine mysteries.

1. The Son knows because He is the Logos

Christ is the Logos, the Divine Reason of God. Since God knows the day and the hour, His Son must also know, for He is “the image of the invisible God” and “in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).
How could He be “the Wisdom of God and the Power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24) and not know?

2. Unity of knowledge in the Trinity

The Holy Spirit “searches all things, even the depths of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10). If the Spirit knows, then necessarily the Son also knows, for Christ said: “All that the Father has is Mine” (John 16:15) and “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
They are one in essence, nature, and knowledge.

3. Meaning of “does not know”

The phrase “does not know” in Scripture does not always mean ignorance but often means not yet revealed.
Just as God told Abraham, “Now I know that you fear God” (Genesis 22:12) — it means the knowledge was manifested, not newly acquired.
Thus, “does not know” means that the knowledge has not yet been declared.

4. Distinction between knowledge and revelation

God knows all things eternally, but there are appointed times for revealing His knowledge.
When He said about Sodom, “I will go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry” (Genesis 18:21), it was an expression of revelation, not of ignorance.

5. Human language and divine realities

The Bible uses human language to convey divine truths, so expressions like “God descended” or “God was angry” are symbolic, adapted to human understanding.

6. The Son in His incarnation

When Christ said “nor the Son,” He spoke according to His humanity, having “emptied Himself and taken the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7).
That human nature, if left alone, would not know the day or hour because it is limited, but it is united with the divinity that knows all.
Thus, as man He does not reveal, but as God He knows.

7. Christ’s human growth

As Luke 2:52 says, “And the child grew in stature, wisdom, and favor,” meaning not that His wisdom increased, but that His hidden wisdom was revealed gradually according to divine timing.

8. Spiritual meaning

The phrase “does not know” shows the humility of the incarnate Son and teaches that divine knowledge is not for human curiosity but for revelation in its time according to God’s will.
Christ spoke not out of ignorance but pedagogically, to remind His disciples that times and seasons belong to the Father’s authority.

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