⚡ Matthew 24:36 — Quick Reference
Use this when: a Muslim says "Jesus didn't know the hour, so he can't be God." Every response here fits in a few sentences. Always be respectful (1 Peter 3:15), but be precise.
The Argument (Their Version)
- If Jesus were God, he would know everything.
- Matthew 24:36 — Jesus says he doesn't know the day or hour: "nor the Son, but only the Father."
- Jesus didn't know something God knows.
- Therefore Jesus is not God.
The core flaw: premise 1 assumes Islamic tawhid (God cannot take on human nature) and uses that to evaluate Jesus. That is not an argument from the text; it is Islamic theology dressed as exegesis. The argument is circular.
The One-Line Answer
"The incarnation explains this exactly. The Son voluntarily took on real human nature (Phil 2:7-8), which includes real limitation. You can't disprove the incarnation by pointing to a limitation that the incarnation predicts."
Why the Argument is Circular
The argument only works if God cannot become incarnate. That is the Islamic premise. The argument therefore does not prove from Scripture that Jesus is not God; it proves that Jesus is not the Islamic conception of God. Those are not the same claim.
Ask them: "Are you arguing from the Bible, or are you assuming tawhid and then reading it into the Bible? Because if you're assuming tawhid, you've already decided the answer before looking at the text."
The Same Chapter Destroys the Argument
Matthew 24 is the chapter with 24:36. Look at what else Jesus says in the same chapter and gospel:
| Text | What Jesus Claims |
|---|---|
| Matt 24:30 | He comes on the clouds of heaven to judge all nations (Daniel 7:13-14 — a divine throne scene) |
| Matt 11:27 | "No one knows the Father except the Son" — exclusive mutual knowledge with God |
| Matt 28:18-20 | All authority in heaven and earth; omnipresence with all disciples to the end of history |
| Matt 9:4; 12:25 | Reads unspoken thoughts (Jer 17:10 says only YHWH can do this) |
| Matt 22:44-45 | David calls him Lord; he shares YHWH's throne (Ps 110:1) |
The man who says "nor the Son" in verse 36 also says he will arrive on divine clouds to judge every nation. He is not an ignorant figure. He is claiming a specific, narrow limitation about precise timing, surrounded by sweeping divine claims.
What "Not Knowing" Actually Means Here
Jesus is not confused or searching. He is deliberately telling his disciples to stop calculating and start living in readiness (24:44). The limitation is:
- Specific: only about the exact calendar day and hour
- Functional: operating within genuine human nature during his earthly mission
- Purposeful: closes down date-setting, not a statement about the eternal Word's nature
Compare: Daniel received detailed prophetic visions but was told the times were sealed (Dan 12:9). Prophets can have expansive revelation and still not know precise timing. Jesus is doing something similar within his incarnate state.
Jesus' Omniscience is Explicit Everywhere Else
- John 2:24-25 — "He knew all people... he himself knew what was in man"
- John 6:64 — "Jesus had known from the beginning" who would betray him
- John 16:30 — disciples: "Now we know that you know all things"
- John 21:17 — Peter: "Lord, you know all things"
- Col 2:3 — "In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"
- Rev 2:23 — risen Christ: "I am he who searches mind and heart" (quoting Jer 17:10 — YHWH's own words)
The New Testament does not present Jesus as informationally deficient. It presents one person with two natures, speaking from within genuine human limitation in some moments and from divine authority in others.
The Kenosis: Philippians 2:5-8
"Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself (ekenosen), by taking the form of a servant..."
"Emptied himself by taking" — the emptying was additive (he took on humanity), not subtractive (he did not stop being God). Divine nature plus human nature in one person. Limitation in the human nature says nothing against the divine nature.
The Turnaround: Use It on Muhammad
The argument assumes limited knowledge disproves divine status. Apply that standard consistently:
- Surah 46:9 — Muhammad says: "I do not know what will be done with me or with you."
- Surah 3:144 — Muhammad is described as a messenger who may die or be killed.
- The Hadith records Muhammad was poisoned and died not knowing it was killing him until too late (Sahih Bukhari 5:59:713).
If limited knowledge disqualifies Jesus from being divine, does it disqualify Muhammad from being a prophet? The Muslim will say "prophets are allowed to not know things." Exactly. So is the incarnate Son, who is both God and genuinely human.
They cannot apply limited-knowledge as a disqualifier to Jesus but not to Muhammad.
On the Manuscript Question ("They Tried to Hide It")
Some MSS of Matthew 24:36 omit "nor the Son." Muslims sometimes claim this proves embarrassment and suppression.
The reverse is true:
- "Nor the Son" (oude ho huios) is in Mark 13:32 in virtually every manuscript, never disputed.
- The harder reading is more likely original by standard textual criticism: scribes smooth difficulties, they do not create them. A scribe uncomfortable with the phrase would omit it; no scribe would invent it.
- The early church (Athanasius, Gregory Nazianzen, Augustine) addressed this text openly for 1,700 years. It was never hidden.
What the Church Fathers Said
The argument is not new. Arius made it in the 4th century. The church answered it then:
- Athanasius (Orations Against Arians 3.42-53): When Jesus says he doesn't know, he speaks "as man." As the eternal Word, he is coeternal with the Father and shares his omniscience.
- Gregory Nazianzen (Theological Orations 4.15): "The limitation of knowledge he took upon himself in the human nature, while from the divine nature he knows all things."
- Augustine (De Trinitate 1.12): The Son knows the day "in himself" as God; he does not communicate it to the disciples in his role as teacher.
This is 1,700 years of consistent, argued, orthodox response. The Muslim objection is not a new discovery; it is Arianism with a Qur'anic accent.
Quick-Reference Response Cards
"Jesus didn't know the hour, so he's not God." "That assumes God can't become incarnate. If the incarnation is real, limitation in the human nature is exactly what we'd expect. Same chapter, verse 30: Jesus comes on the clouds of Daniel 7 to judge all nations. Does that sound like a mere prophet?"
"Only the Father knows — so the Father is greater." "The text also says 'not even the angels.' Does that make Jesus lower than angels? The limitation reflects the incarnation, not eternal rank. The Son voluntarily entered a subordinate role for the mission. Philippians 2:6-11."
"This proves Jesus is just a prophet, like Muhammad." "Did Muhammad claim to come on divine clouds to judge every nation? Did he say no one knows the Father except through him? Did he claim omnipresence with all followers to the end of history? No. If limited knowledge is fine for Muhammad the prophet, why does it disprove something entirely different for Jesus?"
"Some manuscripts removed 'nor the Son' to hide the problem." "It's in Mark 13:32 universally. The harder reading is more likely original — scribes remove difficulties, they don't invent them. And Athanasius addressed this text publicly in 350 AD. Nothing was hidden."