Discovery BoxMatthew 24:42-47 
Context24:42 “Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day 1 your Lord will come. 24:43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief 2 was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into. 24:44 Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. 3
24:45 “Who then is the faithful and wise slave, 4 whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves 5 their food at the proper time? 24:46 Blessed is that slave whom the master finds at work 6 when he comes. 24:47 I tell you the truth, 7 the master 8 will put him in charge of all his possessions.
1 tc Most later
2 sn On Jesus pictured as a returning thief, see 1 Thess 5:2, 4; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15.
3 sn Jesus made clear that his coming could not be timed, and suggested it would take some time – so long, in fact, that some will not be looking for him any longer (at an hour when you do not expect him).
4 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.
5 tn Grk “give them.”
6 tn That is, doing his job, doing what he is supposed to be doing.
7 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
8 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
