But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Jesus is speaking to his disciples on the Mount of Olives about the end of the age and his own eventual return — a passage known as the Olivet Discourse. To make his point about readiness, he borrows a scene everyone could picture: a homeowner who, if he had known a thief was coming, would have stayed awake and guarded his house. The point is direct — since no one knows the exact moment of Jesus' return, the only reasonable response is to live in a state of ongoing readiness, not complacency. This is not a verse about fear; it is a verse about attentiveness to what truly matters.
God, I confess that I drift — into autopilot, into assuming there is always more time. Wake me up to the weight and the gift of today. Help me live with my eyes open, loving well and holding loosely, ready for You whenever You come. Amen.
Nobody locks their door *after* the break-in. The whole logic of preparation is that it happens before the threat arrives — that is what makes it preparation and not just reaction. Jesus borrows this obvious bit of human wisdom and turns it into something that should stop us mid-scroll, because we all know, if we are honest, that we live mostly for now and assume there is always more time later. What Jesus is pressing on here is not anxiety about end-times timelines. He is asking: what would it look like to live *awake*? Not white-knuckled and frantic, but the way a person lives when they genuinely believe today counts — when the conversation in front of them matters, when the relationship they have been meaning to repair actually gets a phone call, when the faith they keep putting off until life settles down gets some real attention. The thief does not announce himself. Neither does the moment when "later" becomes "too late." Don't wait for a crisis to start living like it counts.
What is Jesus actually asking his followers to do differently through this illustration — what does "keeping watch" look like in everyday life?
In what areas of your life do you tend to operate on the assumption that you will deal with it later — spiritually, relationally, or in some other way?
The verse is part of a larger teaching about Jesus' return. Does the idea of not knowing exactly when feel unsettling, reassuring, or something else to you, and why?
How might living with a greater sense of attentiveness — like the watchful homeowner — change the way you treat the people in your life on an ordinary Tuesday?
What is one concrete thing you could do this week to live more intentionally, as if today genuinely and fully mattered?
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Matthew 24:44
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
If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.
Exodus 22:2
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Revelation 16:15
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Revelation 3:3
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
Matthew 14:25
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
1 Thessalonians 5:2
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1 Thessalonians 5:6
But understand this: If the head of the house had known what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
AMP
But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
ESV
'But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
NASB
But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
NIV
But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
NKJV
Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into.
NLT
But you do know this: You know that if the homeowner had known what time of night the burglar would arrive, he would have been there with his dogs to prevent the break-in.
MSG