Why did Jesus say he didn't know the day or hour?
Jesus spoke from His humanity side, not His deity. Although He remained totally God, He was also totally man and never crossed over. From that human perspective He honestly did not know the day or hour; had He spoken from His God side, He could have given the exact day and hour.
Les explains that Matthew 24:36—"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only"—prompts many questions, especially from the television audience. He notes that when Jesus took on His form of flesh, He did not stop being God; He was totally God and totally man. Here Jesus speaks from His humanity side, so from that side He did not know the day and hour. Had He spoken from His God side, He could have stated the exact day and hour. He was not playing games: speaking from His humanity side, He could honestly say no man knows the hour, and as a man He could say He did not know.
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
More Questions
Did Jesus know the exact day and hour as God even though He said He did not know?
Although Jesus did not know the day and hour from His human side, as God He knew the exact day and hour and could have said it if He had spoken from His divine side.