Mat 16,27-28

[Ken Yehuwdiy]

'For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.'

It's obvious that Jesus places the second coming within the lives of his very listeners who were standing there listening to him in the first century. Why are so many Christians in denial of this? Is is because the can't believe Jesus has returned, or because they can't believe they can be wrong about what the second coming was all about?

The passage teaches us that the Son of man would come in the glory of his Father and we all know that nobody has seen the Father. Think about the fact that God is invisible (Col 1,15) and that the second coming according to Jesus would resemble the glory of his invisible Father. This shed's an interesting light on Luke 17,23.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Consider, for a moment, the possibility that Christ came into His kingdom at His ascension. And that He now rules as King of the kingdom until His coming again, at which point--as St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15--He will deliver all things over to the Father.

Consider also, for a moment, the placement here in Matthew's gospel in relation to Christ's word about the establishment of His Church.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[pshun2404]

Aside from the obvious that Crypto pointed out, that once Pentecost came...the Kingdom is here IN all who are born from above (the church) but also some there among them (Peter, James, and John) saw Him in His Glory (at the mount of transfiguration) where the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) were subject to Him...Lord of lords, King of kings...

Paul

 

[ananda]

I suggest that the Apostle John fulfilled that prophecy when he was taken into heaven to witness what was to come.

Does a rephrasing of Mt 16:28 help?: Verily I say unto you, There be a certain one standing here, which shall not taste of death, till he sees the Son of man in-the-process-of-coming, in his kingdom.

Or, perhaps it was fulfilled by those who witnessed His resurrection, and thus His arrival into His Kingdom.

 

[Bobinator]

I suggest that the Apostle John fulfilled that prophecy when he was taken into heaven to witness what was to come.

Does a rephrasing of Mt 16:28 help?: Verily I say unto you, There be a certain one standing here, which shall not taste of death, till he sees the Son of man in-the-process-of-coming, in his kingdom.

Or, perhaps it was fulfilled by those who witnessed His resurrection, and thus His arrival into His Kingdom.

That's an interesting point. Never thought of that, although I know many believe the Apostle John never died, as there is no record of his death. We know that Peter asked Jesus what was to become of John, and Jesus rebuked him, essentially telling Peter to mind his own business while hinting that John might live forever. The other apostles, however, died. Some horribly, like Peter and James. Paul had his head cut off.

 

[hedrick]

[duplicate post]

 

[hedrick]

The most natural reading of 27 is the final judgement. But that hasn't happened. 28 could certainly refer to an earlier coming of the Kingdom, whether at Jesus resurrection, ascension, or Pentecost. One commentator (the Word commentary on Mark) even suggests that Jesus is referring to signs within his ministry.

So what is the connection between 27 and 28? There are two approaches that I would consider plausible. One is that many Christians didn't quite understand that Jesus was referring to something other than the last judgement in 28, and put 27 and 28 together thinking they were the same thing.

An interesting possibility (also suggested by the Word commentary on Mark) that does not require that is that Jesus cited something that at least some of his listeners would see in order to add credibility to the prediction in 27. I would expect a bit more explanation if that's the case, but since audio recorders and shorthand didn't exist in the 1st Cent, it's certainly likely that what we've got is more terse than his actual preaching.

I think it's pretty clear that Jesus saw himself as inaugurating the Kingdom, but also saw that as a preliminary form, the seed growing secretly, with the final triumph of the Kingdom occurring at the end. It's quite reasonable that he spoke of both at the same time, as in 27 and 28, even if the distinction isn't quite as clear in this passage as it might be.

 

[Ken Yehuwdiy]

Thank you for the replies. Jesus teaches in Mt 16,27 that the Son of man would come in the glory of his Father and we all know that nobody has seen the Father. Think about the fact that God is invisible (Col 1,15) and that the second coming according to Jesus would resemble the glory of his invisible Father. This shed's an interesting light on Luke 17,23.

Mattheus 16,27 says:

'For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Comparing Mt 16,27 with Isa 40,10 makes it clear that Jesus is referring to an old testament prophecy:

'Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.'

When did the Son of man reward every man according tot his works? Not while he was in the flesh! And also not six days later at the transfiguration. John was there and he still expected Christ to reward every man in the near future.

'And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.' (Op 22,10)