This blog has to do with some words of Jesus that puzzled me for years until the Lord showed me their meaning. “Verily I say unto you, some who are standing here shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28) The Mark 9 version reads: “Verily I say unto you, some who are standing here shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.” The Luke 9:27 version reads”: But I tell you truly, some who are standing here shall not taste of death till they see the kingdom of God.”
What does not vary in all three Gospels, is the reference to “some” who were standing with Jesus when he made this statement. When we synthesize these three accounts it is clear that some who stood with him were not to die “until” the kingdom came. The word “until” suggests that after they had seen the kingdom the promise would not apply.
Jesus was referring to the kingdom that will come when he returns. The apostle Paul informs us that those Christians who are alive and remain when Jesus returns shall be “caught up with them – that is, caught up with those who rise from the dead – together in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
Many Bible commentators interpret this vision of the kingdom as one that took place on the Mount of Transfiguration, when the majesty of Jesus was almost blindingly glorious. But that incident took place one week later, and we know that none of the disciples who stood there with Jesus at the time he made his statement had died in the meantime.
Other commentators see it as having been fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was poured out on those gathered in the Upper Room. But the same difficulty arises: none of the disciples had died who had stood with Jesus when he made his statement. In fact, the first of the Twelve to die (excepting Judas) was James, and it would be a decade before King Herod killed him (Acts 12:1).
So neither event explains the statement made by Jesus. But what if the coming of the kingdom was not to be an event seen by all at the same time? What if the explanation is that the Son of man came in his kingdom with power when the apostles preached the gospel of the kingdom? And what if that same kingdom still comes whenever the gospel is preached in power? Not the future kingdom that is to come when Jesus returns, but the kingdom that comes when the Lord Jesus is “in the midst” of those who gather in his name – even if they are only two or three in number? (Matthew 18:20)
Keep this in mind while reading what Jesus had said before saying some who stood with him would not die until they saw the coming of the kingdom. Let’s nof compare the three gospels.
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 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’.” (Matthew 16:24-27)
“And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, ‘Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and wicked generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’” (Mark 8:34-38)
“And he said to them all, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels’.” (Luke 9:23-26)
Note that in all three gospels it is after speaking these words that Jesus says, “There are some standing here that shall not taste of death, until they see…” So it would be when the apostles took up their cross and witnessed to others of Jesus that they would save their lives by losing them. They would see death after seeing the king come in the power of his kingdom!
Jesus told the Caiaphas the high priest, “Hereafter (that is, from now on) you shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:64) Caiaphas would not live to see the future kingdom but before dying would see the glorified Christ come in the power of his spiritual kingdom. Caiaphas continued to hold the office of high priest until AD 37, so he lived through the outpouring of the Spirit and during the period of the many miracles that took place. (This covers the early chapters of the book of Acts.) So there can be no doubt that Caiaphas saw the kingdom come in power before he died.
Stephen did not die until he saw “the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). His persecutors then stoned him, but not before they had seen the glory on his face. The apostle John lived on to see Christ’s kingdom come in power when he received a vision while in exile on the island of Patmos. John wrote, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”
Before the birth of Jesus, the Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon that “he would not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” (Luke 2:26) Simeon did not live to see the kingdom come in power, but God’s promise that he would not die until he had seen the Christ did come to pass. The Lord’s statement to Caiaphas that he would see “the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” was fulfilled in what Caiaphas would have seen during the Jerusalem outpouring.
The future kingdom is always and only spoken of as an inheritance. There is a sense in which Christians “enter into” it through persecution (Acts 14:22). But we see the present kingdom come in power when we take up our cross – not Christ’s cross, our own – and put our lives in jeopardy and risk losing them but saving our lives eternally. It is in that moment of witness that the Son of man reveals himself as the glorified Lord and comes in the power of his kingdom!