Jesus predicted some believers would see his kingdom before death

JESUS WAS COMING BEFORE SOME BELIEVERS DIED.
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
MATTHEW 16:28 “Truly I tell you, some who are
standing here will not taste death before they see the
Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Coming Of The Son Of Man
Matthew 16:28
R. Tuck
Not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. This is
immediately suggested. "Christ's coming," and"Christ's coming in his
kingdom," must be phrases used with a variety of meanings and with a
variety of references.We begin to feel that it must be used as a proverbial
phrase. Various explanations of our Lord's meaning have been given.
Examine three.
I. CHRIST CAME IN HIS KINGDOM AT THE TRANSFIGURATION. This
meaning is suggestedby the factthat the narrative of the Transfiguration
immediately succeeds,and the evangelistappears designedly to setthem in
close connection. Thatwas a very sublime manifestation of his glory, but it is
difficult to understand how it could be called a "coming of the kingdom."

Moreover, there is no point in saying that some would be sparedto the coming
of the kingdom, when all were to be spared overthe Transfiguration. That
explanation cannot be regardedas satisfactory.
II. CHRIST CAME IN HIS KINGDOM AT THE DAY OF PENTECOST.
That is properly regarded as the actual starting of Christ's new and spiritual
kingdom. In part it may fulfil the reference ofour Lord. But here again the
difficulty occurs that the apostolic band was intact at the Day of Pentecost,
with the exceptionof the traitor Judas, who had "gone to his own place." It is
hardly possible to rest satisfiedwith this explanation.
III. CHRIST CAME IN HIS KINGDOM AT THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.
"This was a judicial coming, a signal and visible event, and one that would
happen in the lifetime of some, but not of all, of those present." John certainly
lived beyond this event. "In a sense which was real, though partial, the
judgment which felt upon the JewishChurch, the destruction of the holy city
and the temple, the onward march of the Church of Christ, was as the coming
of the Son of man in his kingdom." This is altogetherthe most satisfactory
suggestion;and we need only suppose that Christ was carried awayin his
thoughts beyond the present, and was helped in thinking of the sufferings that
were immediately before him, by comforting visions of the successandglory
which would follow his suffering and his sacrifice in the world's by and by. -
R.T.

Biblical Illustrator
For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father.
Matthew 16:27, 28
The coming of the Son of Man
D. Charles., A. Macfarlane., H. McNeile.
1. The judgment of the world has been committed to the Son as Mediator, as
an appropriate honour to One who had humbled Himself for the redemption
of the world.
2. Christ is qualified to be Judge, as the Son of God, of the same essence as the
Father; the perfections of the Godheadwill appear glorious in Him.
3. The saints in judgment will be manifestedas the doers of the will of God
upon earth.
4. The work of the Judge will be, not to justify, or to make righteous, but to
prove the saints by their works, that they are righteous already.
5. Men will be judged by their works, to show that God in the work of man's
salvationsupports the cause of infinite holiness.
6. Judgment will not be according to the works visible to men, but to all done
in secret.
7. Judgment according to works will condemn the ungodly, and make them
dumb before God.
(D. Charles.)

I. THE SON OF MAN AS THE PROMISED, manifested, ascendedOne.
II. His REAPPEARANCEON EARTH Predicted, possible, necessary.
III. HIS SUPERHUMAN GLORY. His herald, person, retinue is glorious.
IV. His IMPORTANT WORK. TO raise the dead, change the living, judge all,
reward each, resignthe reins of government into His Father's hand.
(A. Macfarlane.)
I. That the Lord Jesus Christ shall return to this earth as a man in the glory of
God with His angels.
II. That all Christ's believing people shall appear with Him.
III. The Lord at His coming in His glory shall reward every man according to
his works.
(H. McNeile.)
An awful premonition
C. H. Spurgeon.
Compared with the doom which will be inflicted upon the ungodly at the
coming of Christ, the death of nature is nothing.
I. THE SINNER'S DEATHIS BUT A FAINT PRESAGE OF THE SINNER'S
DOOM AT THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN IN HIS GLORY.
1. We can make but little comparisonbetweenthe two in the point of time.
Physicaldying is but the work of a moment; the doom of the wickedwhen
Christ comes will never die.
2. In point of loss there is no comparison.
3. Neitherdoes death hear any comparisonwith the last judgment in point of
terror.

4. The pains of death are not comparable to the pains of the judgment at the
secondadvent.
II. IN THE STATE OF SEPARATE SPIRITS THEYHAVE NOT FULLY
TASTED OF DEATH, NOR WILL THEY DO SO UNTIL CHRIST COMES.
Till after the secondadvent their bodies do not suffer; they know that this
present state will end, after judgment no end; they have not been put to the
shame of a public sentence.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Waiting for Christ's coming
Ready for work.
I saw a picture the other day in a shop window, with which I was greatly
pleased;it representeda room in which was a window looking out upon the
sea;a lady with a grave, anxious face satby the window, and two little
children were playing on the carpet. On the table lay a letter, which seemed
just to have been opened, and againstthe wallwas hanging the portrait of a
gentleman. There was very little writing underneath the picture, and very
little was wanted; for I could understand the story which the picture was
intended to tell, as plainly as if the painter had told me himself. The father of
these little children was evidently absent from them beyond the sea. There was
his portrait, but he was far away. But he had sent them s letter containing the
joyful news that he was coming home again! And so there was the mother
sitting at that window, day after day, and looking across the wide waters, in
the hope of at last seeing the white sails of the ship which should bring the
long-expectedone home. Now this picture, I think, may remind us of what the
Lord Jesus usedto tell His disciples about His "coming again."
(Ready for work.)
COMMENTARIES

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(28) There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death . . .—The
immediate sequence ofthe vision of the Son of Man transfigured from the low
estate in which He then lived and moved, into the “excellentglory” which met
the gaze of the three disciples, has led not a few interpreters to see in that
vision the fulfilment of this prediction. A closerscrutiny of the words must,
however, lead us to set aside that interpretation, exceptso far as the
Transfigurationbore witness to what had till then been the latent possibilities
of His greatness.To speak ofsomething that was to take place within six days
as to occurbefore some of those who heard the words should taste of death
(comp. John 8:52, Hebrews 2:9, for the form of the expression)would hardly
have been natural; nor does the vision, as such, satisfy the meaning of the
words “coming in His kingdom.” The solution of the problem is to be found in
the greatprophecy of Matthew 24. In a sense whichwas real, though partial,
the judgment which fell upon the JewishChurch, the destruction of the Holy
City and the Temple, the onward march of the Church of Christ, was as the
coming of the Sonof Man in His kingdom. His people felt that He was not far
off from every one of them. He had come to them in “spirit and in power,”
and that advent was at once the earnestand the foreshadowing ofthe “great
far-off event,” the day and hour of which were hidden from the angels of God,
and even from the Son of Man Himself (Mark 13:32). The words find their
parallel in those that declaredthat “This generationshall not pass awaytill all
be fulfilled” (Matthew 24:34). That such words should have been recorded
and published by the Evangelists is a proof either that they acceptedthat
interpretation, if they wrote after the destruction of Jerusalem, or, if we
assume that they were led by them to look for the “end of all things” as near
at hand, that they wrote before the generationof those who then stoodby had
passedaway;and so the very difficulty that has perplexed men becomes a
proof of the early date of the three Gospels that contain the record.
BensonCommentary

Matthew 16:28. Verily, there be some standing here, &c. — And that you may
not doubt that there shall be a day of judgment, when I shall come clothed
with divine majesty, to render unto men according to their actions in this life,
let me assure you there are some here present that shall not die till they shall
see a faint representationof this, in events which will soontake place,
especiallyin my coming to set up my mediatorial kingdom with greatpower
and glory, in the increase of my church, and the destruction of mine enemies.
Accordingly the disciples saw their Mastercoming in his kingdom, when they
were witnesses ofhis transfiguration, resurrection, and ascension, andthe
miraculous gifts of his Spirit conferredupon them; and lived to see Jerusalem,
with the Jewishstate, destroyed, and the gospelpropagatedthrough the
greatestpart of the then knownworld.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
16:24-28 A true disciple of Christ is one that does follow him in duty, and shall
follow him to glory. He is one that walks in the same way Christ walkedin, is
led by his Spirit, and treads in his steps, whithersoeverhe goes. Lethim deny
himself. If self-denialbe a hard lesson, it is no more than what our Master
learned and practised, to redeem us, and to teachus. Let him take up his
cross. The cross is here put for every trouble that befalls us. We are apt to
think we could bear another's cross better than our own; but that is best
which is appointed us, and we ought to make the best of it. We must not by
our rashness and folly pull crossesdownupon our own heads, but must take
them up when they are in our way. If any man will have the name and credit
of a disciple, let him follow Christ in the work and duty of a disciple. If all
worldly things are worthless when comparedwith the life of the body, how
forcible the same argument with respectto the soul and its state of never-
ending happiness or misery! Thousands lose their souls for the most trifling
gain, or the most worthless indulgence, nay, often from mere sloth and
negligence. Whateveris the objectfor which men forsake Christ, that is the
price at which Satanbuys their souls. Yet one soul is worth more than all the
world. This is Christ's judgment upon the matter; he knew the price of souls,
for he redeemedthem; nor would he underrate the world, for he made it. The
dying transgressorcannotpurchase one hour's respite to seek mercyfor his

perishing soul. Let us then learn rightly to value our souls, and Christ as the
only Saviour of them.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Verily I say unto you ... - To encourage them, he assuredthem that, though his
kingdom was now obscure and despised - though he was castout and little
known - yet the time was nearwhen he would be regardedin a different
manner, and his kingdom be establishedwith greatpower.
This cannot refer to the end of the world, and there is no need of referring it
to the destruction of Jerusalem.
Taste ofdeath - That is, die. Before they die they shall see this.
Son of man coming in his kingdom - Mark and Luke have explained this:
Mark 9:1, "Until they have seenthe kingdom of God come with power;" Luke
9:27, "Till they see the kingdom of God." The meaning evidently is, "till they
shall see my kingdom," i. e., my church, now small, feeble, and despised,
greatly enlarged, established, and spreading with greatrapidity and extent.
All this was accomplished. All these apostles, exceptJudas, lived to see the
wonders of the day of Pentecost;some of them, John particularly, saw the
Jewishnation scattered, the temple destroyed, the gospelestablishedin Asia,
Rome, Greece, andin a large part of the known world.
Remarks On Matthew 16
1. People will often judge far more correctlyabout natural than about
spiritual things, Matthew 16:1-3. In respectto natural objects they are
watchful. In them they feel a deep interest, and they watchfor every sign that
may affecttheir interest. They are too much concernedto judge falsely. But
they feel no such interest in religious things. Hence, it happens that people
who have goodsense and much wisdom in regard to worldly concerns, are
often exceedinglyfoolish in regard to religion. They believe reports respecting
religion, revivals, and missions, which they would despise on any other
subject. They read and believe newspapers and other publications, which they
would hold in contempt on any other topic but religion. They give a degree of
weight to arguments againstthe Bible, and againstthe doctrines of the gospel,

to which they would attachlittle or no importance on any other subject. They
sustain themselves in infidelity by arguments which they would regardas of
no force if the same kind of reasoning was urged in defense of anything else.
2. It is of importance to watch the signs of the times, Matthew 16:3. In the
days of Christ it was the duty of the people to look at the evidence that he was
the Messiah. The proofs were clearthat he was the Messiah. It is also
important to look at the signs of the times in which we live. They are clear
also. Much is doing; and the diffusion of the Bible, the labors among the
pagan, the distribution of tracts, and perhaps, above all, the institution of
Sunday schools, betokenan eventful age, and are an indication that brighter
days are about to dawn on the world. We should watchthese signs that we
may rejoice;that we may pray with more fervor, and that we may do our part
to advance the kingdom of God. Little children should grow up believing that
they live in an important age;that they enjoy many specialprivileges, and
that they may and must do much to spread the gospelthrough the earth. Even
in childhood, they should pray, and they should give to benefit others;and,
most of all, they should give themselves to Christ, that they may benefit others
with a right spirit.
3. Sinners should be addressedwith deep feeling and faithfulness, Mark 8:12.
Jesus sigheddeeply. So should we. We should not be harsh, or sour, or cold
and unfeeling when we address our fellow-men about eternity. We should
weepover them, and pray for them, and speak to them, not as if we were
better than they, but with an earnestdesire for their salvation. Compare Acts
20:31;Philippians 3:18.
4. People easilymistake plain instruction, Matthew 16:7. And especiallyis this
the case where there is any chance of giving a worldly turn to the instruction.
If people's thoughts - even those of Christians were more off from the world,
and they thought less of the supply of their temporal wants, they would
understand the truths of religion much better than they do. No man can
understand the doctrines of religion aright whose principal concernis what he
shall eat, and drink, and wear. Hence, even Christians are often strangely
ignorant of the plainest truths of religion; and hence the importance of

teaching those truths to children before their thoughts become engrossedby
the world; and hence, too, the importance of Sunday schools.
5. We should not have undue anxiety about the supply of our wants. Christ
supplied many thousands by a word, and he can easilysupply us, Matthew
16:9-12.
6. We should learn, from his past goodness, to trust him for the future,
Matthew 16:9-12.
7. We should be on our guard againsterror, Matthew 16:11. It is sly, artful,
plausible, working secretly, but effectually. We should always be cautious of
what we believe, and examine it by the word of God. False doctrines are often
made as much like the truth as possible, for the very purpose of deceiving.
"Satanhimself is transformed into an angelof light," 2 Corinthians 11:14.
8. It is important to ascertainour views of Christ, Matthew 16:13-15. Ourall
depends on this. If we do not think and feel right respecting him we cannot be
safe. We should often, then, ask ourselves - we should ask one another - what
we think of Christ.
9. It is our duty to profess attachment to Christ. It should be done boldly, and
always, Matthew 16:16. We should never be ashamed of him. And to do this,
we should always, in our own hearts, believe that he is the Christ, the Sonof
the living God.
continued...
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
28. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here—"some ofthose
standing here."
which shall not taste of death, fill they see the Sonof man coming in his
kingdom—or, as in Mark (Mr 9:1), "till they see the kingdom of God come
with power";or, as in Luke (Lu 9:27), more simply still, "till they see the
kingdom of God." The reference, beyond doubt, is to the firm establishment
and victorious progress, in the lifetime of some then present, of that new

kingdom of Christ, which was destined to work the greatestofall changes on
this earth, and be the grand pledge of His final coming in glory.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Mark saith, Mark 9:1, till they have seenthe kingdom of God come with
power; Luke 9:27, saith no more than till they see the kingdom of God. There
be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, that is, that shall not die.
Hebrews 2:9. It is the same with not seeing death, John 8:51,52 Heb 11:5. The
greatquestion is, what is here meant by the
Song of Solomon of man coming in his kingdom. It cannot be meant of his
secondcoming to judgment, spokenof immediately before, for all who stood
there have long since tasted of death, yet is not that day come. Some
understand it of that sight of Christ’s glory which Peter, and James, and John
had at Christ’s transfiguration, of which we shall read in the next chapter;
and I should be very inclinable to this sense, (for there was a glimpse of the
glory of the Father mentioned Matthew 16:27) were it not for those words
added by Mark,
till they have seenthe kingdom of God come with power. This inclineth others
to think, that it is to be understood of Christ’s showing forth his powerin the
destruction of Jerusalem. But the most generallyreceivedopinion, and which
seemethto be best, is, that the coming of the Son of man here meant is, his
resurrectionfrom the dead. His ascensioninto heaven, and sending the Holy
Spirit, after which the kingdom of grace came with a mighty power, subduing
all nations to the Lord Jesus Christ. He was declared, (or determined), to be
the Sonof Godwith power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the
resurrectionfrom the dead, Romans 1:4. And when, after his resurrection
from the dead, they askedhim, Acts 1:6, whether he would at that time
restore the kingdom to Israel, he puts them off, and tells them for an answer,
Acts 1:8, But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea,

and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. And then, Acts 1:9,
he in their sight ascendedup into heaven. Then did the kingdom of the Son of
man come with power, Acts 2:33-36, they knowing assuredlythat the Son of
man, whom the Jews hadcrucified, was made both Lord and Christ, as Acts
2:36, and, as Acts 2:34,35, setat God’s right hand, (according to the prophecy
of David, Psalm 90:1), until his enemies should be made his footstool.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Verily I say unto you..... This is a strong asseveration, Christputs his "Amen"
to it; declaring it to be a certaintruth, which may firmly be believed:
there be some standing here; meaning either his disciples, or some of the
audience;for it is clearfrom Mark 8:34 that the people were called unto him
with his disciples, when he said these words:
which shall not taste of death: that is, shall not die; a phrase frequently used
by the Jewishdoctors:they say(y),
"All the children of the world, , "taste the taste of death".''
That is, die:
till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom; which is not to be
understood of his personalcoming in his kingdom in the last day, when he will
judge quick and dead; for it cannot be thought, that any then present should
live to that time, but all tasted of death long before, as they have done; for the
story of John's being alive, and to live till then, is fabulous, and grounded on a
mistake which John himself has rectified at the close ofhis Gospel:nor of the
glorious transfiguration of Christ, the accountof which immediately follows;
when he was seenby Peter, James, andJohn, persons now present; for that, at
most, was but an emblem and a pledge of his future glory: rather, of the
appearance ofhis kingdom, in greaterglory and power, upon his resurrection
from the dead, and his ascensionto heaven; when the Spirit was poured down
in an extraordinary manner, and the Gospelwas preachedall over the world;
was confirmed by signs and wonders, and made effectual to the conversion
and salvationof many souls;which many then presentlived to see, and were
concernedin: though it seems chiefly to have regard to his coming, to show his

regalpower and authority in the destructionof the Jews;when those his
enemies that would not he should reign over them, were ordered to be
brought and slain before him; and this the Apostle John, for one, lived to be a
witness of.
(y) Zohar in Gen. fol. 27. 4. & 37. 1. & in Exod. fol. 19. 2. & in Num. fol. 50. 4.
& 51. 2. 4. Vid. BereshitRabba, sect. 9. fol. 7. 3, 4. Midrash Kohelet, fol, 83. 2.
Geneva Study Bible
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 {x} kingdom.
(x) By his kingdom is understood the glory of his ascension, andwhat follows
after that, Eph 4:10, or the preaching of the gospel, Mr 9:1.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Matthew 16:28. Having affirmed the certainty of the secondcoming and the
divine retribution, He now proceeds to do the same with regardto their
nearness.
εἰσί τινες κ.τ.λ.]which refers to those present generally, and not merely to the
disciples, presupposes that the majority of them will have died previous to the
event in question.
γεύσωνται θανάτου]The experiencing of death regardedas a tasting of it (of
its pains). See note on John 8:52, and Wetstein.
ἕως κ.τ.λ.]not as though they were to die afterwards, but what is meant is,
that they will still be living when it takes place. Comp. Matthew 24:34;
Hofmann, Schriftbew. II. 2, p. 629 f.

ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ]not for εἰς τὴν κ.τ.λ. (Beza, Raphel, and others), but as
a king in all His regalauthority (Plat. Rep. p. 499 B: τῶν νῦν ἐν δυναστείαις ἢ
βασιλείαις ὄντων). Luke 23:42. There is no substantial difference betweenthe
present prediction of Jesus as to His impending advent in glorious majesty
(comp. Matthew 10:23, Matthew 24:34), and that in Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27. The
βασιλεία cannot be supposed to come without the βασιλεύς. This, at the same
time, in answerto Ebrard (comp. Baumeisterin Klaiber’s Studien, II. 1, p.
19), who interprets this passage,not of the secondcoming to judgment, but,
laying stress on the ἐν (againstwhich the ἐν τῇ δόξῃ, Matthew 16:27, should
have duly warned), understands it as referring to the founding of the church,
and particularly to what took place at Pentecost, andthat notwithstanding the
context and the words εἰσί τινες, etc., which, if this view were adopted, would
be entirely out of place (Glass, Calovius). It is likewise to explain it awayin a
manner no less arbitrary, to understand the passagein the sense ofa
figurative coming in the destruction of Jerusalemand the diffusion of
Christianity (Jac. Cappellus, Wetstein, Kuinoel, Schott, Glöckler, Bleek), orof
the triumphant historicaldevelopment of the gospel(Erasmus, Klostermann,
Schenkel), orof the powerful influences of the spirit of the glorified Messiah
as extending over the world (Paulus). Others, such as Beda, Vatablus,
Maldonatus, Jansen, Clarius, Corn. a Lapide, following Chrysostom, Euth.
Zigabenus, Theophylact, have so strangelyperverted Christ’s prediction as
even to make it refer to the incident of the transfiguration immediately
following.
On the impending advent in general, see the observations at the close of ch. 24.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Matthew 16:28. crux interpretum, supposedby some to refer to the
Transfiguration(Hilary, Chrys., Euthy., Theophy., etc.);by others to the
destruction of Jerusalem(Wetstein, etc.);by others again to the origins of the
Church (Calvin, Grotius, etc.). The generalmeaning canbe inferred with
certainty from the purpose to furnish an additional incentive to fidelity. It is:

Be of goodcourage, there will be ample compensationfor trial soon;for some
of you even before you die. This sense excludes the Transfiguration, which
came too soonto be compensatory. The uncertainty comes in in connection
with the form in which the generaltruth is stated. As to that, Christ’s speech
was controllednot merely by His own thoughts but by the hopes of the future
entertained by His disciples. He had to promise the advent of the Son of Man
in His Kingdom or of the Kingdom of God in power (Mk.)within a
generation, whateverHis own forecastas to the future might be. That might
postulate a wider range of time than some of His words indicate, just as some
of His utterances and His generalspirit postulate a wide range in space for the
Gospel(universalism) though He conceivedofHis own mission as limited to
Israel. If the logionconcerning the Church (Matthew 16:18)be genuine, Jesus
must have conceiveda Christian era to be at leasta possibility, for why
trouble about founding a Church if the wind-up was to come in a few years?
The words of Jesus about the future provide for two possible alternatives:for
a near advent and for an indefinitely postponed advent. His promises
naturally contemplate the former; much of His teaching about the kingdom
easilyfits into the latter.—γεύσωνται θ.:a Hebrew idiom, but not exclusively
so. For examples of the figure of tasting applied to experiences, vide Elsnerin
Mk. For Rabbinical use, vide Schöttgenand Wetstein.—ἕως ἄν ἴδωσι,
subjunctive after ἐν ἄν as usual in classicsand N. T. in a clause referring to a
future contingency depending on a verb referring to future time.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
28. Taste ofdeath] Compare
The valiant never taste of death but once. Jul. Caes. Act. ii. 2.
St Matthew’s version of this “hard saying” indicates more plainly than the
other Synoptic Gospels, the personalpresence ofChrist. St Mark has, “till
they have seenthe kingdom of God come with power;” St Luke, “till they see
the kingdom of God;” but the meaning in eachcase is the same. Various

solutions are given. The expressionis referred to (1) the Transfiguration, (2)
the Dayof Pentecost, (3)the Fallof Jerusalem. The lastbest fulfils the
conditions of interpretation—a judicial coming—a signal and visible event,
and one that would happen in the lifetime of some, but not of all, who were
present.
Bengel's Gnomen
Matthew 16:28. Τινὲς, some)Our Lord does not mention them by name; and
it was profitable for them not to know that they were the persons meant.[772]
Peterthen scarcelyhoped that he would be one of them.—ὧδε, here) A
strikingly demonstrative particle.—ἓως ἄν ἴδωσι, until they see)Something is
indicated which was to happen, but not immediately (otherwise all, or nearly
all, would have lived to that time), but yet something which would take place
in that generationof men. This term (terminus) or period has various
intervals: the vision, or seeing, various degrees up to the death of those who
saw it, which followedat various times: cf. in Luke 2:26, the expressionπρὶν ἢ
ἴδη, before he had seen, used with regardto Simeon. And the advent of the
Son of Man advancedanother step before the death of James (see Acts 2:36),
and passimtill Matthew 12:2, and cf. Hebrews 2:5-7); another before the
death of Peter(see 2 Peter 1:14; 2 Peter1:19, and Luke 21:31); another, and
that the highest, before the death of John, in the most magnificent revelation
of His coming, which the beloved disciple has himself described (see Gnomon
on John 21:22);a revelation to which the event foretold will correspond;see
Matthew 16:27, and ch. Matthew 26:64. And a previous proof of this matter
was given in a week[773]from this time on the Mount of Transfiguration;
and, at the same time, out of all the disciples those were chosenwho should
most especiallysee it. It is beyond question, that those three[774]who
witnessedour Lord’s transfiguration were peculiarly favoured with reference
to the subsequent manifestations of His glory. This saying of our Lord appears
to have been referred to, but not rightly understood, by those who imagined
that the last day was near at hand.—τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου ἐρχόμενον, the
Son of Man coming) His conspicuous coming to judgment (see Gnomon on
Matthew 16:13) is meant, which would begin to follow immediately after His
ascension.[775]

[772]And He may have thereby also at the same time sharpened others.—V.
g.
[773]“After six days,” chap. Matthew 17:1.—ED.
[774]Of whom James, in the year 44, Peterin 67, John in 102, are generally
said to have died.—Harm., p. 372.
[775]Bengel, J. A. (1860). Vol. 1: Gnomon of the New Testament(M. E.
Bengel& J. C. F. Steudel, Ed.) (J. Bandinel & A. R. Fausset, Trans.)(251–
333). Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 28. - This verse has always been a crux to commentators, who cannot
decide what is the event to which it refers. Many, taking it in connectionwith
the preceding announcement, refer it exclusively to the day of judgment; but
this idea is not compatible with Christ's assertionthat some present shall see it
ere they die. Norcan it refer to Christ's resurrection and ascension, andthe
mission of the Holy Ghost, which took place only half a year after this time,
and the prediction of which so short a time before could not have been
introduced in the terms here used. Other expositors, and some of greatname,
agree that the event to which Christ alludes is his transfiguration narrated in
the next chapter. But there are insuperable objections to this view. How could
Christ assertin the most solemnmanner, Verily, I say unto you, that some of
his hearers would tire to witness an event which was to occur only a week
hence? Noris it likely that he would thus publicly announce a transaction
which was strictly private, seenonly by three chosenwitnesses, who were
further chargednot to revealthe vision till the Son of man was risen from the
dead. The Lord had been telling of the final judgment; he now announces,
with the formula used by him to present some revelationof Divine truth, that

there was to be a coming of the Son of man at no very distant date. This
advent is doubtless the destruction of Jerusalem, which, as it occurredonly
some forty years after this time, some of his auditors, apostles and the
multitude, would live to behold. This greatevent was a type of the second
advent, the two being closelyconnectedby Christ himself (see ch. 24.). There
is some truth in all the views that have obtained concerning this passage:"The
prophecy unfolded itself by degrees;it has put forth buds and blossoms, but it
will not be in its full bloom of accomplishmenttill the greatday"
(Wordsworth). There was some display of Christ's kingdom at the
Transfiguration; anotherat his resurrection, and the events consequent
thereupon; but the greatone was when the overthrow of Jerusalemand its
temple made way for the full establishment and development of the gospel,
putting an end to the first dispensation. Some standing (of them that stand)
here. Among the apostles St. John certainly survived the destruction of
Jerusalem. There seems to be no recondite meaning in the term "standing," as
if it signified "remaining steadfastlyby me, adhering to my side;" as, taste of
death is merely a periphrasis for "die," and has not the sense oftasting the
bitterness of death, experiencing its sting. It appears to have been originally a
metaphor derived from a nauseous draught, which every one must drain.
Coming in his kingdom. Not"into his kingdom," but in the powerand glory
that appertain to his kingdom. Not that he will personallyappear, but his
mystical presence will be seenby its effects, the judgment on the Jewish
nation, the establishmentof a spiritual, yet visible kingdom in the place of the
old covenant. There may be a similar allusion in Christ's words about St.
John, "If I will that he tarry till I come" (John 21:23), and "This generation
shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled" (Matthew 24:34) - where the
dissolution of the Jewishpolity is the event signified.
STUDYLIGHTRESOURCES

Adam Clarke Commentary
There be some - which shall not taste of death - This verse seems to confirm
the above explanation, as our Lord evidently speaks ofthe establishment of
the Christian Church after the day of pentecost, and its final triumph after
the destructionof the Jewishpolity; as if he had said, "Some of you, my
disciples, shall continue to live until these things take place." The destruction
of Jerusalem, and the Jewisheconomy, which our Lord here predicts, took
place about forty-three years after this: and some of the persons now with him
doubtless survived that period, and witnessedthe extension of the Messiah's
kingdom; and our Lord told them these things before, that when they came to
pass they might be confirmed in the faith, and expect an exactfulfillment of
all the other promises and prophecies which concernedthe extensionand
support of the kingdom of Christ.
To his kingdom, or in his kingdom. Instead of βασιλεια, kingdom, four MSS.,
later Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, Saxon, and one copy of the Itala, with severalof
the primitive fathers, read δοξη, glory: and to this is added, του πατρος αυτου,
of his Father, by three MSS. and the versions mentioned before. This makes
the passage a little more conformable to the passagealreadyquoted from
Daniel; and it must appear, very clearly, that the whole passagespeaksnotof
a future judgment, but of the destruction of the Jewishpolity, and the glorious
spread of Christianity in the earth, by the preaching of Christ crucified by the
apostles and their immediate successorsin the Christian Church.
The disciples, by being constantly with their Master, were not only guarded
againsterror, but were taught the whole truth: we should neglectno
opportunity of waiting upon God; while Jesus continues to teach, our ear and
heart should be open to receive his instructions. That what we have already
receivedmay be effectual, we must continue to hear and pray on. Let us
beware of the error of the Pharisees!They minded only external
performances, and those things by which they might acquire esteemand
reputation among men; thus, humility and love, the very soul of religion, were
neglectedby them: they had their reward - the approbation of those who were
as destitute of vital religionas themselves. Let us beware also of the error of
the Sadducees,who, believing no other felicity but what depended on the good

things of this world, became the flatterers and slaves ofthose who could
bestow them, and so, like the Pharisees, hadtheir portion only in this life. All
false religions and false principles conduct to the same end, howevercontrary
they appear to eachother. No two sects couldbe more opposedto eachother
than the Sadducees andPharisees,yet their doctrines lead to the same end -
they are both wedded to this world, and separatedfrom God in the next.
From the circumstance mentioned in the conclusionof this chapter, we may
easilysee the nature of the kingdom and reign of Christ: it is truly spiritual
and Divine; having for its objectthe present holiness and future happiness of
mankind. Worldly pomp, as well as worldly maxims, were to be excluded
from it. Christianity forbids all worldly expectations, and promises
blessednessto those alone who bear the cross, leading a life of mortification
and self-denial. Jesus Christ has left us an example that we should follow his
steps. How did he live? - What views did he entertain? - In what light did he
view worldly pomp and splendor? These are questions which the most
superficial readermay, without difficulty, answerto his immediate conviction.
And has not Christ said that the disciple is not Above the Master? If He
humbled himself, how canhe look upon those who, professing faith in his
name, are conformed to the world and mind earthly things? These disciples
affectto be above their Lord; and as they neither bear his cross, norfollow
him in the regeneration, theymust look for another heaven than that in which
he sits at the right hand of God. This is an awful subject; but how few of those
calledChristians lay it to heart!
The term Church in Greek εκκλησια, occursfor the first time in Matthew
16:18. The word simply means an assembly or congregation, the nature of
which is to be understood from connecting circumstances;for the word
εκκλησια, as wellas the terms congregationand assembly, may be applied to
any concourse ofpeople, goodor bad; gatheredtogetherfor lawful or
unlawful purposes. Hence, it is used, Acts 19:32, for the mob, or confused
rabble, gatheredtogetheragainstPaul, εκκλησια συγκεχυμενη, whichthe
town-clerk distinguished, Acts 19:39, from a lawful assembly, εννομω
εκκλεσια . The Greek word εκκλησια seems to be derived from εκκαλεω, to
call out of, or from, i.e. an assemblygathered out of a multitude; and must
have some other word joined to it, to determine its nature: viz. the Church of

God; the congregationcollectedby God, and devoted to his service. The
Church of Christ: the whole company of Christians wheresoeverfound;
because, by the preaching of the Gospel, they are calledout of the spirit and
maxims of the world, to live according to the precepts of the Christian
religion. This is sometimes calledthe Catholic or universal Church, because
constituted of all the professors ofChristianity in the world, to whateversects
or parties they may belong: and hence the absurdity of applying the term
Catholic, which signifies universal, to that very small portion of it, the Church
of Rome. In primitive times, before Christians had any stated buildings, they
worshipped in private houses;the people that had been convertedto God
meeting togetherin some one dwelling-house of a fellow-convert, more
convenient and capaciousthan the rest; hence the Church that was in the
house of Aquila and Priscilla, Romans 16:3, Romans 16:5, and 1 Corinthians
16:19, and the Church that was in the house of Nymphas, Colossians4:15.
Now, as these houses were dedicatedto the worship of God, eachwas termed
κυριου οικος kuriou oikos, the house of the Lord; which word, in process of
time, became contractedinto κυριοικ kurioik, and κυριακη, kuriake ; and
hence the kirk of our northern neighbors, and kirik of our Saxonancestors,
from which, by corruption, changing the hard Saxonc into ch, we have made
the word church. This term, though it be generallyused to signify the people
worshipping in a particular place, yet by a metonymy, the containerbeing put
for the contained, we apply it, as it was originally, to the building which
contains the worshipping people.
In the proper use of this word there can be no such thing as The church,
exclusively; there may be A church, and the Churches, signifying a particular
congregation, orthe different assemblies ofreligious people: and hence, the
Church of Rome, by applying it exclusively to itself, abuses the term, and acts
as ridiculously as it does absurdly. Church is very properly defined in the 19th
article of the Church of England, to be "a congregationof faithful men, in the
which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments duly
administered, according to Christ's ordinance."

Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Matthew 16:28". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/matthew-
16.html. 1832.
return to 'Jump List'
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
Verily I say unto you, There are some of them that stand here, who shall in no
wise taste of death, till they see the Sonof man coming in his kingdom.
Mark's accountof this statementis, "Verily I sayunto you, there are some
here of them that stand by, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the
kingdom of God come with power" (Mark 9:1).
Both the Herald and Christ preachedthe kingdom as "at hand." The passage
here supplemented that information by making it certain to appear during the
lives of "some" ofthe apostles. Why not merely "during their lives?" that is,
the lives of all of them? That was because both Judas and Christ would die
before the kingdom came. Thus, the words are circumstantially accurate and
precise.
Incidental to the assertionhere, but inherent in it due to the terminology used,
is the revelationthat the kingdom would not be set up during the personal
ministry of Christ, but afterwards. The kingdom did appear on the day of
Pentecost, during the lives of "some" of them, just as Jesus had said. The
reference to the kingdom in the passagehere makes its establishmentin the
future; but after the day of Pentecost, allreferences to God's kingdom are in
the presenttense, speaking of it as a reality, or in the past tense, making it
already in existence. See Colossians 1:13;Hebrews 12:28;Revelation1:9 for
examples of this. Remember that the church and the kingdom are one.

This chapter brings us to the heart of Matthew's gospel. Christ's deity was
recognizedand confessed. Satan's effortto thwart the crucifixion was
countermanded (even though suggestedby Peter), and the cross of Jesus was
made central in his holy religion. The outline of the passionand resurrection,
as well as a revealing glimpse of the day of judgment, are given by Christ in
this portion of his word. This chapter has been calledthe hub of the gospelof
Matthew.
Copyright Statement
James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Bibliography
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on Matthew 16:28". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/matthew-16.html. Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
Verily I say unto you..... This is a strong asseveration, Christputs his "Amen"
to it; declaring it to be a certaintruth, which may firmly be believed:
there be some standing here; meaning either his disciples, or some of the
audience;for it is clearfrom Mark 8:34 that the people were called unto him
with his disciples, when he said these words:
which shall not taste of death: that is, shall not die; a phrase frequently used
by the Jewishdoctors:they sayF25,
"All the children of the world, ‫ןימעט‬ ‫אמעט‬ ‫,אתומד‬ "taste the taste of death".'
That is, die:

till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom; which is not to be
understood of his personalcoming in his kingdom in the last day, when he will
judge quick and dead; for it cannot be thought, that any then present should
live to that time, but all tasted of death long before, as they have done; for the
story of John's being alive, and to live till then, is fabulous, and grounded on a
mistake which John himself has rectified at the close ofhis Gospel:nor of the
glorious transfiguration of Christ, the accountof which immediately follows;
when he was seenby Peter, James, andJohn, persons now present; for that, at
most, was but an emblem and a pledge of his future glory: rather, of the
appearance ofhis kingdom, in greaterglory and power, upon his resurrection
from the dead, and his ascensionto heaven; when the Spirit was poured down
in an extraordinary manner, and the Gospelwas preachedall over the world;
was confirmed by signs and wonders, and made effectual to the conversion
and salvationof many souls;which many then presentlived to see, and were
concernedin: though it seems chiefly to have regard to his coming, to show his
regalpower and authority in the destructionof the Jews;when those his
enemies that would not he should reign over them, were ordered to be
brought and slain before him; and this the Apostle John, for one, lived to be a
witness of.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on Matthew 16:28". "The New JohnGill Exposition
of the Entire Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/matthew-16.html. 1999.

Geneva Study Bible
death, till they see the Son of man coming in his x kingdom.
(x) By his kingdom is understood the glory of his ascension, andwhat follows
after that, (Ephesians 4:10), or the preaching of the gospel, (Mark 9:1).
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Beza, Theodore. "Commentaryon Matthew 16:28". "The 1599 Geneva Study
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/matthew-16.html.
1599-1645.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here — “some ofthose standing
here.”
which shall not taste of death, fill they see the Sonof man coming in his
kingdom — or, as in Mark (Mark 9:1), “till they see the kingdom of God come
with power”;or, as in Luke (Luke 9:27), more simply still, “till they see the
kingdom of God.” The reference, beyond doubt, is to the firm establishment
and victorious progress, in the lifetime of some then present, of that new
kingdom of Christ, which was destined to work the greatestofall changes on
this earth, and be the grand pledge of His final coming in glory.

Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Matthew 16:28". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/matthew-16.html.
1871-8.
People's New Testament
Shall not taste death, till they see the Son of man. The reference is not to his
final coming to judge the world, but to his spiritual coming to establish his
kingdom. This was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. Mark (Mark 9:1) shows
the meaning by substituting, "Till they have seenthe kingdom of God come
with power." The "coming of the Son of man in his kingdom" means,
therefore, the same as "the kingdom of God come with power." Compare Acts
1:8, and Luke 24:49. The kingdom came with power on the day of Pentecost
(Acts 2:1).
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Original work done by Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 atThe
RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography

Johnson, BartonW. "Commentary on Matthew 16:28". "People's New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/pnt/matthew-
16.html. 1891.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
Some of them that stand here (τινες των οδε εστωτων — tines tōn hode
hestōtōn). A crux interpretum in reality. Does Jesusreferto the
Transfiguration, the ResurrectionofJesus, the greatDay of Pentecost, the
Destructionof Jerusalem, the SecondComing and Judgment? We do not
know, only that Jesus was certainof his final victory which would be typified
and symbolized in various ways. The apocalyptic eschatologicalsymbolism
employed by Jesus here does not dominate his teaching. He used it at times to
picture the triumph of the kingdom, not to setforth the full teaching about it.
The kingdom of God was already in the hearts of men. There would be
climaxes and consummations.
Copyright Statement
The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)
Bibliography
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on Matthew 16:28". "Robertson's Word
Pictures of the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/matthew-16.html.
Broadman Press 1932,33.Renewal1960.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

And as an emblem of this, there are some here who shall live to see tho
Messiahcoming to setup his mediatorial kingdom, with greatpower and
glory, by the increase ofhis Church, and the destruction of the temple, city,
and polity of the Jews.
Copyright Statement
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on Matthew 16:28". "JohnWesley's
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/matthew-16.html. 1765.
The Fourfold Gospel
Verily I say unto you, there are some of them that stand here, who shall in no
wise taste of death, till they see the Sonof man coming in his kingdom1.
Till they see the Sonof man coming in his kingdom. See .
Copyright Statement
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website. These files
were made available by Mr. Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 at
The RestorationMovementPages.

Bibliography
J. W. McGarveyand Philip Y. Pendleton. "Commentaryon Matthew 16:28".
"The Fourfold Gospel".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tfg/matthew-16.html.
Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1914.
Abbott's Illustrated New Testament
The Son man coming in his kingdom; the open establishment and extensionof
Christ's kingdom in the world. At this time Jesus had not announced himself
as the Messiah. (See Matthew 16:20.)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Abbott, John S. C. & Abbott, Jacob. "Commentaryon Matthew 16:28".
"Abbott's Illustrated New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ain/matthew-16.html. 1878.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
28.Verily, I say to you. As the disciples might still hesitate and inquire when
that day would be, our Lord animates them by the immediate assurance,that
he will presently give them a proof of his future glory. We know the truth of
the common proverb, that to one who is in expectationeven speed looks like
delay; but never does it hold more true, than when we are told to wait for our
salvationtill the coming of Christ. To support his disciples in the meantime,
our Lord holds out to them, for confirmation, an intermediate period; as
much as to say, “If it seemtoo long to wait for the day of my coming, I will

provide againstthis in goodtime; for before you come to die, you will see with
your eyes that kingdom of God, of which I bid you entertain a confident
hope.” This is the natural import of the words; for the notion adopted by
some, that they were intended to apply to John, is ridiculous.
Coming in his kingdom. By the coming of the kingdom of God we are to
understand the manifestationof heavenly glory, which Christ began to make
at his resurrection, and which he afterwards made more fully by sending the
Holy Spirit, and by the performance of miracles; for by those beginnings he
gave his people a taste of the newness ofthe heavenly life, when they
perceived, by certain and undoubted proofs, that he was sitting at the right
hand of the Father.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Calvin, John. "Commentary on Matthew 16:28". "Calvin's Commentary on
the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/matthew-
16.html. 1840-57.
Scofield's ReferenceNotes
his kingdom
(See Scofield"Matthew 3:2").
Copyright Statement

These files are consideredpublic domain and are a derivative of an electronic
edition that is available in the Online Bible Software Library.
Bibliography
Scofield, C. I. "ScofieldReferenceNoteson Matthew 16:28". "Scofield
Reference Notes(1917Edition)".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/srn/matthew-16.html. 1917.
Hawker's PoorMan's Commentary
REFLECTIONS
Lord, I pray thee! keepmy soul from every leaven, which, mingled with the
complete justifying righteousness ofmy Lord Jesus Christ, would rob my God
of his glory, and my soul of happiness. And doth my God and Savior demand
of my poor soul who Jesus is, amidst the varieties of creeds and professions of
the presentday? Oh! for the teaching of God the Holy Ghost, the revelationof
God my Father, and the blessedmanifestationof the Son of God to my heart,
that I may bear a fixed, unalterable, and decided testimony, before Angels and
Men, that thou art the Christ of God, the Lord, my righteousness.Oh! yes!
thou Holy One of Israel! thou art indeed the Christ of God, the Word of God,
the Lamb of God, the wisdom of God, and the power of God, for salvationto
everyone that believeth. And oh; my honoured Lord, as thou hast said, flesh
and blood cannot revealit, and none but God the Fathercan give a spirit of
wisdom and revelationin the knowledge ofChrist, hath the Lord given to me
this spirit of wisdom and revelationin the knowledge ofmy Lord; then let me
take to myself the blessedness ofthe discovery, and rejoice in hope of the glory
of God. Oh! for grace to savourthe things which are of God, and not those
which are of men. Give me, blessedJesus, graceto follow thy cross, and learn
all the necessaryexercisesofselfdenial, that being conformedto thy image
here; I may be satisfiedWhen I awake up after thy likeness hereafter!
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Hawker, Robert, D.D. "Commentary on Matthew 16:28". "Hawker's Poor
Man's Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/pmc/matthew-16.html. 1828.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
28 Verily I sayunto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of
death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
Ver. 28. Which shall not taste of death] The saints do but taste of death only,
they do no more but sip of that bitter cup, which for tasting of that forbidden
fruit in the garden, they should have been swilling and swallowing down for
ever.
Till they see the Sonof man, &c.] This verse is to be referred to the
transfiguration recordedin the next chapter, where some of them had the
happiness to see Christ in his kingdom; that is, in his heavenly glory, whereof
they had a glimpse.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on Matthew 16:28". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/matthew-
16.html. 1865-1868.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Matthew 16:28. Verily I sayunto you— Becausethe doctrine of Christ's being
constituted universal judge might appear to the disciples incredible at that
time, on accountof his humiliation, he told them, that some of them should
not taste of death till they saw him coming in his kingdom; and by that should
have not only a proof of his being the judge, but an example of the judgment
which he was to execute:"Do not doubt that there shall be a day of judgment,
when I shall come clothed with Divine Majesty, and attended by millions of
angels, to render unto men according as their actions in this life have been
goodor bad: there are some here present who shall not die till they have seen
a faint representationof the glory in which I will come, and an eminent
example of this my power, exercisedonthe men of the presentgeneration."
Accordingly, the disciples saw their Mastercoming in his kingdom, when they
were witnesses ofhis transfiguration, resurrectionand ascension, had the
miraculous gifts of the spirit conferredupon them, and lived to see Jerusalem
with the Jewishstate destroyed, and the Gospelpropagatedthrough the
greatestpart of the then knownworld. Raphelius, Albert, and some other
critics, would have the latter part of the verse translated, till they shall see the
Son of man going into his kingdom; understanding it to be the disciples
beholding Christ's ascensioninto heaven, where he took possessionof his
mediatorial kingdom, and which without doubt was a very proper proof of his
coming againto judge the world; but the common translation appears much
more natural and just, as well as the sense above given; especiallyas our
Lord's manner of speaking intimates, that most of these present should be
dead before the event referred to; but his ascensionhappened a few months
after this. This verse, says a commentator, which imports the dominion that
some there present should see him exercise overthe nation of the Jews, was so

coveredby being annexed to Matthew 16:27.—where Christspeaks ofthe
manifestation and glory of his kingdom at the day of judgment,—that though
his plain meaning be, that the appearance and visible exercise ofhis kingly
powerwas so near, that some there should live to see it; yet if the foregoing
words had not casta shadow on these latter, but had been left plainly to be
understood, as they plainly signified that he should be a king, and that it was
so near, that some there should see him in his kingdom,—this might have been
laid hold on, and made the matter of a plausible and seemingly just accusation
againsthim by the Jews before Pilate. This seems to be the reasonof our
Saviour's inverting here the order of the two solemn manifestations to the
world of his rule and power, thereby perplexing at presenthis meaning, and
securing himself, as was necessary, from the malice of the Jews, whichalways
lay ready to entrap him, and accuse him to the Roman governor:and they
would no doubt have been ready to allege these words,—Some here shall not
taste, &c. againsthim, as criminal, had not their meaning been, by the former
verse, perplexed, and the sense at thattime rendered unintelligible, and not
applicable by any of his auditors to a sense that might have been prejudicial to
him before Pontius Pilate: for how well the chief of the Jews were disposed
towards him, St. Luke tells us, Luke 11:4 which may be a reasonto satisfyus
respecting the seemingly doubtful and obscure wayof speaking usedby our
Saviour in other places;—his circumstances being such, that without such a
prudent carriage and reserve, he could not have gone through his work in the
way that it pleasedthe Father and him, nor have performed all the parts of it
in a way correspondentto the descriptions given of the Messiah, andwhich
would be afterwards fully understood to belong to him when he had left the
world.
Inferences.—How awefulan event does our greatRedeemerhere offer to the
serious contemplationof all mankind! In the glory of his Father, accompanied
with a mighty hope of holy angels, he shall descendfrom heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, making all
heaven, earth, and hell to resound. The dead of all countries and times hear
the tremendous call. Hark! the living, filled with joy, exult at the approach of
God; or, seizedwith inexpressible terror, send up doleful cries, and are all
changedin a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Behold; the dead press forth

from their graves, following eachother in close procession, the earth seems
quick, and the sea gives up its dead. Mark the beauty, the boldness, and the
gladness ofsome, springing up to honour; but the ghastly countenances, the
trembling, the despair of others, arising to shame and everlasting contempt.
See how amazedand terrified they look!with what vehemence they wish the
extinction of their being! fain would they fly, but cannot: impelled by a force
as strong as necessity, they hastento the place of judgment. As they advance,
the sight of the tribunal from afarstrikes new terror: they come on in the
deepestsilence, and gatherround the throne by thousands of thousands. In
the mean time the angels, having brought up their bands from the uttermost
parts of the earth, fly round the numberless multitudes, ringing melodiously
with loud voices, forjoy that the day of generalretribution is come, when vice
shall be thrown from its usurpation, holiness exalted from its debasementto a
superior station, the intricacies of Providence unravelled, the perfections of
God vindicated, the church of God, purchased with his blood, clearedof them
that do iniquity and of every thing that offendeth, and establishedimpeccable
for ever. Let God arise!let his enemies be scattered!as smoke is driven away,
so drive them away:as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wickedperish at
the presence ofGod. But let the righteous be glad! let them rejoice before
God! yea, let them exceedinglyrejoice!Psalms 68:1; Psalms 68:35. Forstrong
is the Lord God who judgeth. Revelation18:8.
And now the Son of man appears on the throne of his glory; and all nations,
princes, warriors, nobles, the rich, the poor, all intirely stripped of their
attendance, and every external distinction, stand naked and equal before him,
silently waiting to be sentencedto their unchangeable state;and every
individual is filled with an aweful consciousnessthathe in particular is the
objectof the observationof Almighty God, manifest in his sight, and actually
under his eye, so that there is not one single person concealedin the immensity
of the crowd. The judge, who canbe biassedby no bribe, softenedby no subtle
insinuations, imposed upon by no feigned excuses,having been himself privy
to the most secretactions ofeach, needs no evidence, but distinguishes with an
unerring certainty.
He speaks!Come from among them, my people, that ye receive not of their
plagues. They separate;they feel their judge within them, and hasten to their

proper places, the righteous on the one hand of the throne, and the wickedon
the other; not so much as one of the wickeddaring to join himself with the
just. Here the righteous, most beautiful with the brightness of holiness, stand
serene in their looks, andfull of hope at the bar of God,—a glad company!
while the wicked, confoundedat the remembrance of their lives, and terrified
at the thought of what is to come, hang down their heads, inwardly cursing
the day of their birth, and wishing, a thousand and a thousand times, that the
rocks would fall on them, and the mountains coverthem: but in vain; for
there is no escaping norappealing from this tribunal.
Behold, with mercy shining in his countenance and mild majesty, the king
invites the righteous to take possessionof the kingdom prepared for them
from the foundation of the world: but with angry frowns he drives the wicked
away, into punishment that shall have no end, no refreshment, no alleviation,
everlasting punishment!—O the rejoicing!O the lamenting! the triumphant
shouting of ascending saints, caught up in the clouds, to be everwith the
Lord! the horror, the despair, the hideous shrieking of the damned, when they
see hell gaping, hear the devils roaring, and feelthe unspeakable torment of
an awakenedconscience!
Now they bitterly cry for death;—but death flies from them. Now they envy
the righteous, and gladly would be such;—but all too late! Lo! the Sonof God
bows his head,—the signalfor his servants;—the heavens and the earth
depart, their works being at an end. See and hear—with what a terrible
thundering noise the heavens pass away,—the elements melt with fervent
heat, and the earth, and all the works that are therein, are burnt up! the
frame of nature dissolves!earth, seas, skies, allvanish together, making way
for the new heaven and the new earth.—It appears!—the happy land of
Promise, formed by the hand of God, large, beautiful, and pleasant, a fit
habitation for his glorified saints, and long expected by them as their country.
Here all the righteous, greatand small, are assembled, making one vast blest
society, eventhe kingdom and city of God. Here God manifests himself in a
peculiar manner to his servants, wipes awayall tears from off their faces, and
adorns them with the beauties of immortality, glorious to behold. Here they
drink fulness of joys, from the crystal river proceeding out of the throne of
God and of the Lamb, and eat of the tree of life; and there shall be no more

death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; but
every one, happy in himself, imparts the blessing to his fellows:for mutual
love warms every breast;love like that which subsists betweenthe Fatherand
the Son; mutual conference onthe sublimest subjects refreshes every spirit
with a divine repast of wisdom, and joys flowing from the tenderest
friendship, fixed on the stable foundation of an immoveable virtue, gladden
every heart. All the servants of God serve him in perfectholiness, see his face,
feel transports of joy, and, by the reflection of his glory, shine as the sun in the
firmament for ever and ever. And there shall be no night there; and they need
no candle, neither the light of the sun; for the Lord God hath given them light,
and they shall reign for ever and ever.
Happy day! happy place and happy people!O blessedhope of joining that
glorious society!—All the servants of God shall serve him, and see his face.—
Serve God, and see his face!—Whatan immensity of felicity is here!
imagination faints with the fatigue of stretching itself to comprehend the vast,
the unmeasurable thought.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, Howeveropposite in their tenets the Pharisees and
Sadducees were, theyperfectly agreedin their enmity againstChrist and his
gospel.
1. They came in concertwith a view to tempt and entangle him, and,
pretending dissatisfactionwith the miracles that he wrought, desired a proof
of the divine mission which he assumed, by some sign from heaven. Not indeed
that they wishedto be convinced, but merely sought some refuge for their
infidelity. Note;They who, after all the miracles which Jesus has wrought,
desire farther evidence of his character, evidently shew that they determine
not to receive him; and if never so many signs or wonders were granted them,
yet would they not believe in him.
2. Christ justly refuses to gratify their vain curiosity, and unreasonable
requests. There was evidence sufficient before them, if they chose to see;and
they did not want natural sagacityto judge of it. From observing the
appearances ofthe sky, they determined what weatherwould follow. If the
sky was red at evening, they presumed, by observationand experience, that

the following day would be fair: but, if in the morning the sky appearedred
and lowering, then it would be wet or windy: and from greatprobability they
drew these conclusions. But how glaringly did they play the hypocrite, when,
pretending the highest veneration for Moses and the prophets, though they
could judge of the weatherby the appearances ofthe sky, they could not
discern the signs of the times, so clearly and distinctly revealedin the sacred
writings; could neither see the present exactfulfilment of all the prophesies
concerning the Messiah, nor the ruin coming upon themselves for rejecting
him: and therefore, since they were a wickedand adulterous generation,
wilfully blind to the evidence of truth, no other signshall be given them than
the miracles which they had already rejected, excepthis resurrectionfrom the
dead after three days, prefigured by the abode of the prophet Jonas in the
belly of the greatfish. And with this he left them, as incorrigible sinners, with
whom it was in vain to remonstrate, and crossedthe lake to another part of
the country. Note;(1.) Many are wise enough in human concerns, yea, deeply
skilled in the mysteries of science, who yet are stark blind with regardto their
souls. (2.) They who by their obstinacy and infidelity provoke Christ to depart
from them, are justly given up to perdition.
2nd, Departing in haste, the disciples had forgottento take with them
provisions as usual: and thereupon from temporal things he takes occasionto
introduce spiritual instructions.
1. He cautions them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the
Sadducees;of their principles and doctrines, which would spread their
pernicious influences through the whole man.
2. They mistook his meaning, and, taking his words literally, concluded
privately among themselves that it was intended as a rebuke for their
carelessness;or a cautionnot to make use of the bread of the Pharisees and
Sadducees, orso much as to eatwith them.
3. He reproves them for the sinful distrust of their hearts, and the dulness of
their apprehensions. It was a proof of the weaknessoftheir faith, after the
miracles they had so lately seen, to harbour a moment's distrust about a
provision which their Mastercould so easilysupply: and it shewedtheir

stupidity, not to understand, after what had passed, that it could not be of
bread, literally, that he spoke, but of something spiritual and figurative, of
much greatermoment than merely bread. Note; (1.) Christ is displeasedwith
his people, when they harbour worldly fears, and are disturbed about the
meat which perisheth. It is a proof of little faith indeed, to suppose that those
who have a promise of heaven for their home, should want bread by the way.
(2.) If we remembered better the part experience of God's care, it would
administer an argument to silence our present distrusts and perplexities.
4. At last they comprehend his meaning, that he spake not of the bread, but of
the doctrines of these sects, cautioning them againstthe false traditions, pride,
and self-righteousnessofthe Pharisees, andagainstthe infidelity and
licentious principles of the Sadducees;both fatally dangerous:againstwhich
we have alike need to be on our guard. Take heedand beware of them.
3rdly, Being now in the remotestpart of the country, our Lord took occasion
in private conference to inquire into the opinions entertained concerning
himself by the people in general, and by his disciples in particular. Not that he
was ignorant of either; but he meant to lead them to an open confessionof
their faith in him.
1. He asks concerning the generalopinion which the people formed of himself,
who appearedunder the name of the Son of man—the humble title which he
assumedwhen he emptied himself, and was made in the likeness ofsinful
flesh. Or it may be read, Whom do men say that I am? the Son of man? Do
they acknowledge my characterand mission as the Messiah:or, what do they
think of me?
2. The disciples, who had heard the different sentiments of the multitude,
informed him that there were various conjectures formed concerning him;
some supposing him John the Baptist risen from the dead; others Elias,
prophesied of by Malachi; others Jeremias, orone of the ancient prophets sent
to reform the guilty age:opinions which shewedthe honourable sentiments
that the people in generalentertained of him, yet far short of the truth. The
meanness of his birth, relations, dress, and followers, seemto have quite
excluded the notion of his true characteras the Messiah, whomtheir

prejudices had always representedas to come with all the pomp of majesty,
and the glory of a conquering hero.
3. He questions them concerning their ownsentiments of him. They had been
better taught, and therefore should have higher notions of his true character;
and, being shortly to become teachers ofothers, they were peculiarly called
upon to entertain right apprehensions of this important truth themselves.
Note;We must know Jesus ourselves, his person and offices, or it is impossible
that we should truly be his ministers to others.
4. Peter, according to his usual zeal and forwardness, in the name of the rest,
and as their spokesman, nobly replies, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God. They understood his real character, they truly believed in him as
the divine Messiah, the anointed prophet, priest, and king of the church, and
were ready to confess him not merely as Sonof man, but as the coequalSonof
God.
5. Christ expresses his high commendation of this truly apostolic confession. It
was a distinguished blessing which Peterpossessed, thus to know the Lord's
Christ; and what neither sprang from his birth, education, nor his own
reasoning, but from divine revelation. So noble and open a professionof his
faith shewedhim to be what his name imported, a rock:and hereupon Christ
adds, Upon this rock I will build my church: which some apply personally to
Peter, who may in a sound sense be admitted as one of those apostles on
whom, as the foundation, the church is said to be built, being raised in the
first instance by their ministry, Ephesians 2:20. Revelation21:14. Nor canthis
at all countenance the absurd pretensions of the bishops of Rome, who are
neither his successorsin office nor in doctrine. Indeed, nothing can more
evince the weakness oftheir claims, than such perverted scriptures, wrested
and pressedinto the service. But by the rock more probably is meant Christ
himself, who in speaking pointed to his own person, and who was evidently the
rock on which Peterhimself built, the true foundation, other than which can
no man lay, 1 Corinthians 3:11. Hereon he is pleasedto raise the glorious
superstructure of his church: the glory of it is all his own; and on his power,
love, and faithfulness, its stability rests: nor shall the gates ofhell ever prevail
againstit: the faithful souls that cleave to him, he will save from Satan, sin,

death, and hell. Note;(1.) Nothing is so acceptable to Jesus as a bold
professionof our confidence in him. (2.) They are truly blessedwho savingly
know the Son of God. (3.) All that we know of God and his Christ is from his
own revelation.
6. Having engagedto erecthis church, Christ provides for the government of
it, and commits to Peterand the other Apostles the keys, the ensigns of
authority, empowering him and them, in his name, to declare whatwas lawful
and unlawful, to charge sin upon men's consciences, andto declare the
absolution of them on their humiliation and genuine repentance, to pronounce
spiritual censures, orloose men from them; and what they did upon earth in
his name, and according to his will and word, he engagesto ratify in heaven.
And this is particularly addressedto Peter, as being appointed to be the first
preacherof the Gospelboth to the Jews and Gentiles, and as the honour
conferredupon him for the glorious confessionwhich he had made.
7. He strictly charges his disciples to concealat presentwhat they knew of his
divine person and character:and this for many reasons;because his hour was
not yet come, and such declarations wouldexasperate the Phariseesto destroy
him, alarm the government, and occasionaninsurrection among the people,
big with the hopes of a temporal Messiah:besides that they were to be better
furnished, after his resurrection, with greaterabilities for their work, and
fuller evidence of the truth in their ownsouls, and for the conviction of others.
4thly, To check the aspiring hopes which his own disciples foolishly
entertained concerning the nature of his kingdom, he begins to inform them of
the sufferings that he must undergo: and from that time, when their faith
appearedmore or less establishedin him, inculcated this mortifying lesson, as
they were able to bear it. Christ's method is to let us into the knowledge ofhis
truth by degrees:it might utterly have staggeredthem, if they had knownat
first all the discouragements withwhich they were afterwards to meet.
1. He foretels his sufferings, and death, (strange tidings to their ears!) the
scene ofwhich would be in Jerusalem, the holy city; and the instruments, the
most admired characters, the elders, chief priests, and Scribes, who by their
office and professionshould have been the first to receive and honour him as

the Messiah:but withal he informs them, to support their hopes, that the third
day he should rise again.
2. Peter, still the foremostto speak, though now as faulty as he had been
before commendable, could not bear to hear of his death and sufferings, and
therefore had the boldness to take him aside and expostulate with him,
expressing his displeasure at what he had heard, his abhorrence of the
thought of it, and his presumption that it was impossible the Messiahshould
thus suffer, and the Son of the living God be put to death. Note;(1.) Our
hearts ill bear commendation; like Peter, we are too apt to presume upon it.
(2.) How intricate soeverGod's ways may appear, and his dispensations
howeverpainful to us, it is not for us to question the rectitude of his
procedure, or pretend to be wiserthan he: submission and silence are our
bounden duty. (3.) Our corrupt nature ever shrinks from the cross with
abhorrence. Had Christ thus started back from it, what had become of us?
3. With a sharp rebuke the Lord testifies his displeasure againstPeter. He
turned, with sternness in his look, and said unto Peter, in the hearing of the
twelve, Get thee behind me, Satan;be gone: thou speakestunder his
influence: and this pretended kindness implies realenmity. Thou art an
offence, or hinderance to me, opposing the greatend for which I came into the
world: for thou savourestnot the things that be of God, dost not relish the
contrivance of infinite wisdom, for the manifestationof his own glory, and the
redemption of sinners, by my sufferings, but those that be of men, expecting in
the Messiaha temporal monarch, and influenced by the hopes of worldly
wealth, power, and honour. Note;(1.) We may find often as dangerous snares
in the false kindness of our friends as in the avowedenmity of our foes. (2.) If
any one would dissuade us upon any pretence from the path of duty, we must
rejectthe advice with abhorrence, and rebuke him with severity. (3.) Maxims
of carnal policy, and desire of earthly ease and honour, are strangelyapt to
insinuate themselves even into goodmen, and disincline them from taking up
that cross whichGod hath appointed them. We have need of constantjealousy
over our hearts, lest, imitating Peter's conduct in the present instance, we
should meet with his rebuke.

5thly, As he had foretold to them the sufferings that himself must endure, he
forewarns them also to expectthe like treatment, and advertises them that
only thus bearing his cross they could be truly his disciples.
1. He plainly sets before them the terms of discipleship; very different from
what their national prejudices suggested. If any man will come after me, a
volunteer in my service, and choosing it with all the trials which for my sake
he may be exposedto endure, let him deny himself, his own will and wisdom,
his pride and self-righteousness,his carnal lusts and appetites, his worldly
honour, ease, and advantage, and whateverelse would tend to clog, retard, or
turn him back from my service;and let him take up his cross, cheerfully
submitting to every providential affliction, and ready to expose himself in the
way of duty to persecutions, losses, reproaches, sufferings, yea, evento death
itself, if need be, for my sake, andthe open and avowedprofessionofmy
name: and let him follow me in all humility, patience, faith, perseverance,
steadfastand unmoveable in the work of the Lord, whether to do or suffer
according to his holy will. Hard terms for flesh and blood! Indeed we must
have more than human ability, or they would be impracticable. Note; (1.) Self-
denial is the first lessonof Christ's school. (2.)There never yet was a Christian
without his cross. Fartherefore from being discouragedby what we suffer, we
should rather conclude our real discipleship from this conformity to our Lord.
(3.) It becomes us howeverto take care that the cross we bear is the cross of
Christ; and not what our own wilfulness or sins have brought upon us.
2. Christ suggests the most powerful arguments to engage us with steadiness
and cheerfulness to embrace his proposal.
[1.] An eternity of happiness or misery depends on our present choice and
conduct. Whoeverby base and sinful compliances with a world which lieth in
wickedness, wouldscreenhimself from sufferings and death, takes the direct
method to destroy for ever the life that he thus seeks to preserve:while he who
with unshakenfidelity, for the sake ofChrist and his Gospel, is ready to
endure the loss of all things, and evenof life itself, rather than dishonour his
profession, or betray the cause in which he is engaged,—this manshall in
eternity be unspeakably a gainer, and effectuallysecure the life that he thus
bravely dares to part with. We must therefore weightime againsteternity,

and, under the influences of realizing faith, shall not hesitate a moment,
whether we shall suffer with Christ that we may reign with him, or,
prolonging a momentary existence by our cowardice, perisheverlastingly.
[2.] Our immortal souls are at stake, infinitely more valuable than ten
thousand worlds. Admit that we should, by complying with the world, gain all
that it has to bestow, wallow in its wealth, riot in its pleasures, orrise to the
pinnacle of earthly grandeur, yet if this be purchasedby the loss of our souls
for ever, driven from the presence of God, and consignedto everlasting
torment, how inconceivablyfoolish will this bargain shortly appear, and how
irreparable the damage? since, hada man millions of gold and silver, yea,
worlds unnumbered, to bestow, they would in God's accountbe lighter in the
balances than vanity itself; yea, would be less than nothing, if proffered in
exchange to redeembut one soul from death eternal. Note;(1.) The value of
the souland the vanity of the world should be the subjects of our frequent
meditation. (2.) How many thousands are daily bartering their souls for the
most miserable pittance of this world's honours, gain, and pleasures!and yet
so has the God of this world blinded them, that they will not see the folly, the
madness of their pursuits. (3.) A soul lost, is lostfor ever; there is no
redemption in the grave. (4.) There is but one sufficient price to redeem the
soul from death, and that is the blood of Christ; and all other things for this
purpose are in God's accountas dung and dross.
[3.] The rewards of eternal glory will infinitely compensate allthe sufferings
of this present time. This is a perishing world; the end of all things is at hand;
the Judge is at the door; the Sonof man shall come in all the glory of Divinity
with his angelic guards around his throne of judgment, and then will he
dispense his rewards according to men's works;when the faithful shall receive
the eternalglory, honour, and immortality, which he has promised; and the
wicked, the worldling and apostates, the wagesoftheir iniquity in eternal
torment. Note;
To live under the constantexpectationof this greatday, is the best means of
strengthening us againstevery trial that we may be called to encounter.

[4.] As an especialargumentto secure their fidelity, Christ assures them, that
some there present, before their death, should see the glory of the Messiah's
kingdom begun, in his resurrectionfrom the dead, the out-pouring of his
Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the spreading of his Gospel, and the destruction
of the Jewishstate and nation, their bitterest persecutors, which would be an
emblem of the final perdition of all ungodly men in the day of judgment.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Coke, Thomas. "Commentaryon Matthew 16:28". Thomas Coke
Commentary on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/matthew-16.html. 1801-
1803.
Expository Notes with PracticalObservations onthe New Testament
A threefold sense and interpretation is given of these words.
1. Some will have them refer to our Saviour's transfiguration mentioned in the
next chapter: as if he had said, "Some of you, as Peter, James, and John, shall
shortly see me upon mount Tabor, in such glory as I will come into
judgment."
2. Others understand the words of Christ's exercising his kingly power in the
destruction of Jerusalemand the Jewishnation; which St. John did have to
see.
3. Others refer the words to the time of the gospelafterChrist's resurrection
and ascension, whenthe gospelwas propagatedand spreadfar and near,
There are some standing here, that shall not taste of death, till they see the

kingdom of God come with power Mark 9:1; that is, till they see the increase
and enlargementof the the church by the gospel.
Thence note, That where the gospelis powerfully preached, and cheerfully
obeyed, there Christ cometh most gloriouslyin his kingdom.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Burkitt, William. "Commentary on Matthew 16:28". ExpositoryNotes with
PracticalObservations onthe New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wbc/matthew-16.html. 1700-
1703.
Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary
28.]This declarationrefers, in its full meaning, certainly not to the
transfiguration which follows, for that could in no sense (exceptthat of being
a foretaste;cf. Peter’s own allusion to it, 2 Peter1:17, where he evidently
treats it as such) be named ‘the Sonof Man coming in His Kingdom,’ and the
expression, τινὲς … οὐ μὴ γ. θ., indicates a distant event,—but to the
destruction of Jerusalem, and the full manifestation of the Kingdom of Christ
by the annihilation of the Jewishpolity; which event, in this aspectas well as
in all its terrible attendant details, was a type and earnestof the final coming
of Christ. See John 21:22, and compare Deuteronomy 32:36 with Hebrews
10:30. This dreadful destruction was indeed judgment beginning at the house
of God. The interpretation of Meyer, &c., that our Lord referred to His
ultimate glorious παρουσία, the time of which was hidden from Himself (see
Mark 13:32; Acts 1:7), is self-contradictoryon his own view of the Personof
Christ.

That our Lord, in His humanity in the flesh, did not know the day and the
hour, we have from His own lips: but that not knowing it, He should have
uttered a determinate and solemnprophecy of it, is utterly impossible. His
ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν always introduces His solemn and authoritative revelations of
divine truth. The fact is, there is a reference back in this discourse to that in
ch. 10, and the coming here spokenof is the same as that in Matthew 16:23
there. Stier well remarks that this cannot be the greatand ultimate coming, on
accountof οὐ μὴ γεύσ. θανάτου ἕως ἂν ἴδωσιν, which implies that they should
taste of death after they had seenit, and would therefore be inapplicable to
the final coming (Reden Jesu, ii. 224). This is denied by Wordsw., who
substitutes for the simple sense of οὐ μὴ γεύσ. θαν. the fanciful expositions,
“shallnot feel its bitterness,” “shallnot taste of the death of the soul,” and
then, thus interpreting, gives the prophecy the very opposite of its plain sense:
“they will not taste of death till I come: much less will they taste of it then.” It
might be difficult to accountfor such a curious wresting of meaning, had he
not added, “the significationof ἕως ἄν here may be comparedto ἕως οὗ in
Matthew 1:25.” “Latet anguis in herba.”
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Alford, Henry. "Commentary on Matthew 16:28". Greek TestamentCritical
ExegeticalCommentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hac/matthew-16.html. 1863-
1878.
Heinrich Meyer's Critical and ExegeticalCommentaryon the New Testament

Matthew 16:28. Having affirmed the certainty of the secondcoming and the
divine retribution, He now proceeds to do the same with regardto their
nearness.
εἰσί τινες κ. τ. λ.] which refers to those present generally, and not merely to
the disciples, presupposes thatthe majority of them will have died previous to
the event in question.
γεύσωνται θανάτου]The experiencing of death regardedas a tasting of it (of
its pains). See note on John 8:52, and Wetstein.
ἕως κ. τ. λ.] not as though they were to die afterwards, but what is meant is,
that they will still be living when it takes place. Comp. Matthew 24:34;
Hofmann, Schriftbew. II. 2, p. 629 f.
ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ]not for εἰς τὴν κ. τ. λ. (Beza, Raphel, and others), but as
a king in all His regalauthority (Plat. Rep. p. 499 B: τῶν νῦν ἐν δυναστείαις ἢ
βασιλείαις ὄντων). Luke 23:42. There is no substantial difference betweenthe
present prediction of Jesus as to His impending advent in glorious majesty
(comp. Matthew 10:23, Matthew 24:34), and that in Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27. The
βασιλεία cannot be supposed to come without the βασιλεύς. This, at the same
time, in answerto Ebrard (comp. Baumeisterin Klaiber’s Studien, II. 1, p.
19), who interprets this passage,not of the secondcoming to judgment, but,
laying stress on the ἐν (againstwhich the ἐν τῇ δόξῃ, Matthew 16:27, should
have duly warned), understands it as referring to the founding of the church,
and particularly to what took place at Pentecost, andthat notwithstanding the
context and the words εἰσί τινες, etc., which, if this view were adopted, would
be entirely out of place (Glass, Calovius). It is likewise to explain it awayin a
manner no less arbitrary, to understand the passagein the sense ofa
figurative coming in the destruction of Jerusalemand the diffusion of
Christianity (Jac. Cappellus, Wetstein, Kuinoel, Schott, Glöckler, Bleek), orof
the triumphant historicaldevelopment of the gospel(Erasmus, Klostermann,
Schenkel), orof the powerful influences of the spirit of the glorified Messiah
as extending over the world (Paulus). Others, such as Beda, Vatablus,
Maldonatus, Jansen, Clarius, Corn. a Lapide, following Chrysostom, Euth.
Zigabenus, Theophylact, have so strangelyperverted Christ’s prediction as

even to make it refer to the incident of the transfiguration immediately
following.
On the impending advent in general, see the observations at the close of ch. 24.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Meyer, Heinrich. "Commentary on Matthew 16:28". Heinrich Meyer's
Critical and ExegeticalCommentary on the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hmc/matthew-16.html. 1832.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
Matthew 16:28. τινὲς, some)Our Lord does not mention them by name; and it
was profitable for them not to know that they were the persons meant.(772)
Peterthen scarcelyhoped that he would be one of them.— ὧδε, here) A
strikingly demonstrative particle.— ἓως ἄν ἴδωσι, until they see)Something is
indicated which was to happen, but not immediately (otherwise all, or nearly
all, would have lived to that time), but yet something which would take place
in that generationof men. This term (terminus) or period has various
intervals: the vision, or seeing, various degrees up to the death of those who
saw it, which followedat various times: cf. in Luke 2:26, the expressionπρὶν ἢ
ἴδη, before he had seen, used with regardto Simeon. And the advent of the
Son of Man advancedanother step before the death of James (see Acts 2:36),
and passimtill Matthew 12:2, and cf. Hebrews 2:5-7); another before the
death of Peter(see 2 Peter 1:14; 2 Peter1:19, and Luke 21:31); another, and
that the highest, before the death of John, in the most magnificent revelation
of His coming, which the beloved disciple has himself described (see Gnomon
on John 21:22);a revelation to which the event foretold will correspond;see

Matthew 16:27, and ch. Matthew 26:64. And a previous proof of this matter
was given in a week(773)from this time on the Mount of Transfiguration;
and, at the same time, out of all the disciples those were chosenwho should
most especiallysee it. It is beyond question, that those three(774)who
witnessedour Lord’s transfiguration were peculiarly favoured with reference
to the subsequent manifestations of His glory. This saying of our Lord appears
to have been referred to, but not rightly understood, by those who imagined
that the last day was near at hand.— τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐρχόμενον, the
Son of Man coming) His conspicuous coming to judgment (see Gnomon on
Matthew 16:13) is meant, which would begin to follow immediately after His
ascension.(775)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bengel, JohannAlbrecht. "Commentary on Matthew 16:28". Johann
Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jab/matthew-16.html. 1897.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
Mark saith, Mark 9:1, till they have seenthe kingdom of God come with
power; Luke 9:27, saith no more than till they see the kingdom of God. There
be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, that is, that shall not die.
Hebrews 2:9. It is the same with not seeing death, John 8:51,52 Heb 11:5. The
greatquestion is, what is here meant by the
Son of man coming in his kingdom. It cannotbe meant of his secondcoming
to judgment, spokenof immediately before, for all who stood there have long
since tastedof death, yet is not that day come. Some understand it of that sight

of Christ’s glory which Peter, and James, and John had at Christ’s
transfiguration, of which we shall read in the next chapter; and I should be
very inclinable to this sense, (for there was a glimpse of the glory of the Father
mentioned Matthew 16:27)were it not for those words added by Mark,
till they have seenthe kingdom of God come with power. This inclineth others
to think, that it is to be understood of Christ’s showing forth his powerin the
destruction of Jerusalem. But the most generallyreceivedopinion, and which
seemethto be best, is, that the coming of the Son of man here meant is, his
resurrectionfrom the dead. His ascensioninto heaven, and sending the Holy
Spirit, after which the kingdom of grace came with a mighty power, subduing
all nations to the Lord Jesus Christ. He was declared, (or determined), to be
the Sonof Godwith power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the
resurrectionfrom the dead, Romans 1:4. And when, after his resurrection
from the dead, they askedhim, Acts 1:6, whether he would at that time
restore the kingdom to Israel, he puts them off, and tells them for an answer,
Acts 1:8, But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea,
and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. And then, Acts 1:9,
he in their sight ascendedup into heaven. Then did the kingdom of the Son of
man come with power, Acts 2:33-36, they knowing assuredlythat the Son of
man, whom the Jews hadcrucified, was made both Lord and Christ, as Acts
2:36, and, as Acts 2:34,35, setat God’s right hand, (according to the prophecy
of David, Psalms 90:1), until his enemies should be made his footstool.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon Matthew 16:28". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/matthew-16.html. 1685.

Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament
Not taste of death; not die.
Coming in his kingdom; coming to set up, extend, and render efficacious his
reign over his people on earth, in preparation for their everlasting reign with
him in heaven. There seems to be here a specialreference to the awful
manifestation of his presence and power in the destructionof Jerusalemand
the Jewishstate, by which was shadowedforth his final coming to judge the
world.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Edwards, Justin. "Commentary on Matthew 16:28". "FamilyBible New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/fam/matthew-
16.html. American TractSociety. 1851.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
28. οὐ μὴ γεύσωνται θανάτου κ.τ.λ. Compare
The valiant never taste of death but once.
SHAKSPEAR, Jul. Cæs. Act II, 2.
St Matthew’s version of this ‘hard saying’ indicates more plainly than the
other Synoptic Gospels the personalpresence ofChrist. St Luke has, ἕως ἂν
ἴδωσιν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ: St Mark adds to these words, ἐληλυθυῖανἐν
δυνάμει:but the meaning in eachcase is the same. Various solutions are
given. The expressionis referred to [1] the Transfiguration, [2] the Day of

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