Jesus was coming in his kingdom

JESUS WAS COMING IN HIS KINGDOM
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 16:28 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
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
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 calleda "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 Sonas 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.Comparedwith 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 greatlypleased;it representeda room in which was a window looking out
upon the sea;a lady with a grave, anxious face sat by the window, and two
little children were playing on the carpet. On the table lay a letter, which
seemedjust to have been opened, and againstthe wall was 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 absentfrom 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 lastseeing 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 of the vision of
the Sonof 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, leadus to setaside that
interpretation, except so far as the Transfiguration bore witness to what had
till then been the latent possibilities of His greatness. To speakofsomething
that was to take place within six days as to occur before 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, satisfythe 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 which was 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 Son of 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 “greatfar-off event,” the day and hour
of which were hidden from the angels of God, and even from the Sonof Man
Himself (Mark 13:32). The words find their parallel in those that declared
that “This generationshall not pass awaytill all be fulfilled” (Matthew 24:34).
That such words should have been recordedand 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.
BensonCommentaryHYPERLINK "/matthew/16-28.htm"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 setup my mediatorial kingdom with greatpower and glory, in
the increase ofmy 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 Commentary16:24-28A 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 Masterlearnedand 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 crosses down
upon 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
compared with 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 object
for 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 transgressorcannot
purchase one hour's respite to seek mercy for his perishing soul. Let us then
learn rightly to value our souls, and Christ as the only Saviour of them.
Barnes'Notes on the BibleVerily 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 regarded in a different manner, and his kingdom be establishedwith great
power.
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 Commentary28. Verily I say unto you, There
be some standing here—"someofthose 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 BibleVerily 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 BibleVerily 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 CommentaryHYPERLINK "/matthew/16-28.htm"Matthew
16:28. Having affirmed the certainty of the secondcoming and the divine
retribution, He now proceeds to do the same with regard to 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 TestamentHYPERLINK"/matthew/16-28.htm"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 againto 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 good
courage, there will be ample compensationfor trial soon; for some of you even
before you die. This sense excludes the Transfiguration, which came too soon
to be compensatory. The uncertainty comes in in connectionwith the form in
which the generaltruth is stated. As to that, Christ’s speechwas controlled
not 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 conceivedof His ownmission as limited to Israel. If the logion
concerning 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 postponedadvent. 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 Elsner in Mk. ForRabbinical
use, vide Schöttgenand Wetstein.—ἕως ἄν ἴδωσι, subjunctive after ἐν ἄν as
usual in classics andN. T. in a clause referring to a future contingency
depending on a verb referring to future time.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges28. Tasteofdeath] 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 GnomenHYPERLINK"/matthew/16-28.htm"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 scarcely
hoped 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 followed at
various times: cf. in Luke 2:26, the expressionπρὶν ἢ ἴδη, before he had seen,
used with regard to Simeon. And the advent of the Son of Man advanced
another step before the death of James (see Acts 2:36), and passim till

Matthew 12:2, and cf. Hebrews 2:5-7); another before the death of Peter(see 2
Peter1:14; 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 nearat hand.—τὸνΥἱὸν 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 CommentaryVerse 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 assertion
that some present shall see it ere they die. Nor canit refer to Christ's
resurrectionand ascension, and the 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 great name, 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

solemn manner, Verily, I say unto you, that some of his hearers would tire to
witness an event which was to occuronly a week hence? Noris it likely that he
would thus publicly announce a transactionwhich was strictly private, seen
only 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 great event
was a type of the secondadvent, 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 accomplishment
till the greatday" (Wordsworth). There was some display of Christ's kingdom
at the Transfiguration;another at 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.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES

An Awful Premonition BY SPURGEON
“Assuredly I sayunto you, there are some standing here who shall not
taste of death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
Matthew 16:28
Though I do not suppose I shall carry the judgment of all of you with me, yet I
shall do my best to bring out of it that terrible denunciation which I believe
the Saviorhas here left on record. With His own Cross and passionin view,
He was admonishing His disciples to steadfastness, appealing to them at any
sacrifice to take up their cross and follow Him. Then portraying the
inestimable value of the soul and reflecting on the horror of the soul being
lost–a doom, the full force of which would be impossible to comprehend until
He should come in the Glory of His Father, with all His holy angels–He
stopped short, lookedupon some of the company and saidin words like these,
“There are certain persons standing here who shall never taste of death till
they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
Now what did He mean by this? Obviously it is either a marvelous promise to
some who were His disciples, indeed, or else it is a portent of woe to others
who should die in their sins. How do the popular interpretations of our
learned expositors look at it? Some say it refers to the Transfigurationand it
certainly is remarkable that the accountof the Transfiguration immediately
follows this verse both in Mark and in Luke, as well as in this record of
Matthew. But canyou, for a moment, bring your minds to believe that Christ
was describing His Transfigurationwhen He spoke of “the Sonof Man
coming in His kingdom”?
Can you see any connectionbetweenthe Transfiguration and the preceding
verse, which says, “Forthe Son of Man shall come in the Glory of His Father
with His angels. And then He shall reward every man according to His
works”?We grant you that Christ was in His Glory upon Mount Tabor, but
He did not there “rewardevery man according to his works,” noris it fair to
call that a “coming” ofthe Son of Man at all! He did not “come” on Mount
Tabor, for He was on the earth already. And it is a misuse of language to
construe that into an advent. Besides, where would be the occasionforsuch a
solemn prefix–“Assuredly I sayunto you”?
Does it not raise expectationmerely to cause disappointment if He intended no
more than this–“There are some standing here who shall see Me
transfigured”? That scene took place six days afterwards. The next verse tells
you so, “And after six days Jesus takes Peter, Jamesand John, his brother,

and brings them up into an high mountain apart.” Why, the majesty of the
prediction which carries our thoughts forward to “the lastthings” in the
world’s history makes us shrink from accepting an immediate fulfillment of it
all! I cannotimagine, therefore, that the Transfigurationis in the slightest
degree referred to here–andI do not think that anyone would have thought of
such a thing unless he had been perplexed and utterly nonplussed for an
explanation.
And again–thoughit seems almostincredible–Dr. Gill endorses this view, and
moreoversays that it also refers to the descentof the Holy Spirit. At this I am
staggered!How any man can find an analogywith Pentecostin the connection
here I cannotunderstand! Pentecosttook place six months after this event and
why Jesus Christ should say, “AssuredlyI say unto you there are some
standing here who will live six months,” I really cannot comprehend! It seems
to me that my to the descentof the Holy Spirit?–“Forthe Sonof Man shall
come in the Glory of His Father with His angels. And then shall He reward
every man according to his works.”
Did Christ come at Pentecostin the Glory of His Father? Was there any
company of angels atPentecost?Did He then reward every man according to
his works? Scarcelycanthe descentof the Holy Spirit, or the appearance of
cloventongues, like as of fire, be calledthe “coming of the Son of Man in the
Glory of His Father with His angels, to give every man according to his
works” without a gross misuse of our mother tongue, or a strange violation of
symbolic imagery. Both these constructions, however, whichI now mention,
have now been given up as unsatisfactoryby those modern students who have
thought most carefully upon the subject.
The third still holds its ground and is currently received, though I believe it to
be quite as far from the Truth of Godas the others. Will you carefully read
the chapterthrough at your leisure and see if you can find anything about the
siege ofJerusalemin it? Yet this is the interpretation that finds favor at the
present time! Some persons were standing there who would be alive when
Jerusalemshould be destroyedby the Romans!! Nothing, surely, could be
more foreign to the entire scope ofour Lord’s discourse, orthe narrative of
the Evangelists. There is not the slightestshadow of a reference to the siege of
Jerusalem!
It is the coming of the Son of Man which is here spokenof, “in the glory of His
Father with His angels, to rewardmen according to their works.” Whenever
Jesus spoke ofthe siege of Jerusalemand of its coming, he was known to say,
“Assuredly I sayunto you, this generationshallnot pass till all these things
are fulfilled,” but He never singled out some few persons and said to them,

“Assuredly I sayunto you, there are some standing here which shall not taste
of death till the city of Jerusalemis besiegedand destroyed.”
If a child were to readthis passageI know what he would think it meant–he
would suppose Jesus Christ was to come and there were some standing there
who should not taste of death until really and literally He did come. This, I
believe, is the plain meaning. “Well,” says one, “I am surprised! Do you think,
then, that this refers to the Apostle John?” No–byno means. The fable passed
current, you know, that John was to live till Christ came again. But John
himself repudiated it. For at the end of his Gospel, he says, “Thenwent this
saying abroadamong the Brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus
said not unto him, He shall not die, but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what
is that to you?”
This, you see, was putting a suppositions case and in no sense the language of
prediction. Now, dear Brethren, if you are so far convinced of the
unreasonablenessofeachof these efforts to solve the difficulty by feigning a
sense, I shall hope to have your minds in readiness for that explanation which
appears to me to harmonize with every requirement. I believe the “coming”
here spokenof, is the coming of the Son of God to judgment at the last great
and terrible assize, whenHe shall judge the righteous and separate the wicked
from among them. The next question is–“Ofwhom were the words spoken?”
Are we warranted in supposing that our Lord intended this sentence as a
gracious promise, or a kindly expectationthat He would kindle in the breast
of His disciples? I suppose not. To me it appears to have no reference
whateverto any man who ever had Grace in his soul–suchlanguage is far
more applicable to the ungodly than the wicked. It may wellhave been aimed
directly at those followers who should apostatize from the faith, graspat the
world, shrink at the Cross, endeavorto save their lives but really lose them
and barter their souls. At the glorious appearing of Christ there are some who
will taste death, but will they be the righteous? Surely, my dear Friends, when
Christ comes, the righteous will not die!
They will be caught up with the Lord in the air. His coming will be the signal
for the resurrectionof all His saints. But mark you, at the time of His coming,
the men who have been without God and without Christ, will begin, for the
first time, to “taste ofdeath.” They passedthe first stage ofdissolution when
the soulquitted the body, but they have never known the “taste ofdeath.” Till
then, they will not have known its tremendous bitterness and its awful horror.
They will never drink of the wormwoodand the gall, so as really to “taste of
death,” till the Lord shall come.

This tasting of death here may be explained and I believe it is to be explained
by a reference to the seconddeath, which men will not taste of till the Lord
comes. And what a dreadful sentence that was, when the Savior said–perhaps
singling out Judas as He spoke–“AssuredlyI sayunto you, there are some
standing here who shall never know what that dreadful word ‘death’ means,
till the Lord shall come. You think that if you save your lives, you escape from
death. Ah, you do not know what death means!The demise of the body is but
a prelude to the perdition of the soul. The grave is but the porch of death–you
will never understand the meaning of that terrible word till the Lord comes.”
This can have no reference to the saints, because in the eighth chapter of John
and the fifty-first verse, you find this passage–“Verily, verily, I sayunto you,
If a man keeps My sayings, he shall never see death. Then said the Jews unto
Him, Now we know that you have a devil. Abraham is dead and the Prophets.
And you say, If a man keeps My sayings, he shall never taste of death.” No
righteous man, therefore, can ever“taste of death.”
He will fall into that deep oblivious sleepin which the body sees corruption.
But that is another and a very different thing from the bitter cup referred to
as tasting of death. When the Holy Spirit wanted an expressionto setforth
what was the equivalent for the Divine wrath, what expressionwas used?
“Christ, by the Grace of God, tasteddeath for every man.” The expression,
“to taste of death,” means the reception of that true and essentialdeath, which
kills both the body and the soul in Hell forever. The Savior saidthen, as He
might say, I fear, if He stoodin this pulpit tonight–“Assuredly I say unto you,
there are some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the
Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
If this is the meaning and I hold that it is in keeping with the context, it
explains the verse, sets forth the reasonwhy Christ bespoke breathless
attention with the word “assuredly,” answers both the grammar and the
rhetoric and is not by any argument that I have ever heard of to be
repudiated. If this is so, what thrilling denunciations are containedin my text!
O, may the Holy Spirit deeply affect our hearts and cause our souls to thrill
with its solemnity! What thoughts it stirs up! Compared with the doom which
will be inflicted upon the ungodly at the coming of Christ, the death of nature
is nothing.
We go farther–comparedwith the doom of the wickedat the coming of Christ,
even the torments of souls in a separate state are scarcelyanything. The
startling question then comes up–“Are there any sitting or standing here who
will have to taste of death when the Lord comes?”

1. THE SINNER’S DEATHIS BUT A FAINT PRESAGE OF THE
SINNER’S DOOM AT THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN IN HIS
GLORY. Let me endeavorto show the contrast. We canmake but little
comparisonbetweenthe two in point of time. Many men meet with their
death so suddenly that it canscarcelyinvolve any pain to them. They
are crushed, perhaps, by machinery. A shot sends them to find a grave
upon the battlefield, or they may be speedily poisoned.
If they are for hours, or days, or weeks, ormonths, upon the bed of sickness,
yet the real work of dying is but short. It is more a wearysort of living than an
actualsense of dying while hope lingers though even in fitful dreams. Dying is
but the work of a moment–if it shall be said to last for hours, yet the hours are
brief. Miserymay count them long, but oh, with what swift wings do they fly!
To die, to fall asleep, to suffer–it may be but a pin’s prick–and then to have
passedawayfrom the land of the living to the realm of shades!
But oh, the doom which is to be brought upon the wickedwhen Christ comes!
This is a death which never dies. Here is a heart palpitating with eternal
misery. Here is an eye never filmed by the kind finger of generous
forgetfulness. Here will be a body never to be stiffened in apathy–neverto be
laid quietly in the grave–neverrid of keenpangs, wearing disease and
lingering wretchedness!To die, I say, is nature’s kind release–itbrings ease. It
comes to a man, for this world, at least, a farewellto his woes and griefs.
But there shall be no ease, no rest, no pause in the destinationof impenitent
souls. “Depart, you cursed,” shall ever ring along the endless aisles of eternity.
The thunderbolt of that tremendous word shall follow the sinner in his
perpetual flight from the Presence ofGod–fromits baleful influence he shall
never be able to escape–no,never!A million years shall make not so much
difference to the duration of his agony as a cup of watertakenfrom the sea
would to the volume of the ocean. No, whenmillions of years told a million
times shall have rolled their fiery orbits over his poor tormented head, he
shall be no nearerto the end than he was at first.
Talk of Death! I might even paint him as an angelwhen once I think of the
terrors of the wrath to come. Sooncome, soongone, is Death. That sharp
scythe gives but one cut and down falls the flowerand withers in the heat of
the sun. But eternity, eternity, eternity! Who shall measure its wounds? Who
shall fathom the depths of the gashes?Wheneternity wields the whip, how
dreadfully will it fall! When eternity grasps the sword, how deep shall be the
wounds, how terrible its killing!–

“To linger in eternal pain,
Yet death forever fly.”
You are afraid of death, Sinner? You are afraid of death? Were you wise, you
would be ten thousand times ten thousand times more afraid of the coming
and the judgment of the Sonof Man! In point of loss there is no comparison.
When the sinner dies it is not tasting of death in its true sense, forwhat does
he lose? He loses wife and children and friends. He loses all his dainty bits and
his sweetdraughts. Where now are his violin and his lute? Where now the
merry dance and the joyful company? For him no more pleasantlandscape
nor gliding stream. Forhim no more light of the sun by day, nor light of moon
and stars by night. He has lost, at one stroke, every comfort and every hope.
But then the loss, as far as death is concerned, is but a loss of earthly things–
the loss of temporal and temporary comforts–andhe might put up with that.
It is wretched enoughto lose these, but let your imagination follow me, faint
as is my powerto describe the everlasting and infinite loss of the man who is
found impenitent at the last greatJudgment Day. What does he lose then?
The harps of Heaven and the songs. The joys of God’s Presenceand the light.
The jaspersea and the gates of pearl. He has lost peace and immortality and
the crownof life.
No, he has lost all hope–and when a man has lostthat, what remains for him?
His spirit sinks with a terrible depression, more frightful than a maniac ever
knew in his wildest moods of grief. His soul sinks never to recoveritself into
the depths of dark despair, where not a ray of hope can everreach him. Lost
to God! Lost to Heaven! Lost to time! Lost to the preaching of the Gospel!
Lost to the invitation of mercy! Lost to the prayers of the gracious!Lost to the
Mercy Seat!Lost to the blood of sprinkling! Lost to all hope of every sort–lost,
lost, forever! Compared with this loss the losses ofdeath are nothing, and well
might the Saviorsay that lost spirits shall not even “taste ofdeath” until He
shall come and they shall receive their sentence.
Neither does death bear any comparisonwith the last judgment in point of
terror. I do not like to paint the terrors of the deathbed of unrepentant men.
Some, you know, glide gently into their graves. It is, in fact, the mark of the
wickedthat they have no bands in their death–their strength is firm. They are
not troubled like other men are. Like the sheep they are laid in the grave. A
peacefuldeath is no sign of Grace. Some ofthe worstof men have died with a
smile upon their countenance to have it changedfor one eternal weeping. But
there are more men of other exquisite sensibility, instructed men, who cannot
die like brutes–and they have alarms and fears and terrors when they are on
their deathbeds.

Many an atheisthas cried to God under dying pangs and many an Infidel who
up to then could brag and speak high things againstGod, has found his cheek
turn pale and his throat grow hoarse whenhe has come there. Like the
mariner, the boldest man in that greatstorm reels to and fro and staggerslike
a drunken man and is at his wits' ends–forhe finds that it is no child’s play to
die. I try sometimes to picture that hour when we shall perhaps be propped up
in bed, or lying down with pillows round about us, and diligently watched.
And as they hush their footfalls and gaze anxiously on, there is a whisper that
the solemntime has come and then there is a grappling of the strong man with
the strongerthan he.
Oh, what must it be to die without a Savior!To die in the dark without a light
exceptthe lurid glare of the wrath to come!Horrors there are, indeed, around
the deathbed of the wicked!But these are hardly anything comparedwith the
terrors of the Day of Judgment! When the sinner wakes fromhis bed of dust,
the first object he will see will be the GreatWhite Throne and the Judge
seatedupon it–the first sound that will greethis ears will be the trumpet
sounding–
“Come to judgment, come to judgment,
Come to judgment, Sinner, come.”
He will look up and there will be the Son of Man on His judgment throne–the
King’s officers arrangedon either side–the saints on His right hand and
angels round about. Then the books will be opened. What creeping horror will
come upon the flesh of the wickedman! He knows his turn will arrive in a
moment. He stands expecting it. Feartakes hold upon him while the eyes of
the Judge look him through and through and he cries to the rocks to hide him
and the mountains to fall upon him! Happy would he be now to find a friendly
shelter in the grave, but the grave has burst its doors and can never be closed
upon him again. He would even be glad to rush back to his former state in
Hell, but he cannot!
The judgment has come, the assize is set–againthe trumpet rings–
“Come to judgment, come to judgment,
Come to judgment, come away.”
And then the book is openedand the dread sentence is pronounced. And, to
use the words of Scripture, “Deathand Hell into the lake of fire.” The man
never knew what death was before. The first death was but a flea-bite! This is
death, indeed. The first death he might have lookedback upon as a dream,
compared with this tasting of death now that the Lord has come!

From what we cangleam darkly from hints of Scripture, the pains of death
are not at all comparable to the pains of the judgment at the secondadvent.
Who will speak in a depreciating manner of the pains of death? If we should
attempt to do so, we know that our hearts would contradictus. In the shades
of night, when deep sleepfalls upon men, you sometimes suddenly awake.You
are alarmed. The terror by night has come upon you. You expect–youhardly
know what it is–but you are half afraid that you are about to die. You know
how the cold sweatcomes upon the brow. You may have a goodhope through
Grace, but the very thought of death brings a peculiar pang.
Or when death has really come in view, some of us have marked with terrible
grief the sufferings of our dearestfriends. We have heard the eye-strings
break. We have seenthe face all pallid and the cheek all hollow and sunken.
We have sometimes seenhow every nerve has become a road for the hot feet
of pain to travel on and how every vein has been a canalof grief. We have
marked the pains, and moans, and groans, and dying strife that frightens the
soul away. These, however, are commonto man. Not so the pangs which are to
be inflicted both on body and soul at the coming of the Son of God!
They are such that I casta veil over them, fearful of the very thought! Let the
Master’s words suffice–“FearHim who is able to castboth body and soul into
Hell; yes, I say unto you, fear Him.” Then the body in all the parts shall
suffer. The members which were once instruments of unrighteousness shall
now be instruments of suffering. And the mind, the major sinner, shall be also
the greatersufferer. The memory, the judgment, the understanding, the will,
the imagination and every powerand passionof the soulwill become a deep
lake of anguish. But I spare you these things! Oh, spare yourselves!Godalone
knows with what pain I have talking about these horrors!
Were it not that they must be spokenof, or else I must give my accountat the
Day of Judgment as a faithless servant. Were it not that I speak of them in
mercy to your souls, poorSinners, I would gladly forgetthem altogether,
seeing that my own soul has a hope in Him who saves from the wrath to come.
But as long as you will not have mercy upon yourselves, we must lay this axe
at your root–so long as you will make a mockeryof sin and setat nothing the
terrors of the world to come–we mustwarn you of Hell.
If it is hard to talk of these things, what must it be to endure them? If a dream
makes you quiver from head to foot, what must it be to endure really and in
person, the wrath to come? O Souls, were I to speak as I ought, my knees
would knock togetherwith trembling! Were you to feelas you should, there
would not be an unconverted man among you who would not cry, “Sir, what
must I do to be saved?” I do beseechyou to remember that death, with all its

pangs, is but a drop in a bucket comparedwith the deep, mysterious,
fathomless, shorelesssea ofgriefyou must endure forever at the coming of the
Lord Jesus unless you repent!
Deathmakes greatdiscoveries. The man thought himself wise, but Death
draws the curtain and he sees writtenup in large letters–“Youfool!” He said
he was prudent, for he hoarded up his gold and silver and kept the wages of
the laborer. But now he finds that he has made a bad bargain while the
question is propounded to him–“What does it profit you, to have gainedthe
world and to have lost your soul?” Deathis a greatrevealerof secrets. Many
men are not believers at all until they die. But Deathcomes and makes short
work with their skepticism. It gives but one blow upon the head of doubt and
all is done. The man believes then, only he believes too late!
Deathgives to the sinner the discovery that there is a God–anangry God–and
punishment is wrapped up in the wrath to come. But how much greaterthe
discoveries that awaitthe Day of Judgment! What will the sinner see then? He
will see the Man who was crucified sitting upon His Throne. He will hear how
Satanhas been defeatedin all his craftiestundertakings. Read from those
mysterious books, the secrets ofall hearts shall then be revealed. Then men
shall understand how the Lord reignedsupremely even when Satan roared
most loudly–how the mischief and the folly of man did but, after all, bring
forth the greatpurposes of God.
All this shall be in the books and the sinner shall stand there defeated, terribly
defeated, beatenat every point–baffled, foiled, stultified in every actand every
purpose by which he thought to do well for himself. Yes, and utterly confused
in all the hostility and all the negligence ofhis heart towards the living and
true God who would, and who did rule over him. Too late he will discoverthe
preciousness ofthe blood he despised–the value of the Savior he rejected–the
glory of the Heaven which he lostand the terror of the Hell to which he is
sentenced!How wise, how dreadfully wise will he be when fully aware of his
terrible and eternaldestruction! Thus sinners shall not taste of death in the
real meaning of the term until the Lord shall come.
II. Still further–IN THE STATE OF SEPARATE SPIRITS THEYHAVE
NOT FULLY TASTED OF DEATH, NOR WILL THEY DO SO UNTIL
CHRIST COMES. The moment that a man dies, his spirit goes before God. If
without Christ, that spirit then begins to feelthe angerand the wrath of God.
It is as when a man is takenbefore a magistrate. He is knownto be guilty and
therefore he is remanded and put in prison till his trial shall come. Such is the
state of souls apart from the body–they are spirits in prison–waiting for the
time of their trial.

There is not, in the sense in which the Romanistteaches it, any purgatory! Yet
there is a place of waiting for lost spirits which is in Scripture called, “Hell,”
because it is one room in that awful prison, in which must dwell foreverspirits
that die finally impenitent and without faith in Christ. But those of our
departed countrymen and fellow citizens of earth who die without Christ have
not yet fully tasted of death, nor can they until the advent of the Lord. Just
considerwhy not. Their bodies do not suffer. The bodies of the wickedare still
the prey of the worm–still the atoms are the sport of the winds and are
traversing their boundless cycles and must do so until they are gatheredup
into the body again, at the trump of the archangel–atthe voice of God.
The ungodly know that their present state is to have an end at the Judgment,
but after the Judgment their state will have no end. It is then to go on and on
and on, forever and forever, unchanged and unchangeable. Now there may be
half a hope, an anticipation of some change, for change brings some relief. But
to the finally damned–upon whom the sentence has been pronounced–there is
no hope even of a change. Foreverand forevershall there be the same
ceaselesswheelof misery!
The ungodly, too, in their present state, have not as yet been put to the shame
of a public sentence. Theyhave, as it were, merely been castinto prison, the
facts being too clearto admit of any doubt as to the sentence. And they are
their own tormentors, vexing and paining themselves with the fear of what is
yet to come. They have never yet heard that dreadful sentence–“Depart, you
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Iwas
struck, while studying this subject, to find how little is said about the pains of
the lostwhile they are merely souls and how much is said concerning them
when the Lord comes.
You have that one parable of the rich man and Lazarus and there it speaks of
the soulbeing already tormented in the flame. But if you turn to the thirteenth
chapter of Matthew and read the parable of the tares, you will find it is at the
end of the world that the tares are to be castinto the fire. Then comes the
parable of the dragnet. It is when the dispensation comes to an end that the
net is to be draggedto shore and then the goodare to be put in vessels and the
bad castaway. And then the Lord says, “The Sonof Man shall send forth His
angels and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and
them which do iniquity. And shall castthem into a furnace of fire: there shall
be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
That memorable description in Matthew of those of whom He said, “I was
hungry and you gave me no meat. I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,” is
describedas happening when, the “Sonof Man shall come in His glory and all

His holy angels with Him.” The Apostle Paul, too, tells us plainly in the Epistle
to the Thessalonians thatthe wickedare to be destroyedat His coming by the
brightness of His power. The recompense of the ungodly, like the reward of
the righteous, is anticipated now–but the full reward of the righteous is to be
at His coming. They are to reign with Christ. Their fullness of bliss is to be
given them when the King Himself in His glory shall sit upon His Throne. So,
too, the wickedhave the beginning of their heritage at death, but the dread
fullness of it is to be hereafter.
At the present moment, death and Hell are not yet castinto the lake of fire.
Deathis still abroad in the world slaying men. Hell is yet loose. The devil is
not yet chained, but still does he go about the “dry places, seeking restand
finding none.” At the lastday, at the coming of Christ, “deathand Hell shall
be castinto the lake of fire.” We do not understand the symbol. But if it
means anything, one would think it must mean this–that at that day the
scatteredpowers ofevil, which are to be the tormentors of the wicked, but
which have up to now been wandering up and down throughout the world,
shall all be collectedtogether–andthen, indeed, shall it be that the wicked
shall begin to “taste ofdeath” as they have never tasted of it before!
My soulis boweddown with terror while I speak these words to you! I
scarcelyknow how to find suitable words to express the weight of thought
which is upon me. My dearHearers, instead of speculating upon these
matters, let us try to shun the wrath to come. And what can help us to do that
better than to weighthe warning words of a dear and loving Savior when He
tells us that at His coming such a gloomshall pass upon impenitent souls, that
compared with it, even death itself shall be as nothing?
Christians, by the faith of their risen Lord, swallow deathin victory. But if
you die impenitent, you swallow death in ignorance. You do not feel its
bitterness now. But, oh, that bitter pill has yet to work its way and that fierce
draught has yet to be drained even to the dregs, unless you repent! And now,
does not the meditation of these terrors prompt A QUESTION. Jesussaid–
“Assuredly I sayunto you, there are some standing here which shall not taste
of death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” Are there any
standing or sitting here who shall not taste of death till then?
In that little group addressedby the Savior stoodJudas. He had been trusted
by His Masterand he was an Apostle. But after all he was a thief and a
hypocrite. He, the sonof perdition, would not taste of death till Christ should
come in His kingdom. Is there a Judas here? I look into your faces andmany
of you are members of this Church and others of you, I doubt not, are
members of other Christian Churches–but are you sure that you have made

sound work of it? Is your religion genuine? Do you weara mask, or are you
an honest man?
O Sirs, try your own hearts and since you may fail in the trial, ask the Lord to
searchyou! For as the Lord my God lives, unless you thus searchyourselves
and find that you are in the right, you may come presumptuously to sit at the
Lord’s Table. Though with a name to live, you may be among His people here,
but you will have to taste of death when the Lord comes. You may deceive us,
but you cannot deceive Him! The preacherreflects that he himself may be
mistaken. That he himself may be self-deceived. If it is so, may the Lord open
my eyes to know the worst of my ownstate! Will you put up this prayer for
yourselves, professors? Do notbe too bold, you who sayyou are Christ’s–
never be satisfiedtill you are quite sure of it. And the best way to be sure is to
go again just as you went at first and lay hold on eternal life through the
powerof the blessedSpirit and not by any strength of your own.
No doubt, however, there stood in that little throng around the Saviorsome
who were carelesssinners. He knew that they had been so during the whole of
His teaching and that they would be so still, and therefore they would taste of
death at His coming. Are there not some carelesspersons come in here
tonight? I mean you who never think about religion, who generallylook upon
Sunday as a day of pleasure, or who loll about in your shirtsleeves nearly all
the day. You who look upon the very name of religion as a bugbear to frighten
children with–who mock God’s servants and despise the very thought of
earnestlyseeking afterthe MostHigh.
Oh, will you, will you be among the number of those who taste of death when
the Sonof Man shall come in His kingdom? Oh, must I ring your death knell
tonight? Must my warning voice be lost upon you? I beseechyou to recollect
that you must either turn or burn! I beseechyou to remember this–“Letthe
wickedforsake his ways and the unrighteous man his thoughts. And let him
turn unto the Lord and He will have mercy upon him. And to our God, for He
will abundantly pardon.” By the wounds of Jesus, Sinner, stop and think! If
God’s dear Son was slain for human sin, how terrible must that sin be! And if
Jesus died, how base are you if you are disobedient to the doctrine of faith! I
pray you, if you think of your body, give some thought to your soul! “Why do
you spend money for that which is not bread? And labor for that which
satisfies not?” Hearkendiligently unto Jehovah’s Word and eat of that which
is good, real, and substantial food. Come to Jesus and your soul shall live! And
there are some here of another class–Bethsaidasinners, Capernaum sinners! I
mean some of you who constantly occupy these pews and stand in yonder area
and sit in yonder gallery Sunday after Sunday. The same eyes look down on

me week afterweek. The same faces salute me often with a smile when Sunday
comes and I pass you journeying to this, the Tabernacle ofyour worship. And
yet how many of you are still without God and without Christ? Have I been
unfaithful to you? If I have, forgive me and pray to God both for me and for
yourselves that we may mend our ways.
But if I have warned you of the wrath to come, why will you choose to walk in
the path which leads to it? If I have preachedto you Christ Jesus, how is it
that His charms move you not and that the story of His greatlove does not
bring you to repentance? O that the Spirit of Godwould come and deal with
you, for I cannot! My hammer breaks not your flinty hearts, but God’s arm
can do it and O, may He turn you yet! Of all sinners over whom a minister
ought to weep, you are the worst–forwhile the careless perishyou perish
doubly!
You know your Master’s will and yet you do it not. You see Heaven’s gate set
open and yet you will not enter. Your vicious free will ruins you! Your base
and wickedlove of selfand sin destroys you! “You will not come unto Me that
you might have life,” said Christ. You are so vile that you will not turn even
though Jesus should woo you. I pray you let the menace of judgment to come
containedin my text stir you now if you have never been stirred before! May
God have pity on you even if you will have no pity upon yourselves.
Perhaps among that company there were some who held the Truth of God,
but who held it in licentiousness–andthere may be such here present. You
believe in the doctrine of election. So do I. But then you make it a cloak for
your sin! You hold the doctrine of the perseverance ofthe saints, but you still
persevere in your iniquity. Oh, there is no way of perishing that I know of
worse than perishing by making the Doctrines ofGrace an excuse for one’s
sins! The Apostle has well said of such that their damnation is just–it is just to
any man, but to a seven-fold degree is it just to such as you are!I would not
have you forgetthe doctrine, nor neglectit, nor despise it–but I do beseech
you do not prostitute it–do not turn it to the vile purposes of making it pander
to your own carnal ease.
Remember, you have no evidence of electionexceptyou are holy and you have
no right to expectyou will be savedat the last unless you are savednow. A
present faith in a present Savioris the test. O that my Masterwould bring
some of you to trust Him tonight! The plan of salvation is simple–trust Christ
and you are saved! Rely upon Him and you shall live! This faith is the gift of
God, but remember that though God gives it, He works in you to will and to
do of His own goodpleasure. God does not believe for you. The Holy Spirit
does not believe for you–you must believe, or else you will be lost!

And it is quite consistentwith the fact that it is the gift of God, to say that it is
also the act of man. You must, poor Soul, be led to trust the Savior, or into
Heaven you cannever enter. Is there one here who says, “I desire to find the
Savior tonight”? Go not to your bed until you have soughtHim and seek Him
with sighs and with tears. I think this is a night of Divine Grace. I have
preachedthe Law and the terrors of the Lord to you, but it will be a night of
Grace to the souls of some of you! My Masterdoes but kill you that He may
make you alive! He does but wound you that He may make you whole!
I feel a sortof inward whisper in my heart that there are some of you who
even now have begun your flight from the wrath to come. Where do you flee?
Fly to Jesus!Hurry, Sinner, hurry! I trust you will find Him before you retire
to your beds, or if you lie tossing there in doubt and fear, then may He
manifest Himself to you before the morning light. I think I would freely give
my eyes if you might but see Christ! And I would willingly give my hands if
you might but lay hold on Him! Do, I beseechyou, put not from you this
warning, but let it have its proper work upon you and lead you to repentance!
May God save you and may the prayer we have already offeredthis evening
be answered, that the company of you may be found among His electat His
right hand. To that end let us pray. Our Father, save us with Your great
salvation. We will say unto God, do not condemn us! Deliver us from going
down to the pit, for You have found the ransom. May we not be among the
company that shall taste of death when the Son of Man shall come. Hearus,
Jesus, through Your blood. God be merciful to us sinners. Amen.
PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
"A Preview of His Majesty"
Matthew 16:28-17:1-9
Theme: Jesus gave a manifestation of His kingdom glory, so that an assurance of His future reign
could be passed on to His followers.
(Delivered Sunday, July 15, 2007 at Bethany Bible Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture
references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas
Nelson, Inc.)
I think that the best way to begin this morning's sermon is by making a confession. There's
something you need to know about your pastor. (Don't worry—it's not about anything bad. But
I'll bet that I've your attention now!)

I confess that I enjoy scary stories. I really love them! Now please understand; I'm not talking
about those sick, violent, 'chainsaw' stories. Nor am I talking about the kind of stories that
celebrate things that are blatantly satanic. I don't believe those are ever appropriate. But what I'm
talking about is the eerie, uncanny type of stories that leave you with the haunting feeling that
you're surrounded in life by something far bigger than you.
I'm talking about the type of stories in which people who are going about normal, natural, every-
day life are suddenly confronted with the supernatural—leaving them with a mixture of awe and
mystery and fear. I love the old Twilight Zone shows. I love reading Ray Bradbury's short stories.
Signs is one of my favorite movies. I love the "dark and stormy night" stories—the "there's
something creepy out there in the fog" stories—the "strange sounds in the moonlit night"
stories—the stories that make the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and that make my skin
crawl a little.
I've tried to understand my attraction to such stories. And here's what I've come to understand
about myself. (And it's not that I need counseling, by the way!) I believe that my delight in such
stories reflects a built-in need we all have, as human beings—a need for contact with something
'transcendent' and 'eternal' and 'other-worldly'. It's an expression—to an imperfect degree—of
our need for an encounter with our Creator's glory and majesty.
The Bible tells us that God is "the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity" (Isaiah 57:15).
And it also says that God has put "eternity" in our hearts (Eccl. 3:11). It's a part of our natural
make-up to be fascinated with that which is 'transcendent' and 'above' the natural—because we
were made by the One who inhabits eternity for a relationship with Him. That inclination has
been damaged by the fall, of course; but it is nevertheless there. The 'mystery' of God's majesty
scares us; but it also strangely draws us.
And sometimes, when God meets that inclination in us in a personal way, and shows us
something of what He is really like—when He, as it were, opens our eyes and allows us to see
the depths of the mystery of His majesty and glory—it's far more startling than a mere 'scary
story'. The real, genuine experience God's self-revelation shocks us, and terrifies us, and shakes
us to the core of our being.
And then, it leaves us changed forever.
* * * * * * * * * *
This morning, we come to just such a story. When I read it, it gives me—if I may coin a new
phrase—"holy goose-flesh". It's mysterious. It's uncanny. It confronts us with the realization that
we are in the presence of Someone who is greater and more "other-worldly" than we realized.
And it's meant by God to so impact us with the mystery of the glorious majesty of Jesus Christ,
that we are changed forever.
Turn with me to the seventeenth chapter of Matthew's Gospel; and let's look at this story
together. In it, we find that Jesus gave a startling, shocking, soul-trembling, life-transforming
manifestation of His own kingdom glory to His beloved friends.
In Matthew 17:1-9, we read;
Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high
mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the
sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah

appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is
good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one
for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud
overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” And when the disciples heard it,
they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and
said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one
but Jesus only. Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them,
saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead" (Matthew
17:1-9).
* * * * * * * * * *
First, let's consider . . .
1. WHAT THE CONTEXT OF THIS STORY WAS (16:28).
You find the context expressed in the last verse of chapter 16. Jesus tells His disciples,
"Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the
Son of Man coming in His kingdom" (Matthew 16:28).
Now; the first thing you need to know that I believe about this verse is that it's in the wrong
chapter. The text of the Bible, of course, is the very word of God. But I hope that you know that
the chapter divisions didn't come down from heaven. Men—human editors and publishers—
separated the text into chapters and verses. And in this case, the chapter division gives the
impression that Matthew 16:28 is somehow separate from what follows it.
Some of you have commented that, in some of my previous messages, I left this verse out. And
this is why. I believe it is best understood as belonging to our passage this morning.
Let me show you why this is so. Think back with me once again to the things we've already seen
in the past few weeks. First, we've seen that Jesus was clearly identified for us in the confession
that Peter made concerning Him—"you are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew
16:16). We've called this "the blessed confession"; because it immediately received Jesus' own
blessing after it was uttered. We were told that it is the very revelation of God the Father
concerning His Son. In fact, we even read in our passage this morning that the Father Himself
again expresses it; “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”
Then, we read that this same Jesus—who is declared to be the Christ, the Son of the living
God—must go to Jerusalem and die on the cross. In verse 21, we read that [f]rom that time Jesus
began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the
elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day." It was the set
purpose of the Father that Jesus—His own beloved Son—must die on the cross for sinners. You
may remember that Peter could not accept this. He dared to take the Savior aside and rebuke Him
for saying such a thing. But Jesus affirmed that He would not be drawn away from the cross.
And then, we read that Jesus turned to His disciples and told them;
If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and
follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for
My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses
his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will

come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according
to his works" (Matthew 16:20-27).
Put it all together. Here is Jesus—affirmed to be "the Christ, the Son of the living God." He is
God in human flesh—destined to be revealed as King of kings and Lord of lords. But He also
must first suffer for sinners and die on the cross. And He insists that anyone who would come
after Him must do as He was about to do—deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him.
They are to be willing to do so, trusting that the Son of Man will come to earth again one day, in
the glory of His Father, and will reward each according to their works.
And then comes this strange verse—one in which He speaks a truth that is solemn and serious.
"Assuredly", He says—or literally, "Amen"—"I say to you, there are some standing here"—that
is. some from among the twelve disciples who had just been called upon to deny self, take up the
cross, and follow Him—"who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His
kingdom."
The simplest way to understand this verse, then, is as a promise from the Lord Jesus to His
disciples of that remarkable event that Matthew tells us about next. Some of the disciples
standing there—three of them, to be precise—would be taken aside and be given a private
glimpse of the glory of the One who was calling them to follow Him by way of the cross. They
would be given a vision of His kingly majesty before they themselves left this earth; so that they
could testify to His glory as eye-witnesses; and could then pass on the assurance of His kingly
reign to those of us who would yet live, and who would also hear His call to "follow" and lay
down our lives for Him.
* * * * * * * * * *
As it turns out, this promise from our Lord was fulfilled only six days after it was given—and the
"preview" of the majestic glory of King Jesus, in which He will one day come to this earth and
reign, was granted to witnesses who would then pass it on to us.
This leads us, next, to consider . . .
2. WHO THE EYE-WITNESSES WERE (17:1).
Matthew tells us, that "after six days Jesus took Peter, James and John his brother", and "led
them up on a high mountain by themselves" (Matthew 17:1).
It may surprise you to know this; but Jesus didn't treat all the twelve disciples equally. Among
the twelve, He had a special relationship with these three. They were with Him at some of the
most important moments in His earthly ministry.
Perhaps you remember, for example, the time that Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus the ruler of
the synagogue. The man's little girl had died; and when Jesus arrived to the house with His
disciples, "He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother
of the girl" (Luke 8:51). They alone, at that time, were witnesses of His resurrection power.
Or perhaps you remember the dark evening of our Lord's betrayal. We're told that Jesus and His
disciples came to that place called Gethsemane; and He told them, "Sit here while I go and pray
over there." Then, we're told that "He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He
began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He told them, 'My soul is exceedingly
sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me'" (Matthew 26:36-38). Once again, then,

we find these three in close companionship with the Savior at some of the most crucial moments
of His ministry.
And now, once again, we see that He draws these three aside to Himself. It was to them that He
chose to reveal His glory. Why three? Perhaps it was so that, as the Scriptures say, ‘by the mouth
of two or three witnesses every word may be established' (Matthew 18:16; see also Deut. 19:15;
2 Corinthians 13:1). Why these three? Perhaps we can't entirely know the reason for the Lord's
choice. But the Lord clearly knew who it was that He could trust to serve as eyewitnesses and
faithful reporters of this remarkable event. And the past two-thousand years of the church's
testimony through their written witness has proven that choice to have been providential and
wise.
* * * * * * * * * *
Jesus took them apart from the others and led them up a high mountain by themselves. He didn't
wish to give this revelation to everyone—but just to them. He didn't do it publicly—but in
solitude. Luke tells us, in his account of the story, that it was "to pray" (Luke 9:28); but Luke
also tells us that the three were "weary with sleep" (vv. 32-33), and so it must have been at night.
Imagine the scene. It was dark and quiet—high upon a ridge of a mountain. The evening had
fallen; and no doubt the trees and tall rocks created an envelop of darkness. They were far away
from anyone else; and there was hardly a sound. The Lord was praying, and the disciples were
sleeping.
And it's then that the vision came. This leads us to
3. WHAT THE THREE WITNESSES SAW (vv. 2-3)?
Matthew tells us that "He was transfigured before them". His external form was changed. We're
not told very much about this; and perhaps it's best that we're not. We are told, however, what
God has wanted us to know.
We're told that the Lord's face "shone like the sun" (v. 2). Can you imagine what that must have
been like, during that dark night in that secluded place? Were the disciples awakened by the
brightness? Did they think, at first, that they had overslept and that daylight had fallen on them?
Did they have to hold their hands to their eyes to shield themselves from the brightness?
The Bible tells us that, long ago, Moses face shone. We're told that when he came down from
Mount Sinai from the presence of God, with the law in his hands, "that Moses did not know that
the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him" (Exodus 34:29). Aaron and the children of
Israel saw it; but were afraid to approach near Moses because of it. But it also tells us that "the
glory of his countenance was passing away" (2 Corinthians 3:7).
Moses' face shone with the glory of God; but it faded away because it was only a "reflected"
light. Moses, if I may put it this way, was like the moon. The light with which it shines is only a
reflected light, borrowed from the sun. But here, we're told that Jesus' face radiated—not from
being in the presence of God; but because He truly was God. His was not a mere reflected light;
but was like the sun itself in its brightness and strength. This stressed the very resurrection glory
of Jesus that we read about in Revelation 1:16—where we're told that "His countenance was like
the sun shining in its strength."

And we're also told that our Lord's "clothes became as white as the light" (v. 2). Mark, in his
Gospel account, tells us that His garments became "exceedingly white, like snow, such as no
launderer on earth can whiten them" (Mark 9:3). In Revelation 19:14, we read of the armies of
heaven that will accompany the Lord on the day of His glorious return; that they will be "clothed
in fine linen, white and clean." Perhaps this is meant to convey to us the unspeakable purity and
holiness of our Lord in His glory.
* * * * * * * * * *
It's hard to grasp what a stunning and shocking sight this must have been! And that's not all that
the three disciples saw. Matthew writes, "And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
talking with Him" (v. 3).
There's a question that preachers are sometimes asked: "Will we recognize our loved one's in
heaven?" I've always responded by saying; "Well; you recognize them now, don't you? And
aren't you going to be even smarter in heaven?" But if anyone needed scriptural proof, I would
suggest that here it is. How did the disciples know that this was Moses and Elijah? They hadn't
seen pictures of them before. Jesus didn't seem to make any introductions. And they certainly
weren't wearing name-tags. As these two Old Testament saints appeared to them in glory with
the Lord, the disciples simply 'knew' who they were. I have no doubt that we'll know our loved
ones in glory too.
Stop and think of who it was that was that spoke with the Lord. Moses was the great Old
Testament giver of the law. And Elijah was among the greatest of the Old Testament prophets.
And I would suggest that their presence with the Lord was symbolic of how Jesus Himself is the
subject of the two great divisions of the Old Testament scriptures—that is, of the Law and the
Prophets. Jesus spoke to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection; and
"beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things
concerning Himself" (Luke 24:27).
And what's more, Luke, in his Gospel, tells us what it was that they were talking about—that
Moses and Elijah "appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to
accomplish in Jerusalem" (Luke 9:31). Moses and Elijah—the representatives of the Law and the
Prophets—appeared and spoke with our Lord concerning the work for us that He was about to
accomplish on the cross! As Jesus once taught about Himself; "Do not think that I came to
destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to
you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till
all is fulfilled" (Matthew 5:17-18).
* * * * * * * * * *
What a revelation this was of our Lord in His glory! He is what Peter said He was—the Christ,
the Son of the living God! God walked on this earth in human flesh! The Man who died on the
cross is the theme of the Scriptures! And here, on this mysterious and wonderous night, He
pealed back the flesh of His humility to reveal the splendor of His deity to His friends.
And now, let's notice . . .

4. WHAT THEIR REACTION WAS (vv. 4-6).
As you read the Bible, one of the things that you notice is that Peter is usually the first one to
step forward and blurt out something—whether it was a good idea to say or not. I think that's
why I love him so. I am all too much like him. Sometimes, my problem is that heart may be in
the right place . . . but my foot definitely isn't.
As he beheld the glory of the Lord Jesus on display, and as he saw Moses and Elijah in glory
talking with Him about His coming sacrifice for us, Peter was overwhelmed. He said to Jesus;
"Lord, it is good for us to be here" (what an understatement!); ". . .if You wish, let us make here
three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" (v. 4). When Luke told this
story, he added that Peter said these things, ". . . not knowing what he said".
First of all, Peter was right to say that it was good to be there. It certainly was! Jesus' glory was
on display! Moses and Elijah came and spoke to Him! Peter, James and John were in a very
privileged place! And it's understandable that Peter would think to put some tabernacles up, and
want to stay.
But once again, Peter was missing the point. Jesus was not going to stay on the mountain-top—
as wonderful an experience as it was—and put His glory on display in this way forever. He was
still committed to the Father's purpose for Him—the very purpose about which Moses and Elijah
had come to speak with Him. There was still the "decease" that He about to accomplish. He still
needed go to the cross.
And second, Peter erred terribly in wishing to build "three tabernacles": one for the Lord Jesus,
one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Peter erred in placing them all on equal standing. If anything,
Peter, James, John, Moses and Elijah—all five—should have built a tabernacle for Jesus. Those
glorified Old Testament saints were simply the servants in the house; but Jesus was the Master of
that house. The apostles and prophets are the foundation; but Jesus alone is the chief cornerstone.
* * * * * * * * * *
And I believe that there are a few spiritual lessons for us in this. For one thing, we may wish to
linger in the moments of glory. We may wish to 'build tabernacles on the mountain-tops', and
stay in those wondrous moments forever. But we can't. That was not the Father's purpose. It was
enough that Jesus' glory is revealed. That assures us that we will share in that eternal glory with
Him forever. But for now, so long as we walk on this earth, we need to come down from the
'mountain-top' times, and take the truth about Jesus into the world of hurting people below.
Second, notice that the glory of Jesus at that time was so wonderful (though frightening) that the
disciples would have rather left everything behind and stayed there for as long as they could.
And if such a temporal display of the glory of Jesus was so wonderful, then what must heaven be
like--where we will see the full display of His glory forever?
And finally, we need to remember in all of this that Jesus is being put on display as unique. He
does not share status with anyone else—not even the greatest of saints, such as Moses or Elijah.
They were great messengers of God; but their message was about Jesus Christ. And it's Him—
not His servants—that should receive our attention and worship.

* * * * * * * * * *
That last point is made very clear to us in what happens next. We're told that while Peter was still
speaking those words, "a bright cloud overshadowed them . . ." (v. 5). This was no ordinary
cloud. It was a "bright cloud"; and it seemed to encompass them—as if to silence them and place
a holy veil over the things that they were then seeing. Can you imagine, given all the things that
had already occurred, what a terror this would have put them into?
It's hard not to see, in this cloud, a reminder of the glorious cloud—the Shekinah glory—that
covered Mount Sinai at the giving of the law (Exodus 19:18); or that later filled the Tabernacle
in the wilderness (Exodus 40:34-35), and the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 7:10-11). And now,
as the glory of Jesus Christ—God in human flesh—is being revealed, this cloud once again
comes as a covering.
And it was from the midst of this cloud that God the Father spoke. The voice of the Father
rumbled from within this cloud to the three trembling disciples, saying, "This is My beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" (v. 5). And as a result, the disciples spoke no more!
They fell on their faces and were greatly afraid (v. 6).
This is the second time in the Gospel of Matthew that we're told that the voice of the Father
spoke. The first time was at Jesus' baptism. And at that time, He said essentially the same thing:
"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). Here, however, He
stresses the command, "Hear Him!" The Father, speaking from the cloud, says the very thing that
Peter confessed—the very confession that Peter was told didn't come from 'flesh and blood', but
that had been revealed to him by the Father Himself—that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the
living God."
Before everyone else—before every other human teacher or preacher—even before Moses and
Elijah themselves—we must let Jesus Christ be heard! The Father has pointed out Jesus and said,
"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" If only people who scramble
around the world, and claim that they were seeking "truth", would learn from this story! Their
search would be over!
* * * * * * * * * *
So; consider what has happened. The awesome, kingly majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ was put
on display. Select men were given a preview of His majesty. Moses and Elijah appeared with
Him in glory, and spoke with Him about His upcoming sacrifice. A bright cloud—the very
Shekinah glory of old—covered the scene. And the voice of the Father in heaven announced Him
to these three witnesses.
And that's when we see . . .
5. WHAT THEY WERE TO DO WITH WHAT THEY
WERE SHOWN (vv. 7-9).
They were cowering in fear. But when it was over, Jesus came, touched them, and displayed
great gentleness to them. He told them, "Arise, and do not be afraid" (v. 7). He wasn't there to
cause them more terror. They had seen what they needed to see; and had heard what they needed
to hear. It was all over now. And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Him. Moses

was gone. Elijah was gone. The cloud was gone. The voice of the Father was gone. All they saw
was Jesus—with the words of the Father, "Hear Him!", still echoing in their ears.
And it's then that Jesus leads them down the mountain. And as He leads them back to the crowds
below, He gives them a strict command: "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen
from the dead" (v. 9). They didn't understand. Mark tells us that "they kept this word to
themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant" (Mark 9:10).
I suspect that the reason Jesus commanded them to tell no one until after His resurrection was the
same reason He commanded them to keep silent about Him after they affirmed Him as the
Christ, the Son of the living God (v. 20). His divine destiny—His purpose from the Father—
remained the same. Though His glory had been displayed, He still must go to Jerusalem, must
suffer in the hands of unjust men, and must die on the cross for our sins. What meekness our
Savior displays in this! He possessed such power and glory as was displayed on the mountain—
and yet, He hid it all and willingly went to the cross for us!
* * * * * * * * * *
What a strange, scary story this was! But every word is true. Everything happened, just as it was
reported to us.
And it's one of those strange, mysterious stories that is meant to take us up beyond ourselves, and
give us an encounter with the 'transcendent' power of God. It is meant to shake us down to the
core; and give us "holy goose-flesh". It's meant to change us forever. It is meant to inspire us
with the overwhelming sense that Jesus Christ is everything that He said He was; and that we can
invest our eternal destiny in Him. It's meant to remind us that He truly will come in the glory of
His Father, with His angels, and reward each according to his works. It's meant to teach us that
we can safely deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.
At least, that's the conclusion Peter himself came to. Many years after this event, just before he
laid down his own life as a martyr for the Lord Jesus, Peter sought to urge his fellow Christians
to keep on following Jesus. He sought to remind them of the things they had been taught. And he
added 'punch' to his appeal by saying these words:
For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power
and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He
received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the
Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard
this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so
we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in
a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts . . . (2 Peter
1:16-19).
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Copyright © 2007 Bethany Bible Church, All Rights Reserved

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