“But I tell you of a truth, There are some of them who stand here, who will in no wise taste of death, till they see the Kingly Rule of God.”
But He wants to nerve them for what lies ahead, and so He assures them that in spite of the necessary warning final victory is certain. Whatever the future may hold they have His guarantee that some of those present will be alive to see the triumph of the Kingly Rule of God. Some will certainly survive.
We must recognise in this that He is aware that He is speaking to many who will be bewildered at what He has been saying. They are finding it difficult to understand. The beautiful parables have been replaced by the harshest of demands. So He is assuring them that while death might lie ahead for some who proclaim His words, and hardship for all, they can be certain that the Kingly Rule of God will come before all have experienced death. This guarantee of triumph gives therefore the assurance of success, and guarantees that all who believe in Him, both living and dead, are sure of entering His eternal Kingly Rule because of its certainty of success (compare here Luke 23:42-43 where it is also true for the dying thief).
This very promise is a further indication that ‘the last days' are here. They must therefore learn to live in the light of these last days. It is not intended to be a discussion of end time theology, it is in order to nerve them for the future and to bring home the importance of bravely proclaiming His word until His Kingly Rule is established. The last days still continue and we too are called to a similar dedication.
His words are, however, ambiguous. On the one hand they can suggest, as we have seen above, that there will be those who survive to observe the coming of the Kingly Rule of God on earth, and that therefore the enemies of Christ will not prevail. Luke appears to emphasise this side of it by making it the last in a series of verses about facing the threat of death and judgment. On the other they can be seen as simply an indication that the Kingly Rule of God will come on earth within the lifetime of many of those present, the latter being a time marker, and this would seem to be mainly Mark's emphasis when he divides it off from the preceding verses, and attaches it to the following ones. Mark also appears to emphasise its close connection with the Transfiguration. Both angles are in fact true. Persecution would not wipe out the followers of Jesus, and many did survive until the visible coming in power of the Kingly Rule of God at Pentecost and beyond.
‘Some who stand here.' There may be a pointed suggestion here that not all who are listening will see the coming of His Kingly Rule, not necessarily because they have died but because they have turned back and no longer walk with Him. They have faced up to His offered choice and have gone sorrowfully away. They will miss seeing His Kingly Rule come with power.
Or it may simply be an indication that while inevitably some will die naturally others will be alive. Whichever way we take it we must not try to analyse the ‘some', it could be few or many. Jesus in His manhood knew that He did not have full knowledge of all that lay ahead. But what He did know was that among those who were now with Him were the ones through whom the word was to spread throughout the world establishing the Kingly Rule of God.
There are in fact other interpretations of the verse which we will now list along with the above:
1). That Jesus is saying that in spite of the persecution that is coming, they can be sure that some will survive through to their seeing the establishment of the Kingly Rule of God on earth, and that thus His purpose will not fail. This is therefore warning of rough times ahead but is a guarantee of the success of what He has come to do, and provides the assurance that both living and dead believers will have their part in it, some on earth, and in the end all by resurrection.
2). That Jesus is saying that the Kingly Rule of God will be seen being powerfully established on earth before all present have died, something which was fulfilled at Pentecost and after (Acts 1:3; Acts 2:1-4 fulfilling Luke 24:49; Luke 8:12; Luke 14:22; Luke 19:8) and then specifically by Paul's presence in Rome (Acts 28:31).
3). That Jesus is saying that before all have died they will see God's Kingly Rule revealed by His Judgment on His enemies, as a result of the Son of Man coming in kingly power, and that this was fulfilled by the destruction of Jerusalem (some even make the son of man Titus, arguing that the phrase simply means ‘man'). This would tie in with the continual warnings of the fate of Jerusalem Luke 13:35; Luke 19:41-44; Luke 21:6, but suffers from making into a negative what would appear to be a gloriously positive statement.
4). That Jesus is saying that the Parousia will occur before all have died, and that He was therefore mistaken. But as this does not tie in with His affirmation that He did not know the time of His Parousia (Mark 13:32) it is unlikely. He could not say both).
5). That Jesus is saying that some among them, but not all, will not die without first seeing the Kingly Rule of God established in power in their hearts by being born of the Spirit (John 3:2), resulting in their willingness to follow Him in spite of all, and seeing Him as ‘coming in His kingly power' into their hearts. (This stresses ‘They will not die until --'). Others who were present would die still in their sins.
6). That the verse is to be seen as contrasting with Luke 9:26 which speaks of those who will be ashamed of Him. Some will be ashamed of Him, but others will see the Kingly Rule of God and respond to it from their hearts as in 5).
7). That it was fulfilled in the Transfiguration in which Jesus was seen to manifest Himself as coming in His Kingly Rule to ‘some', that is to the three and to Moses and Elijah.
Perhaps then we should analyse the words more closely seeing them from the point of view of our wider background. What then have they to say to us?
Here firstly we must recognise that He here wants us to see that He is not just referring to some vague, far off promises. What He is promising is something that will come within the lifetime of some present. That there were in fact some standing there who would not taste of death until they ‘saw the Kingly Rule of God' (in Mark is added ‘coming with power').
What then does it mean to ‘see the Kingly Rule of God' or to ‘see the Kingly Rule of God coming with power'?
In neither case is there a suggestion of a glorious appearing. The thought is rather of His presence and power. What He wants to assure them of is the fact that though He must die and rise again before it occurs, that will not affect the fact that the Kingly Rule of God will come with power within their lifetime's experience. Acts will in fact be the proof that this was so. For there the Kingly Rule of God comes with power, beginning at Jerusalem and finally being established in Rome. As Jesus says in Luke 24:49, they are to ‘stay in Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high', the Kingly Rule of God will be manifested in power.
In considering the interpretation we must bear in mind that there are a number of differing aspects revealed concerning the coming of the Kingly Rule of God. These include:
1). Its presence among them even at that time. The Kingly Rule of God is in or among them (Luke 17:21). It can come to each one as he responds to Christ.
2). Its establishment by the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, resulting in His enthronement on God's throne, as described in Daniel 7:13-14, and as declared as having happened in Matthew 28:19 and Acts 2:36. This would then be revealed on earth, and ‘seen' by His sending of the Holy Spirit in power.
3) Its revelation in glory and judgment when that enthronement will be brought home to those on earth who have rejected it by His glorious appearing.
It is the second of these that is in mind here.
Further Note on Luke 9:27 (for those who wish to go into more detail).
These words in Luke 9:27 have caused a great deal of discussion, especially in view of the parallel verses in Matthew 16:28 and Mark 9:1. The basic question is, what did Jesus mean when He spoke of seeing ‘the Kingly Rule of God' here in Luke, which must be paralleled with seeing ‘the Kingly Rule of God coming in power' in Mark 9:1, and seeing ‘the Son of Man coming in His Kingly Rule' in Matthew 16:28. Note especially that the emphasis is on His ‘coming in His Kingly Rule' and on that Kingly Rule ‘coming in power'. It is not on His ‘coming in glory'. The thief on the cross would also say, ‘Remember me when you come in your Kingly Rule' (Luke 23:42), only to be informed that he would be with Him that day in Paradise (the abode of the godly dead), the inference being that he would shortly experience His Kingly Rule.
We can gain further understanding into the meaning of these words in Matthew 16:28 by comparing them with Jesus' words at His trial. There in Matthew 26:64 He said to Chief Priests, Scribes and Elders who were present at His trial, (in reply to the question as to whether He was the Messiah, the Son of God), ‘ From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power (i.e. God) and coming on the clouds of Heaven' (compare Mark 14:62). In other words a crisis point has now been reached when all will change. They may stand to try Him this day but ‘from now on' they will see that He is the Messiah, for He will manifest Himself in the way described. This was clearly intended to have present significance for His hearers, and as something that would be made apparent almost immediately, for it was stated as being ‘from now on'. And it would be understood by them in the light of their question which was whether He was the Messiah, the Son of God. Thus He was saying that ‘from now on' His Messiahship would be manifested (this explains their jeers at the cross because they thought that they had made a fool of Him and His promises - Mark 15:32; Matthew 27:42-43).
But how would it be manifested? The mention of ‘sitting on the right hand of power' would immediately turn their thoughts to Psalms 110:1, ‘You sit at my right hand' (quoted in Matthew 22:44). ‘The right hand of power' is a synonym for ‘the right hand of God', ‘power' being used, as was customary with the Jews, to avoid the use of the word ‘God', which they sought to avoid. Thus it was referring to the establishment of His kingship.
The words ‘coming on the clouds of Heaven' would remind them of Daniel 7:12-13 ‘there came with the clouds of heaven (to the throne of God) one like a son of man'. Here then Jesus speaks of His receiving Kingly Rule at the throne of God as something shortly to happen (‘from now on, from the present time'), and their ‘seeing' it in the working out of its effects.
Neither of these references would suggest to his listeners a coming to earth in glory (they were not present when that was spoken of). They would see it as something taking place in Heaven as described in Daniel 7. Both would therefore be seen by them as signifying that His claim was that He would be crowned as God's chosen king in Heaven at ‘God's right hand', and in the latter case after coming to the throne of God on the clouds of heaven. The ‘sitting at the right hand of God' indicates His coronation and the ‘coming with the clouds of heaven' is, according to Daniel 7:13, His coming to the throne of God as a divine figure in order to receive everlasting dominion.
Furthermore we note again that it is something that Jesus told them they would see, not at some time in the future, but ‘from now on, or from the present time'. This might permit a short delay, but not one of any length of time. Their ‘seeing it' does not necessarily mean that they will actually visibly observe the enthronement, but that they will observe its effects and be faced with the fact that it has happened, by seeing it in some way manifested on earth. In other words His enthronement as king would be made apparent to them in what would shortly follow. Clearly then there He spoke of His enthronement and its after effects as an event about to happen and to be evidenced on earth. We must therefore see Matthew 16:28 in that light as well.
That being so ‘see the Son of Man coming in His Kingly Rule' signifies His enthronement at the right hand of God as He came before Him ‘in the clouds of heaven' (signifying a heavenly connection) and we should note that in Matthew it is specifically stated by Jesus as having occurred at His resurrection, for He says there ‘all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth'. He had come to His Father and had received kingly rule. This would result in the going out of the disciples to ‘disciple all nations' (Matthew 28:18-19), something certainly ‘seen' by the leading Jewish authorities (Matthew 26:64) and also by the disciples (Matthew 16:28), apart of course from Judas.
Furthermore in Acts 2:34-36 Peter used Psalms 110:1 ‘sit on My right hand' to indicate the enthronement of Jesus as ‘both Lord and Messiah' at that time and directly connects it with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33). As far as he is concerned he ‘saw' the Son of Man coming in His Kingly Power as a result of His enthronement at God's right hand at Pentecost.
What then are we to make of Luke 9:27; Mark 9:1; Matthew 16:28 seen together?
Firstly we should note that the emphasis is on the coming of ‘the Kingly Rule of God' in ‘power' (dunamis) (or in Matthew ‘His Kingly Rule'). There is no thought of the ‘glory' which is elsewhere always emphasised when His final coming is baldly stated (Matthew 16:27; Matthew 19:28; Matthew 24:27; Matthew 24:30; Mark 8:38; Mark 10:37; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27).
Secondly we should remember that Jesus speaks of the Kingly Rule of God as ‘drawing near' and as something available to His hearers. In response to the question as to when the Kingly Rule of God will come, He said it was ‘among or within them' (Luke 17:21). From the time of John the Baptiser ‘the Good News of the Kingly Rule of God is preached and every man presses (enters violently) into it' (Luke 16:16; Matthew 11:12). Men were even then being made ‘disciples to the Kingly Rule of heaven' (Matthew 13:52). They must receive the Kingly Rule of God like a little child if they were to enter (Mark 10:15). The good seed in the parable were the ‘sons of the Kingly Rule' (Matthew 13:38). As Jesus said, ‘if I by the Spirit of God cast out devils, then is the Kingly Rule of God come upon you” (Matthew 12:27). Thus it was present at that time as well as something to be experienced in the future at the end time. To Jesus therefore the Kingly Rule of God was, as a result of His coming, an ever present reality, both in the present and in the future. Its revelation in power is not therefore necessarily the same thing as its revelation in glory. Its revelation in power took place when Jesus was raised and enthroned, and sent His Holy Spirit to make it effective on earth. Its revelation in glory will take place some time in the future.
Thirdly we should note that this word of Jesus is placed before the Transfiguration scene in each Gospel and connected with it specifically by a time reference e.g. ‘about eight days after' or ‘after six days'. Thus it was clearly seen as having some connection with the Transfiguration.
In the light of what we have seen earlier it is probable therefore that we are to see it as fulfilled in three ways, each interconnected.
1). It found its first partial fulfilment in the Transfiguration. There the majesty and glory of the King, hidden from the world, was revealed to His own, supported by those two pillars of God, who represented the Law and the Prophets, Moses and Elijah, who had proclaimed His word and whose ministry and word He was to bring to fulfilment. The Kingly Rule of God was seen on the mountain in embryo with its manifested power and glory, for the Transfiguration foreshadowed both the resurrection and exaltation of Christ to God's right hand brought about with power (Romans 1:4; Philippians 3:10) and His second coming in glory. Some see in this a sufficient fulfilment, for it was a unique and incredible experience for those who witnessed it, and indeed for us all. It included ‘some standing here'.
2). It found further fulfilment when Jesus, having been raised to God's right hand, appeared to His disciples to inform them that He had received from God ‘all authority -- in heaven and earth' (Matthew 28:18) and would send them out to ‘make disciples' of the nations, with ‘signs' (of power) following (Mark 16:15-18). Indeed He promised them that shortly they would receive ‘power (dunamis) from on High' (Luke 24:49 compare Acts 1:8). The Kingly Rule of God would have come with power. This too was experienced by ‘some standing here'.
3). It found its complete fulfilment when the King, having risen, sat down at God's right hand (Acts 2:34-35) and received and poured out the Holy Spirit on God's people at Pentecost (Acts 2:33), empowering them to go out throughout the known world with ‘power' (dunamis) (Acts 1:7-8; Acts 3:12; Acts 4:7; Acts 4:33; Acts 6:8) preaching the Good News of Jesus' death and resurrection, and ascension to the right hand of God where He was proclaimed both Lord and Messiah (Acts 2:36), and performing ‘miracles' (signs) before the people (Acts 4:16; Acts 4:22; Acts 6:8; Acts 8:6). Then indeed all saw the Kingly Rule of God ‘coming in power' (see 1 Corinthians 4:19-20), they saw the Son of Man, having received His dominion, coming in His Kingly Rule (Acts 7:56). For within forty years there appeared to be Christians everywhere. (And the chief priests and scribes saw it as well).
To the objection made by a few that the verse says only that ‘ some standing here' would see it we would suggest that if the words were spoken to a crowd of any size it was always likely that some would die before the event, as Judas certainly did before 2) and 3). If it is referred to the Transfiguration only ‘some' did see it (the three). For what Jesus was simply trying to say was that it would not be long delayed. It would be in the lifetime of some, but not necessarily all.
End of note.
Jesus Is Transfigured Before The Three In The Mountain (Luke 9:28-36).
The Apostles having now recognised that Jesus is the Messiah, He determines to reveal to the three chosen by Him from among them something more of what that means. He wants them to recognise that He is not just a scion of the house of David, but One Who shares the splendour and glory of God (John 17:5), One Who is greater than Moses and Elijah and all the prophets (compare Luke 20:10-12), to whom both Moses and Elijah, the representatives of the Law and the Prophets, bear witness. He is truly God's Son, God's Chosen One.
The consequence is that while they are in the mountain the fullness of His glory shines from His mortal body, and they behold His glory (John 1:14), and as a cloud covers them, God again testifies to Him as He had done at His baptism, that He is His Son, His chosen One.
It should be noted that this is the high point of the revelation of Him as Messiah, in total contrast to His family's view of Him. Since that false view we have seen His power over wind and waves, His power over a legion of evil spirits, His power over uncleanness and death, His power to feed the covenant community with bread from Heaven. Now we have the final revelation of His glory.
The passage can be analysed as follows:
a About eight days after these sayings, He took with Him Peter and John and James, and went up into the mountain to pray.
b And as He was praying, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment became white and dazzling.
c And behold, there talked with Him two men, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory, and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
d Now Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory, and the two men who stood with him.
c As they were parting from him, Peter said to “Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here, and let us make three tents, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah”, not knowing what he said.
b And while he said these things, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them, and they feared as they entered into the cloud, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my chosen, hear you him.”
a And when the voice came, Jesus was found alone. And they held their peace, and told no man in those days any of the things which they had seen.
Note that in ‘a' He takes them up into the mountain to pray, and in the parallel He is left alone with them, and when they had descended they told no one of what had happened. In ‘b He was transfigured before them, being revealed in glorious light, and in the parallel He is revealed as God's Son, His chosen. In ‘c' Moses and Elijah appear in glory and discuss His coming death and in the parallel Peter wants to build tents for each of them. In ‘d' and centrally the three behold His glory.