Today through reading various scriptures and people’s criticism against our Lord Jesus, I came across one from many criticisms which hearkened my heart and would like to find out from our understanding of the bible and in particular words that Jesus uttered during His days on earth. Has Jesus ever been wrong in HIS words? For example, when He said on three occasions in the New Testament (Matthew Chapter 16:28; Mark Chapter 9:1; and Luke Chapter 9:27), we read that Jesus promised people standing around him that some would not taste death before he comes with his kingdom. They argue that EVERY ONE OF THEM DIED, proving him to be a false prophet. They add that the real messiah will come, and he will resolve all the differences between the faiths. Can this be true?
Your views please!
Your views please!
3 comments:
1. Human will never know everything about God. We only know what is revealed to us (Deutronomy 29:29)
2. To get a clear meaning of what Jesus was speaking about we must read the story which is in Mathew 16:28 to 17:8, Mark 9:1-8, Luke 9:27-36. Petro, Jacob and John were amoung those who were standing around when He was speaking these words, and they (only 3 men) saw Jesus covered with glory and God manifested his Kingdom by a great voice declaring Jesus to have com from God.
3. Jesus' words still hold to date (Luke 21:33), He also was speaking to a Generation (Luke 21:32). This human generation is not past. So it still is 'some of us who read this message will not test death untill we see Jesus coming in His Kingdom'
No false prophet will have such a sympathy to human being as what Jesus had (and He still have)
NO! NO! NO! Jesus has never been wrong, and will never be wrong in his words!
Here it goes, Matthew 16:28 states, "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." Parallel passages are found in Mark 9:1 and Luke 9:27. The key is found in what immediately follows each of these verses. Jesus calls Peter, James, and John, takes them up to a high mountain and is transfigured before them while Moses and Elijah come down to discuss His coming death. Consider the things that point to this being the event Jesus referred to in Matthew 16:28.
1. Jesus "was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light" (Matthew 17:2). This matches the glorified appearance of Christ in Revelation 1:13-18 where "his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength" (Revelation 1:16).
2. Of Moses and Elijah, the Bible says that they "appeared in glory" (Luke 9:31). They did not just appear in a natural way but "in glory." Colossians 3:4 states, "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." This points directly to the coming of Christ in glory (Matthew 24:30).
3. When the disciples awoke, they looked at Christ and "saw his glory" (Luke 9:32). This is a very powerful statement. They saw the glorified Christ. They saw Him as King of Kings.
4. A cloud overshadowed them and the Father said, "This is my beloved Son: hear him" (Luke 9:34-35). This too points to the presence and glory of God in fullness and power.
5. Jesus told them not to tell of the vision until He had risen from the dead (Matthew 17:9). Ths vision was not for the time that Jesus walked on the earth before His crucifixion. It was a glimpse of His coming kingdom.
Peter, James, and John received a vision of the future kingdom and glory of Christ. They saw Him coming in His kingdom. It was to this event that Peter referred when he said, "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount." (2Peter 1:16-18). These three men were eyewitnesses of the majesty of "the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." What a glorious opportunity they had! What a glorious testimony they give!
Till He comes,
Pastor David Reagan
Dear Friend,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts regarding our Lord's prediction in Matthew 16:27-28. This certainly is a very fascinating passage. Christ promised that some would not taste of death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. I m certain that this came to pass during transfiguration!
It is important to see when Matthew 16:28 was literally fulfilled. To find a literal fulfillment we need only look to the next chapter (Matthew 17), where we find that the "some standing here" refers to Peter, James and John and "seeing the Son of man coming in His kingdom" refers to the transfiguration. This is confirmed by 2 Peter 1:16-18 where the transfiguration is said to be "the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." The transfiguration was a marvelous preview of the Lord's future coming in His kingdom majesty.
Keep in mind that in Matthew 16:21 Jesus, for the first time, told His disciples that He would suffer and die. This would create immediate questions in the minds of the disciples: "If the Messiah is to die, then what about the kingdom? Does this mean that God's kingdom program will be cancelled? Does this mean that the hundreds of prophecies about the kingdom in the Old Testament will not be fulfilled?" The Lord Jesus answered these questions by giving three of His disciples an amazing glimpse of His coming kingdom by way of the transfiguration (2 Peter 1:16-18), thus assuring them that the kingdom would indeed come in the future AS PROMISED!
JESUS never cheats, He means what he says, and say what He means!
Godbless you!
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