Matthew 16.27-28 Mark 8.38-9.1 Luke 9.26-27

Matthew 16:27, 28
27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS. 28 “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
Mark 8:38; 9:1
38 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” 1 And Jesus was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
Luke 9:26,27
26 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 “But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
The future is an important aspect of our relationship with God.  Jesus wants His disciples to clearly understand what the future holds so they can prepare for it and be motivated by it.  In our previous passages Jesus told His disciples about the immediate future involving His suffering, death and resurrection as well as the disciple’s path of suffering as they take up their cross and follow Him.  Jesus now wants to remind them of the distant future and His second coming which will be much more glorious.  It is important to understand that the pain and injustice we see all around us because of sin is not a permanent condition.  There is nothing going on in the immediate future that will not be made right in the distant future.  God wants us to live in light of eternity and not according to the standards of this fallen world.

THE RETURN OF CHRIST: The disciple of Jesus should be willing to take up his cross and follow Jesus because of the return of Christ in the future.  There are two comings of Christ.  The first coming was what the disciples were experiencing at that moment.  The second coming will be in the future.  In the first coming Jesus would be hung on the cross.  In the second coming He will be wearing a crown.  The price of sin had to be paid and the truth of the Gospel must be proclaimed in all the nations of the world.  This involves suffering, injustice, rejection and shame.  However, the history of earth as we know it will come to an end.  Jesus will return and this time all His glory will be revealed.  It will be a great a glorious day and all who follow Christ should look forward to that day.

THE REWARDS FROM CHRIST: When Jesus returns in all His glory, He will not come empty handed or without a mission to accomplish.  In His first coming He came to be judged in our place for our sin.  In His second coming He will come as Judge to reward men according to their deeds.  Scripture makes is clear that Jesus will reward His faithful servants with crowns that likely represents opportunity and authority in the Kingdom.  These crowns will be deposited at the feet of Jesus as we recognize that anything we many accomplish on earth was done in His strength and is for His glory.  It is not clear exactly what the rewards for faithfulness to the Lord will be but we can rest assured that they are worth any sacrifice we might have to make now in order to gain them then.  However, the judgment of the second coming will not just be about rewards.  Those who are not faithful, reject Christ and are ashamed of Christ now will experience the shame of Christ then.  We do not want Jesus to be ashamed of us before the Father.  We want Him to represent us before the Father and reward us.  The cross is an instrument of shame, but it is far better to embrace the shame of the cross today than it is to endure the shame of Christ for all eternity.

A REVELATION OF CHRIST: Jesus promises that a few of the disciples would be given a revelation of Christ coming in His glory before they died.  They might have understood and expected for the kingdom of God to be established in their lifetime, but that is not what Jesus had in mind.  It is most likely that Jesus was referring to the experience that Peter, James and John would have in the immediate context on the mount of transfiguration.  Jesus would give them a glimpse of His glory so they might have a greater understanding of the kingdom that would come.  During the first coming of Jesus the glory Christ was veiled so that in many respects He appeared just like any other man.  He endured pain, suffering and death in order to pay sins price.  However, in the second coming of Christ, all of His glory will be clearly and definitively revealed.  Some of the disciples would have a small foretaste of that reality.  One day we who believe in Him will have the joy of living in the presence of His glory for eternity.


APPLICATION: Recognize that no matter how much we may suffer on earth, the return of Christ is not far off.  Be motivated by the rewards that Jesus has promised to those who are faithful.  Be warned of the shame of Christ abiding on those who are ashamed of Him now.  Anticipate that glorious day when we too will see Jesus in all of His glory.

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