Matthew 16:27-28

Matthew 16:27-28
Jesus has given some clear absolutes for anyone who would “come after” Him. A person must deny himself, lose his life for Christ’s sake, and take up his cross and follow Him. Verse 27 begins with the word “for.” In other words, here is the reason this is so important. In fact, Jesus gives two reasons why anyone who wants to be saved must change the focus of their life.The first reason is because Jesus is going to return and repay each person according to his deeds. It is a sobering thought to understand that we are going to be held accountable for our choices in this life. Therefore, we are presented with two alternatives. One is to live for ourselves and then stand condemned before the Lord and the other is to give our lives to Him and be rewarded with eternal life. Some might think, “Why not enjoy all the pleasures of this life now and worry about eternity later?” The problem is that living for self is not an enjoyable life. The consequences of sin and pleasure will take its toll. As Ecclesiastes says, even a life without God, in which sinful pleasures are kept in restraint, is “vanity of vanities.” In other words, to not live for the Lord is to “shoot yourself in the foot.” It is self-defeating both now and in eternity.

The second reason Jesus gives for giving oneself up for Him is that the kingdom was about to begin. This is what every Jew had been waiting for. No Jew in their right mind would purposely miss out on the coming of the kingdom of God. Notice that Jesus states that the kingdom was so imminent that some of them would not die until they saw Jesus coming in His kingdom. Mark 9:1 is the parallel verse where Jesus says, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.” In other words, the kingdom would come within their lifetime. In fact, in Acts 2:34-36, Peter proclaims that Jesus had been enthroned in His kingdom in heaven. Paul stated in Col. 1:13 that people were being transferred from the power of darkness into the kingdom of God’s Son. Jesus “came” in His kingdom when He ascended into heaven and the apostles “saw” that coming through the pouring out of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus had promised He would send once He took the throne (John 16:7-15). Those today who teach that we are still looking for the coming kingdom have completely misunderstood the scriptures. Jesus said the kingdom would come before the apostles died. If the kingdom didn’t come, Jesus was either misinformed or a false teacher.
Berry Kercheville