I have written over a dozen studies on Matthew 16:27-28 in an effort to show that the verses are one, single and united coming of the Lord. Many folks want to, actually need to, divide the verses into two different comings of Jesus, one in his Kingdom and one in the glory of the Father, because the one has Jesus judging mankind according to their works (verse-27), and the other has Jesus coming in the lifetimes of some of his listeners (verse-28). Futurists simply cannot have the Judgment occurring in the first century AD, because that must occur (according to them) sometime in the future, some 2000 years (and counting) after Jesus made his claim. I deny the futurist argument and say the context will not support their claims, neither will the rest of God’s word.
What I hope to do in this study is to magnify the context of Matthew 16:27, showing exactly what Jesus intended to judge when he would come in the glory of the Father. In doing this, I also wish to compare it with what Jesus claimed in the Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen (or Vinedressers) of Matthew 21, and with what Jesus told the Jewish authorities in Matthew 23. In comparing the constituent elements of all three passages, I hope to show that Matthew 16:27 (and by association verse-28 as well) was to be fulfilled in the first century AD.
| Matthew 16 | Matthew 21 | Matthew 23 |
| Jesus said he would be persecuted and killed by the Jerusalem authorities (v. 21). | When the wicked husbandmen saw the Son, they seized him and killed him (v. 37-39). | |
| To follow Jesus a disciple must take up Jesus’ cross (bear his shame) and follow him (v. 24). | At the time of the harvest the owner of the vineyard sent his servants for the fruits, but the husbandmen beat and slew them (v. 33-36). | Jesus told the Jewish leaders he would send his servants to them, and they would beat and kill them persecuting them from city to city (v. 32, 34) |
| For life is gained by losing one’s life (v. 25). | ||
| For what profit is there in gaining the world if one has no life (v. 26). | ||
| For the Son of Man comes in the glory of the father to judge every man (v. 27). | The owner of the vineyard will come and destroy the wicked men and lease out the vineyard to others (v. 41-43). | Upon the you Jerusalem would come the guilt of all the righteous blood from Able to the present (v. 35). |
| Some standing here will not taste of death until the Son of man comes (v. 28). | The chief priests and Pharisees perceived Jesus spoke of them (v. 45). | All this would occur in that generation in the first century (v. 35). |
Consider that Jesus foretold in Matthew 16:21-28 his own suffering and that of his servants, and notice that this very matter is the reason for his coming in the glory of the Father to judge or reward every man according to his works (verse-27). The conjunction ‘for’ (gar – G1063) connects the thought of each verse to what came before. Jesus’ coming in judgment was to vindicate his suffering and that of his disciples and the prophets before them.
Notice as well the same constituent elements are found in the Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen in Matthew 21. The wicked husbandmen beat their master’s servants and slew his son, and then the master came to slay them and turn the vine over to other servants (judgment). The same is true for Matthew 23. The Jewish authorities were responsible for the deaths of all those Jesus sent to them (as well as being responsible for killing Jesus—not mentioned in Matthew 23). Jesus said they would be held responsible for all the righteous blood that had been shed from the beginning of creation until that very day (judgment).
When did Jesus say all this would take place? In Matthew 16:28 it would be within the lifetime of some standing there. In Matthew 21 the chief priests and Pharisees perceived Jesus spoke of them. In Matthew 23 everything would be fulfilled in that very generation in the first century AD, which points to Jesus coming in judgment, as he promised to do (cf. Matthew 26:64), against Jerusalem and the Temple, cir. 70 AD.
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