Was Jesus Wrong About the End of the World?
Some will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come in power!
There is a famous passage in the Gospels where Jesus says that his audience will see the kingdom of God/Son of Man come in power!
Consider these parallel verses:
And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power” (Mark 9:1).
Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (Matt 16:28).
There’s a great video on the Matthean version of the passage by Jeannine Brown over at Logos (much recommended).
There are several options on how to understand this text:
End of the World (and Jesus was wrong). You could say that this saying is a prediction of the imminent and full arrival of the kingdom within a single generation, the life of his disciples. Since it never happened, the world is going on and on, therefore, Jesus was simply wrong about the end of the world.
BUT … is the kingdom of God/Son of Man coming in his kingdom, referring to the end of the world, a revolution within the world, or simply one big brick being laid down in the edifice of the kingdom? Who said “kingdom of God” = “end of the world”? Besides, if most of the disciples had died when Mark and Matthew wrote this, why would they record a saying that supposedly proved that Jesus was wrong?
Verdict: Big no from me!
The Transfiguration. Other scholars note the literary context in Mark and Matthew whereby the saying is immediately followed by the transfiguration (Mk 9:2-8; Mt 17:1-8). Therefore, what the disciples are promised to see is a preview of Jesus in his glory!
BUT … Jesus said some standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power. Given that the transfiguration happened only six days later, and little chance of death was encountered in that time, the gravity of the promise does not seem to hold. You get the impression that after some peril or danger the kingdom of God will be seen. Plus, is the transfiguration, glorious as it was, really the kingdom of God in power? It seems more like a teaser or taster of the kingdom, not the kingdom of God in power.
Verdict: This is a popular view, but I find it unconvincing.
The destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. If like me you take a preterist view of the Olivet Discourse (Mark 13; Luke 21; Matthew 24-25) then you might be tempted to say that Jesus is saying that within one generation (“some standing here”) the temple will be destroyed as an act of judgment and the vindication of Jesus. This could resonate with similar sayings like Mt 10:23 and Mk 13:24-31 which uses similar language about the destruction of the temple.
BUT … there’s a lot of resistance to the preterist view (this passage is about the Jerusalem temple and not the final judgment or the second coming of Jesus). I am generally preterist, so I get it, but I’m still not convinced that this is either a second coming promise or about judgment on the temple. There are better options on the table.
Verdict: Maybe!
Pentecost and the Giving of the Spirit. Is Jesus promising the disciples that they will see the power of the kingdom when they receive“power from on high” when the Holy Spirit comes upon them at Pentecost? Makes sense in light of Lk 24:49 where Jesus promises the disciples precisely this!
BUT … this interpretation requires Lucanizing the text. Ironically, the saying does not appear in Luke and therefore using distinctive Lucan material to understand it seems like special pleading.
Verdict: Appealing, but probably not.
The Resurrection. Okay, this is the second-best option, so that the disciples will see God’s royal power in the resurrection of Jesus and this is the kingdom of God in power. If married to the ascension, this could explain the Matthean version of the Son of Man coming into his kingdom.
Verdict: Bookmark this option, but I think there’s a better one!
So what do I think Jesus meant when he said that the disciples would not taste death before they see the kingdom of God in power?
My view is a minority position, but one I still find rather compelling!