Matthew 16:27-28 are some of the most mysterious and enigmatic verses of the Gospel, and indeed of the New Testament itself. They directly concern the prophecy given by Jesus that he would return in glory within his present generation, and that some of his listeners would not ‘taste death’ before the coming of the Heavenly Father’s Kingdom.
These are the verses in full:
“The Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s Glory with his angels… Some of you standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom” Matthew 16:27-28
How to Explain Matthew 16:28
A straightforward reading of these verses clearly suggests that the Lord expected the imminent fulfilment of the eschatological events he had preached throughout his ministry. If it is accepted that Jesus and his disciples were young men at the time these words were spoken, aged in their twenties or early thirties, then the events he referred to should have taken place within forty years at the most. This is based on a life expectancy of 60-70 years. This is a generous estimate. From references in the book of Psalms and other parts of the Bible it is clear that some people did live to the age of 70, although this wouldn’t have been the case for most of the followers of Jesus. Jesus’ disciples were drawn predominantly from peasants and poor fishermen. A life expectancy of 40 – 50 years would have been more realistic.
The Historical context
Therefore, if these words were spoken in A.D. 30 – 33, the fulfilment of Our Lord’s prophecy should have taken place between A.D. 60 and A.D. 70 at the latest. This causes a problem, because many Christians do not believe these events were fulfilled in a literal sense, and that this prophecy remains to be fulfilled. They take Jesus’ reference to his ‘generation’ as referring to the age of the Christian Church itself, and not to the generation of his physical contemporaries. This has led modern critics to attack the Bible, citing it as proof that Jesus was wrong in his predictions and that the Bible is therefore not infallible.
It has also caused considerable contention, debate and confusion among Christians. Preterism offers a theological explanation of Matthew 16:28 that is true to a literal interpretation of the Bible, while also remaining faithful to history and science.