Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 16:27
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
27. For ] The reason given why the higher life the soul is of priceless value: (1) The Judge is at hand who will condemn self-indulgence and all the works of the lower life, and will reward those who have denied themselves. (2) Further ( Mat 16:28) this judgment shall not be delayed it is very near. The same motive for the Christian life is adduced by St Paul, Php 4:5, “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” Cp. 1Co 16:22.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mat 16:27-28
For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father.
The coming of the Son of Man
1. The judgment of the world has been committed to the Son as Mediator, as an appropriate honour to One who had humbled Himself for the redemption of the world.
2. Christ is qualified to be Judge, as the Son of God, of the same essence as the Father; the perfections of the Godhead will appear glorious in Him.
3. The saints in judgment will be manifested as the doers of the will of God upon earth.
4. The work of the Judge will be, not to justify, or to make righteous, but to prove the saints by their works, that they are righteous already.
5. Men will be judged by their works, to show that God in the work of mans salvation supports the cause of infinite holiness.
6. Judgment will not be according to the works visible to men, but to all done in secret.
7. Judgment according to works will condemn the ungodly, and make them dumb before God. (D. Charles.)
I. The son of man As the promised, manifested, ascended One.
II. His reappearance on earth Predicted, possible, necessary.
III. His superhuman glory. His herald, person, retinue is glorious.
IV. His important work. To raise the dead, change the living, judge all, reward each, resign the reins of government into His Fathers hand. (A. Macfarlane.)
I. That the Lord Jesus Christ shall return to this earth as a man in the glory of God with His angels.
II. That all Christs believing people shall appear with Him.
III. The Lord at His coming in His glory shall reward every man according to his works. (H. McNeile.)
An awful premonition
Compared with the doom which will be inflicted upon the ungodly at the coming of Christ, the death of nature is nothing.
I. The sinners death is but a faint presage of the sinners doom at the coming of the Son of Man in his glory.
1. We can make but little comparison between the two in the point of time. Physical dying is but the work of a moment; the doom of the wicked when Christ comes will never die.
2. In point of loss there is no comparison.
3. Neither does death hear any comparison with the last judgment in point of terror.
4. The pains of death are not comparable to the pains of the judgment at the second advent.
II. In the state of separate spirits they have not fully tasted of death, nor will they do so until Christ comes. Till after the second advent their bodies do not suffer; they know that this present state will end, after judgment no end; they have not been put to the shame of a public sentence. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Waiting for Christs coming
I saw a picture the other day in a shop window, with which I was greatly pleased; it represented a room in which was a window looking out upon the sea; a lady with a grave, anxious face sat by the window, and two little children were playing on the carpet. On the table lay a letter, which seemed just to have been opened, and against the wall was hanging the portrait of a gentleman. There was very little writing underneath the picture, and very little was wanted; for I could understand the story which the picture was intended to tell, as plainly as if the painter had told me himself. The father of these little children was evidently absent from them beyond the sea. There was his portrait, but he was far away. But he had sent them s letter containing the joyful news that he was coming home again! And so there was the mother sitting at that window, day after day, and looking across the wide waters, in the hope of at last seeing the white sails of the ship which should bring the long-expected one home. Now this picture, I think, may remind us of what the Lord Jesus used to tell His disciples about His coming again. (Ready for work.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 27. For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father] This seems to refer to Da 7:13-14. “Behold, one like the Son of man came – to the ancient of Days – and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, and nations, and languages should serve him.” This was the glorious Mediatorial kingdom which Jesus Christ was now about to set up, by the destruction of the Jewish nation and polity, and the diffusion of his Gospel through the whole world. If the words be taken in this sense, the angels or messengers may signify the apostles and their successors in the sacred ministry, preaching the Gospel in the power of the Holy Ghost. It is very likely that the words do not apply to the final judgment, to which they are generally referred; but to the wonderful display of God’s grace and power after the day of pentecost.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This verse makes it plain, that our Saviour by in the former verse understood the soul of man, or eternal life, that blessed state which is prepared for the saints of God; for he here minds them that there shall be a last judgment, and gives them a little description of it.
1. As to the Judge, the Son of man, him whom you now see in the shape of a man, and whom men vilify and contemn under that notion. He is to be the Judge of quick and dead, Act 10:42; 2Ti 4:1.
2. As to the splendour of it. He shall come in the glory of his Father. It is also his glory, Joh 17:5; he calls it the glory of his Father, because by his eternal generation he received it together with the Divine nature from his Father, and it was common to him with his Father; or because his commission for judgment was from his Father:
For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, Joh 5:22.
With his angels; his holy angels, 1Th 1:7.
And then he shall reward every man according to his works: not for his works. Our Saviour is not here speaking of the cause of the reward, but the rule and measure of it: According to his deeds, Rom 2:6.
According to his labour, 1Co 3:8. According to that he hath done, 2Co 5:10. Not according to his faith, but works, for faith without works is dead; but these works must spring out of a root of faith, without which it is impossible to please God. He shall reward him, by a reward of grace, not of debt, Rom 4:4. Works shall be rewarded, but not as with a penny for a pennyworth, but of grace.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
27. For the Son of man shall come inthe glory of his Father with his angelsin the splendor of HisFather’s authority and with all His angelic ministers, ready toexecute His pleasure.
and then he shall reward,&c.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For the son of man shall come in the glory of his Father,…. This is a reason, proving the truth of what is before asserted, that men’s lives may be lost by saving them, and be found by losing them, whatever paradoxes they may seem to be; and that the loss of a soul is irrecoverable, and no compensation can be made for it; and points out the time, when all this will appear: for nothing is more certain, and to be depended upon, than that Christ, who, though he was then a mean and contemptible man, and attended with the sinless infirmities of human nature, wherefore he calls himself, “the son of man”, should come; either a second time to judgment at the last day, in the same glory as his Father, as his Son, equal with him, and clothed, with power and authority from him, and as mediator, to execute judgment: with his angels; the Holy Ones, so the Syriac and Persic versions read, and so some copies; who will add to the glory of his appearance; and will be employed in gathering all nations before him, and in executing his will: or, in his power, to take vengeance on the Jewish nation; on those that crucified him, or did not believe in him, or deserted and apostatised from him. And then he shall reward every man according to his works, or work; either that particular action of putting him to death, or their unbelief in him, or desertion of him; or any, or all of their evil works, they had been guilty of: for though good works are not the cause of salvation, nor for which men will be rewarded; though they may be brought into judgment, as proofs and evidences of true faith, in the person, blood, and righteousness of Christ, by which good men will be acquitted and discharged; yet evil works will be the cause of condemnation, and the rule of judgment; and the reason of adjudging to temporal punishment here, and eternal destruction hereafter.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
27. For the Son of man will come. That the doctrine which has just been laid down may more deeply affect our minds, Christ places before our eyes the future judgment; for if we would perceive the worthlessness of this fading life, we must be deeply affected by the view of the heavenly life. So tardy and sluggish is our mind, that it needs to be aided by looking towards heaven. Christ summons believers to his judgment-seat, to lead them to reflect at all times that they lived for no other object than to long after that blessed redemption, which will be revealed at the proper time. The admonition is intended to inform us, that they do not strive in vain who set a higher value on the confession of faith than on their own life. “Place your lives fearlessly,” says he, “in my hand, and under my protection; for I will at length appear as your avenger, and will fully restore you, though for the time you may seem to have perished.”
In the glory of the Father, with his angels. These are mentioned to guard his disciples against judging of his kingdom from present appearances; for hitherto he was unknown and despised, being concealed under the form and condition of a servant. He assures them that it will be far otherwise when he shall appear as the Judge of the world. As to the remaining part of the passage in Mark and Luke, the reader will find it explained under the tenth chapter of Matthew. (469)
And then will he render to every one according to his actions. The reward of works has been treated by me as fully as was necessary under another passage. (470) It amounts to this: When a reward is promised to good works, their merit is not contrasted with the justification which is freely bestowed on us through faith; nor is it pointed out as the cause of our salvation, but is only held out to excite believers to aim at doing what is right, (471) by assuring them that their labor will not be lost. There is a perfect agreement, therefore, between these two statements, that we are justified freely, (Rom 3:24,) because we are received into God’s favor without any merit; (472) and yet that God, of his own good pleasure, bestows on our works a reward which we did not deserve.
(469) Harmony, vol. 1 p. 466.
(470) “ Alibi is a general reference, but en un autre passage is more specific; and the passage to which he probably refers the reader for a distinct exhibition of his views, and in which, so far as I remember, he handles this subject more fully than in any other part of the Gospels, is Joh 4:36.” — Ed.
(471) “ A faire bonnes oeuvres;” — “to do good works.”
(472) “ Sans que nous en soyons dignes, ou l’ayons meritd;” — “without being worthy of it, or having deserved it.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(27) For the Son of man shall come.The fact stands in a logical relation to the preceding verse. The fact that the Son of Man is about to come to execute judgment, clothes its abstract statement with an awful certainty. No bribe can be offered to the Eternal Judge to change the sentence of forfeiture if that forfeiture has been rightfully incurred. From first to last in our Lords teaching (e.g., for its earlier stages, Mat. 7:23-24; Joh. 5:26-27) this claim to be the future Judge of all men is never absent. It is asserted in every great discourse, implied in almost every parable.
With his angels.We are justified by Mat. 25:31 in referring the possessive pronoun to Christ rather than the Father. All things that the Father hath are Mine (Joh. 16:15), and among these the angels that do His pleasure.
His works.The better MSS. give a word in the singular, his doing or conduct. The sentence is made to depend on the collective character of what has been done rather than on the multitude of individual acts.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
27. For This particle shows that the verse which it introduces explains and enforces the consideration of the previous verses. To save one’s life to gain the world with the loss of the soul, is a bad bargain, for the judgment day is coming. Shall come From heaven at the end of the world. In the glory of his Father angels The same words describe the scenic splendour of his judgment advent in Mat 24:31. Reward For every suffering there shall then be a compensation. In view of this reward at the judgment day, they were to toil and suffer for the consummation (described in the next verse) of Christ’s kingdom on earth.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“For the Son of man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then will he render to every man according to his deeds.”
The last part of this verse is cited from Psa 62:12 where it is God Who does this. For in the end all must be judged in the light of the final day. One day Jesus will come as the Son of Man, coming in the full glory of His Father, the glory that He had with Him before the world was (Joh 17:5), accompanied by His angels, those angels who had remained faithful to God from the beginning, and they will then render to every man in accordance with what he has done. None will escape the searching eye of God. For all things are open to Him with Whom we have to do. The only thing that will not have to be accounted for is forgiven sin.
‘The glory of the Father’ does not just indicate glorious light. It indicates all the resources of the Father. For in the Old Testament a king’s or nation’s ‘glory’ was often its armies and its wealth (e.g. Isa 8:7; Isa 10:3; Isa 16:14; Isa 17:3; etc.).
For those who are truly His this will be a glorious day. The dead in Christ will rise first, and then those who are alive and remain will be taken up to be for ever with the Lord (1Th 4:13-18). The elect will be gathered in (Mat 24:31). The wheat will be gathered into the barn (Mat 3:12; Mat 13:30; Mat 13:43). And then in that day they will receive according to what they have done, as the Lord rewards His own (Rom 14:10; 1Co 3:13; 1Co 4:5; 2Co 5:10). But for those who are not His, who have not heard His words and done them, there will only be ‘outer darkness’ and the weeping and gnashing of teeth as they see that they have lost everything by their folly (Mat 8:11-12; Mat 13:42; Mat 13:50; Mat 22:13; Mat 24:51; Mat 25:30). For them there will be no glory and no light, only everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power (2Th 1:9).
The fact that the Son of Man comes in the glory of the Father is an indication that He has previously come to God in the clouds to receive His Kingship and glory (Dan 7:14), for that is why He can return in that glory to deliver His people and judge the world. So when the next verse speaks of Him ‘coming in His Kingly Rule’ (but not in His glory) it may be seen as suggesting a distinction between the coming in Kingly Rule and the coming in glory (compare His distinction in Luk 4:19 between ‘the acceptable year of the Lord’ and ‘the day of vengeance of our God’, the latter of which He omits because it was not coming at the same time. In the same way in Mat 16:28 he omits the glory).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 16:27. For the Son of man shall come, &c. That the argument in the preceding verse, by which the necessity of self-denial is so clearly established, might have the greater weight, our Lord spake more particularly concerning the rewards and punishments of a future state; assuring his disciples, that they are all to be distributed by himself, the Father having appointed him universal Judge; so that his enemies cannot flatter themselves with the hope of escaping condign punishment, nor his faithful friends be in the least afraid of losing their reward: and to encourage them the more, he told them, that he would come to judge the world, not in his present low and contemned state, but most magnificently arrayed, both in his own glory, and in his Father’s. See Luk 9:26. He would come, not attended by twelve weak disciples, but surrounded with numberless hosts of mighty angels, to reward every man, not with the honours of a temporal kingdom, great offices and large possessions, but with the joys of immortality. See the Inferences and Reflections at the end of this chapt
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 16:27 . ] justifies and confirms what Jesus has just stated with respect to the loss of the . I say that not without reason; for assuredly the time of the second coming and of a righteous retribution is drawing near ( being put first for sake of emphasis).
. .] in the same glory as belongs to God . For in this state of glory (Joh 17:5 ) the ascended Christ occupies the place of of God.
] the conduct , the sum of one’s doings, including, in particular, that self-denying adherence to their faith and their confession on which, above all, so much depended, in the case of the apostles, in the midst of those persecutions which they were called upon to endure.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. (28) Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste of’ death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom,
These verses are blended as if expressive of the same truth. Every coming of Christ is glorious, both when he comes first to awaken a soul, and in all the after visits of his grace, until he finally comes to take his redeemed home to glory. And Jesus puts his name, the Amen, the faithful witness, to the truth of it, that some then present would not, like holy Simeon, sec death until they had seen Christ’s kingdom of grace, leading to a sure kingdom of glory. And this was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, and is fulfilled in every instance of a redeemed soul, when awakened from darkness to light, and from the power of sin and Satan to the living God.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Ver. 27. In the glory of his Father with his angels ] Great will he the glory of the man Christ Jesus at his second coming. He shall come riding on the clouds (not that he needs them, but to show his sovereignty), environed with flaming fire, mounted on a stately throne, attended by an innumerable company of angels (for they shall all come with him, not one of them left in heaven, 2Th 1:7 ; Mat 25:31 ), who shall minister unto him in this great work irresistibly, justly, speedily, Rev 15:6 , Christ himself shining in the midst of them, with such an exuberance and excess of glory, as that the sun shall seem but a snuff to him. This glory, however it is here called “The glory of the Father,” because he is the fountain, as of the Deity so of the divine glory wherewith Christ is crowned, Phi 2:9 ; 1Ti 3:16 ; yet is it his own glory (as he is one with the Father and the Holy Ghost), and so it is called, Mat 25:31 ; Joh 17:5 . Now if Israel so shouted for joy at Solomon’s coronation, and in the day of his espousals, that the earth rang again, 1Ki 1:40 ; Son 3:11 ; if the Grecians so cried out ” Soter, soter ” Saviour, Savior, to Flaminius the Roman general, when he had set them at liberty, that the very birds, astonished at the noise, fell down to the earth: oh, how great shall be the saints’ joy to see Christ the King in his beauty and bravery at the last judgment!
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
27. ] A further revelation of this important chapter respecting the Son of Man. He is to be JUDGE OF ALL and, as in ch. Mat 13:41 , is to appear with His angels, and in the glory of His Father the , Joh 17:22 . Mark and Luke place here, not this declaration, but that of our ch. Mat 10:33 . Our Lord doubtless joined the two. Compare ch. Mat 24:30 ; Mat 25:31 .
implies, “And it is not without reason that I thus speak: a time will come when the truth of what I say will be shewn.”
. ] his work, considered as a whole .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 16:27 . points to something near and certain; note the emphatic position. . ., the counterpart experience to the passion; stated objectively in reference to the Son of Man , the passion spoken of in the second person (Mat 16:21 ). In Mk. both are objectively put; but the disciples took the reference as personal (Mar 8:32 ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mat 16:27 . his belongs to a third group of texts to be taken into account in an attempt to fix the import of the title those which refer to apocalyptic glory in terms drawn from Dan 7:13 . : the Son of Man comes to make final awards. The reference to judgment comes in to brace up disciples to a heroic part. It is an aid to spirits not equal to this part in virtue of its intrinsic nobleness; yet not much of an aid to those to whom the heroic life is not in itself an attraction. The absolute worth of the true life is Christ’s first and chief line of argument; this is merely subsidiary.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
the glory. The sufferings are never mentioned apart from the glory (Mat 16:21). See App-71, and Compare Mat 17:1-9.
reward = render to.
according to. Greek. kata.
works = doing.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
27.] A further revelation of this important chapter respecting the Son of Man. He is to be JUDGE OF ALL-and, as in ch. Mat 13:41, is to appear with His angels, and in the glory of His Father-the , Joh 17:22. Mark and Luke place here, not this declaration, but that of our ch. Mat 10:33. Our Lord doubtless joined the two. Compare ch. Mat 24:30; Mat 25:31.
implies, And it is not without reason that I thus speak: a time will come when the truth of what I say will be shewn.
.] his work, considered as a whole.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 16:27. , is about to come) A stronger expression than will come. As the teaching concerning the person of Christ is immediately followed by that concerning His Cross, so is the latter by that concerning His glory.-, then) All things are put off till then.- , He will render to each individual) This is the attribute of Divine Majesty; see Rom 2:6.[770]-, action, conduct, doing) The word is put in the singular, for the whole life of man is one doing.[771]
[770] There is most frequent recurrence of this expression in Scripture.-V. g.
[771] From which, according as it is subject to Christ or to the belly, many works continually, and as a natural consequence, either good or else bad, come forth (result).-V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
the Son: Mat 24:30, Mat 25:31, Mat 26:64, Mar 8:38, Mar 14:62, Luk 9:26, Luk 21:27, Luk 22:69
with: Mat 13:41, Mat 13:49, Dan 7:10, Zec 14:5, 2Th 1:7-10, Jud 1:14
and then: Mat 10:41, Mat 10:42, Job 34:11, Psa 62:12, Pro 24:12, Isa 3:10, Isa 3:11, Jer 17:10, Jer 32:19, Eze 7:27, Rom 2:6, 1Co 8:8, 2Co 5:10, Eph 6:8, 1Pe 1:17, Rev 2:23, Rev 22:12-15
Reciprocal: 2Ch 6:30 – render Job 21:19 – he rewardeth Pro 12:14 – and Ecc 3:17 – God Isa 59:18 – According Eze 18:20 – righteousness Eze 18:30 – every Eze 24:14 – according to thy ways Eze 33:20 – I will Hos 12:2 – according to his doings Mat 5:12 – for great Mat 6:1 – otherwise Mat 19:28 – when Mar 13:26 – General Joh 1:51 – the Son Joh 5:22 – General Joh 21:22 – If Act 3:20 – General Act 7:56 – the Son Rom 2:16 – God 1Co 3:8 – and every Gal 6:5 – General 1Th 4:16 – the Lord 2Th 1:9 – the glory 1Ti 5:21 – the elect 2Ti 4:1 – who Tit 2:13 – the glorious 1Pe 4:13 – when Rev 12:7 – and his Rev 14:16 – he Rev 20:12 – according Rev 21:23 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6:27
It has been nineteen centuries since Jesus uttered the words of this verse, but he wished his disciples to have something to look for as a reward for their sacrificing everything necessary to save their soul and gain that which is worth more than all this world. They were expected to rely on the promise of Christ because of their faith in him, because the reward would not come in their lifetime.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 16:27. For. The reason this transaction is so unprofitable is now given.
The Son of man, who now in humble form asks to be followed on the path of suffering.
Shall come in the glory of his Father. Through suffering to glory. He spoke first of His own sorrows, then of His peoples; now He predicts glory and triumph; theirs also, because His. In this second coming, afterwards more fully spoken of (chaps, 24, 25), He shall appear as Judge of all, in the glory of God the Father, and the attendants shall be his angels. Both a threatening and a promise in view of the judgment which it involves.
Unto every man according to his doing. His whole character and conduct. This depends upon the effort either to save the lower life or gain the higher. This doing results from faith or unbelief.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
There is a twofold judgment spoken of by this evangelist St. Matthew, namely, a particular coming of Christ to execute vengeance on the Jews, at the destruction of Jerusalem; and a general coming at the day of judgment.
If we understand this place of the latter, we have then, 1. The judge described, The Son of man, he who was and is both God and man, shall judge both angels and men.
2. The splendour of that day declared, He shall come in glory with his holy angels. The attendance of angels shall be required by Christ not for necessity but for majesty.
3. The work and business of that day demonstrated, and that is, To render to every man according to his work.
Learn, That the judgment of the great day will be most glorious and righteous: Christ will be glorious in his person, and glorious in his attendance: and the judgment will be according to righteousness, Without respect of persons, according to what has been done in the body.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
THE SECOND COMING
Mat 16:27-28. For the Son of man is about to come in the glory of His Father, with His angels, and will then give to each one according to his work. Truly, I say unto you, There are certain ones of those standing here who may not taste of death, until they may see the Son of man coming in His kingdom. Mar 8:38; Mar 9:1 : For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and wicked generation, truly, the Son of man shall be ashamed of him, when He may come in the glory of His Father, with His holy angels. And He said to them, Truly, I say unto you, That there are certain ones of those standing here who may not taste of death until they may see the kingdom of God having come in power.
Luk 9:26-27 : For whosoever may be ashamed of Me and My words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He shall come in His glory, and that of the Father, and that of the holy angels. And, truly, I say unto you, There are certain ones of those standing here who may not taste of death until they may see the kingdom of God. Very pertinently does our Savior here follow that terribly rigid and close sermon on discipleship, by one of the grandest of all possible inspirations, to settle the problem of discipleship, at any and every conceivable cost, making sure of heaven if we lose everything else, which is certainly the normal verdict of sound intelligence.
a. As this passage, recorded by Mark and Luke, reads in E.V., it has been the puzzle of millions. I know not why they give us the future tense, indicative mode, when the Greek has the present subjunctive. Within about one week from the time of this utterance, Peter, James, and John actually witnessed a prelude of His second coming on the Mount of Transfiguration.
For not having followed cunningly devised fables, having made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but having been eye-witnesses of His majesty. . . . And we heard this voice borne from heaven, being along with Him in the holy mount. (2Pe 1:16-18.)
Here you see, Peter certifies that they witnessed His power and coming, while they were with Him in the holy mount. Now what was that holy mount? Why the Mount of Transfiguration, which they actually visited in a few days from that time, it being the preliminary coming of the Lord in His glory; i.e., an actual adumbration of His second coming. As Peter, James, and John were all present in His audience, and actually witnessed this prelude of His second and glorious coming, we, on the Mount of Transfiguration, have a preliminary fulfillment of this prophecy.
b. Within forty years of that date, while many of those people were still living, the Lord actually came, in His awful retributive judgments on the unbelieving Jews, executing righteous retribution for the rejection of His Son, destroying Jerusalem, and desolating the land with the awful scourge of the Roman armies, putting an end to the Jewish State and nationality, and annihilating the Jewish polity. Some able critics here find the fulfillment of this prophecy.
c. On the day of Pentecost the kingdom did certainly, as Mark says, come in power, having been on earth during the ministry of our Savior; but in the fiery baptisms and rushing tempest on the day of Pentecost it certainly did come in the signal manifestation of unprecedented power.
d. I see no reason why we may not take the whole passage as it is, and apply it to the existing generation, as it simply affirms a gracious possibility; i.e., there are some of those who are standing here, who may not taste of death until they may see the Son of man coming in His kingdom. Hence you see it simply affirms a gracious possibility on the part of that generation to see the Son of man coming in His glory, with the glory of the Father and the holy angels, before they pass away. You must remember that man has always been a failure. He failed in Eden; failed in antediluvian times; failed after the flood, landing in Egyptian slavery; failed in Judaism, rejecting and murdering their own Savior; and, according to the prophecies, will fail in the Gentile age, bringing on the tribulation, and forfeiting the millennium. Is not this very discouraging? O no! While man is a failure under all circumstances, God is an invariable and glorious success. Hence, all of these human failures should only inspire us to give up humanity, and fly to God, sinking away, lost in Him, to spend an eternity of bliss. The generation contemporary with Jesus was no exception. There was a gracious possibility for that generation to have preached the gospel to every nation, and so evangelize the world as to meet the condition of our Lords return (Mat 24:14); as in that case He would have returned in His glory before the death of that generation. Here our Savior assures us, Whosoever may be ashamed of Me and My words, in this wicked and adulterous world, the Son of man shall be ashamed of him, when He may come in the glory of His Father, with His holy angels. Remember, this is the peroration of that awful sermon on discipleship, which nowadays is dodged, perverted, and misconstrued by clergy and laity, laying under contribution all their wits, to devise an easy way to heaven, washing, dressing, and educating old Adam, and taking him along with them. N.B. In a similar manner we find so many tender footed on the coming of the Lord, which our Savior here gives in immediate connection with His exposition of discipleship. The true, blood-washed, fire-baptized, and Spirit-filled disciple is not troubled when we preach the coming of the Lord, but elated with heaven-born enthusiasm, causing him to leap, shout, and run to meet Him. Jesus here calls the people who are ashamed of Him and His words, a wicked and adulterous generation. Far from shame or embarrassment at the coming of the Lord, we should be watching and waiting, and ready with shouts, to meet Him. And now, little children, abide in Him, in order that if He may appear, we may have boldness, and not shrink with embarrassment from Him at His coming. E.V. says we may not be ashamed. This is the same word which our Lord uses with reference to His words and His presence when He comes in His glory. Hence we should all be so saved and sanctified as to put us in perfect harmony with the words of Jesus; so we do not want to turn and twist them about, nor evade their force in any way, but want them to remain just as Jesus gave them. And as to Himself, He is the fairest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely. Since His ascension, the widowed Church has mourned the absence of her Heavenly Spouse, and longed for His return, even now watching and waiting, ready to run to meet Him with shouts of triumph. So be sure that you are not ashamed nor embarrassed, when you read His Word, and contemplate His personal coming in a cloud this day.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
16:27 For the Son of man shall come {u} in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
(u) Like a King, as Mat 6:29 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God’s future judgment of His disciples, as well as Jesus’ example, should be an inducement to deny self, identify with Christ, and follow Him (Mat 16:24; cf. Mat 10:24-25). This verse teaches both eschatology and Christology. Jesus will come with the glory of His Father when He returns to earth at His second coming (Rev 19:11-16). Jesus is the Son of Man (Dan 7:13) who will come with the same glory that God enjoys. The angels will enhance His glory and assist Him in gathering people for judgment (Mat 13:41; Mat 24:31; Mat 25:31-32; Luk 9:26). The angels are under Jesus’ authority. Then He will reward each person according to his deeds (conduct). Conduct demonstrates character. Again Jesus referred to the disciples’ rewards (cf. Mat 5:12; et al.). The prospect of reward should motivate Jesus’ disciples to deny self and follow Him. The disciple who does so simply to obtain a reward has not really denied himself. Rewards are precisely that: rewards.
The rewards in view seem to be opportunities to glorify God by serving Him (cf. Mat 25:14-30; Luk 19:11-27). The disciple will have greater or lesser opportunities to do so during the millennial kingdom and forever after in proportion to his or her faithfulness on earth now. The New Testament writers spoke of these rewards symbolically as crowns elsewhere (cf. 1Co 9:25; Php 4:1; 1Th 2:19; 2Ti 4:8; Jas 1:12; 1Pe 5:4; Rev 2:10; Rev 3:11). It is perfectly proper to serve Jesus Christ to gain a reward if our motives are correct (Mat 6:19-21). We will one day lay our crowns at the feet of our Savior. The crown is an expression of a life of faithful service that we performed out of gratitude for God’s grace to us (cf. Rev 4:4; Rev 4:10). [Note: For a helpful introduction to the study of the Christian’s rewards, see Zane C. Hodges, Grace in Eclipse.]
Both Jesus and Paul urged us to lay up treasure in heaven, to make investments that will yield eternal rewards (Mat 6:19-21; Luk 12:31-34; 1Ti 6:18-19). It is perfectly legitimate to remind people of the consequences of their actions to motivate them to do what is right. That is precisely what Jesus was doing with His disciples here.
"By including this discussion here Matthew once more emphasized the program of the Messiah as it is based on Daniel’s prophecy. The Messiah must first be cut off (Dan 9:26), a period of intense trouble begins at a later time (Dan 9:27), and finally the Son of Man comes in glory to judge the world (Dan 7:13-14). Thus the disciples must endure suffering, and when the Son of Man comes in His glory, they will be rewarded." [Note: Toussaint, Behold the . . ., p. 208.]
"In the third part of this story (Mat 16:21 to Mat 28:20), Matthew describes Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem and his suffering, death, and resurrection (Mat 16:21; Mat 17:22-23; Mat 20:17-19). Jesus’ first act is to tell his disciples that God has ordained that he should go to Jerusalem and there be made by the religious leaders to suffer and die (Mat 16:21). On hearing this, Peter rejects out of hand the idea that such a fate should ever befall Jesus (Mat 16:22), and Jesus reprimands Peter for thinking the things not of God, but of humans (Mat 16:23). Then, too, Peter’s inability to comprehend that death is the essence of Jesus’ ministry is only part of the malady afflicting the disciples: they are also incapable of perceiving that servanthood is the essence of discipleship (Mat 16:24)." [Note: Kingsbury, Matthew as . . ., p. 162.]