Understanding Matthew 16:28

 

Question: How do we understand the Lord Jesus' statement in Matthew 16:28 "Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom"?

 

Answer:

To understand the statement of the Lord Jesus related to the Lord's Kingdom, or the Kingdom of Heaven, we need to keep in mind some other statements as well. It is a general tendency that as soon as we come across the phrase "Kingdom of Heaven" or "Kingdom of God", we start thinking of and understanding it as referring to the future Kingdom of God that will be established at the end of the world and after its final judgement. There is nothing wrong with this, it is okay to think along these lines, but here this is not the only understanding of what the Lord has said. Because if this seen as the only possible explanation, then this joins it to the second coming of the Lord, which is an event of an uncertain date, and people have been waiting for it for nearly 2000 years. Therefore, the understanding the Lord’s statement of Matthew 16:28 in that context seems impractical, and difficult to accept, leading to the confusion related to the acceptance of this statement of the Lord. But if we look at Matthew 21:31, where the Lord Jesus while responding to His opponents and critics says, “… Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.” We see here that the Lord Jesus is referring to the entry of tax-collectors and harlots into the Kingdom of Heaven/God in the present continuous tense, and not the future tense (‘they will enter’), nor of any uncertainty (‘will be able to enter’). The evident implication is that at the very time when the Lord Jesus was saying this, the entry into the Kingdom of Heaven/God was happening, it was underway. Therefore, to understand that the only interpretation of the statement ‘entry into the Kingdom of Heaven/God’ was to see it as a future event would not be a factual interpretation, or the only applicable meaning.

To understand this statement of the Lord given in Matthew 16:28, consider some things the Lord Jesus had said regarding the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of heaven, during His time of Ministry on earth:

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel'" (Mark1:14-15). The Lord began His ministry with the call to repentance, since “Kingdom of God is at hand” – pay attention to the words of the Lord, the kingdom is not in the distant future, but is at hand – it’s time has come; He did not say that the kingdom is going to come, rather, that the time is fulfilled and it is at hand.

The Lord Himself says in Luke 11:20 "But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you"; implying that the presence of the Lord and His working shows that the Kingdom of God is present. Sometime later, "Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."" (Luke 17:20-21 – the ‘within you’ here can also be translated ‘amongst you’ or ‘in your midst’ – as is done in HCSB, ESV2011, NASB, EBR, LEB, NET, TS2009 translations). At the beginning of His ministry the Lord says that the Kingdom if God is at hand; during the ministry, He teaches the learned Pharisees, the scholars of God's Word, that the Kingdom of God does not come like a thing or an event, but was already present amongst them right at that very moment, implying it was amongst them because of the presence of the Lord amongst them. If they believed in the Lord, if they accepted the Lord, then they would enter the Kingdom of God.

Look at Mark 12:28-34; the Scribes want to trap the Lord regarding the commandments of God; at the end of this conversation the Lord says to that one Scribe who had asked Him the question and then had unquestioningly accepted the Lord's answers as correct, “Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." But after that no one dared question Him” (Mark 12:34). The Lord Jesus was saying to that Scribe that by virtue of having accepted the correct understanding of God's commandments, you are quite near to the Kingdom of God, now take the next step and turn this theoretical knowledge into a practical experience, apply your knowledge in your life practically, obey the commandments of the Lord, and you will enter the Kingdom of God.

From the above we can understand that the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of heaven, that the Lord Jesus talked and taught about, it was accepting the Lord as Savior, coming into His obedience, becoming submissive to Him, which is in accordance with John 1:12-13 – becoming a child of God by coming into faith in Him, and thereby becoming entitled to be with Him in His Kingdom.

A short while before His being betrayed and caught for crucifixion, the Lord Jesus in John 14:18-20 also said to His disciples: “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” In other words, the Lord promises His disciples to always be with them after His sacrifice and resurrection. Although unseen, yet since then He always has been with His disciples.

Through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the Cross, and His resurrection from the dead, the way to salvation, to entering heaven got opened and became available for all of mankind, and anyone can now enter through faith in Him and repentance from their sins; i.e. the Kingdom of heaven or the Kingdom of God was now available to everyone.

Keeping these things in mind, when you see what the Lord Jesus said to Peter in Matthew16:19 and in the preceding verses in context of the formation of the Church, i.e. the body of Christian Believers, then that which the Lord Jesus said to Peter can be paraphrased and understood as follows: “I will give to you the keys to get people into heaven, i.e. the way to salvation, and whosoever accepts that key, i.e. the gospel of salvation, the door to enter heaven will open for that person; but the one who rejects that key, i.e. rejects the gospel of salvation, the door to enter heaven will be closed for that person” – and we see in Acts 2 that at the first using the key of the gospel i.e. preaching of the gospel done by Peter, three thousand people repented and accepted the Lord, and became His disciples (Acts 2:41), i.e. by accepting the key of the gospel, the door to enter heaven was opened for them.

The same context also applies to Matthew 16:28. At the time when the Lord Jesus had said this thing, many of those who were then present there would also have been present at the time of Peter's first preaching, and would have been living till the establishing of the first Church, and it is quite possible that many of them would have been witnesses of this incidence of Acts 2. These witnesses then would have seen the arrival of the Kingdom of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the lives of those coming into faith in the Lord Jesus, and these witnesses would have seen the transformation it brought in the lives of those who came to faith in the Lord Jesus – all this before the witnesses themselves got to taste death. Moreover, as the Lord Jesus had promised, He was with His disciples then and is with them even now. In this manner all aspects of Matthew 16:28 are fulfilled in the establishment of the Church through the first preaching of Peter in Acts 2; and there is no necessity to see this in context of the second coming of the Lord – which is the greatest obstacle in accepting this statement, as the only valid fulfilment if this statement.

This again goes to show that to avoid falling into errors in understanding God's Word, it must always be seen and studied in its context and in light of other related verses or passages of the Bible.

Understanding Matthew 11:12

 

    Matthew 11:12 is one of the enigmatic passages in The Bible, and various commentators have given different interpretations and meanings to it.

While coming to an understanding of such passages, it should be kept in mind that language and usage of words do change over time, and what a particular word meant at some time in the past (in the original as well as the translated language), may not necessarily be exactly the same as we understand it now.

One of the reasons for the difficulty in understanding this verse is the use of the word ‘violence’ and ‘violent’ and the negative connotations that we generally associate with these words in our common usage. The NIV translation uses the words ‘forcefully’ and ‘forceful’ instead, which though does mellow down the negative connotations but does not entirely do away with them. The original Greek word used in the text of this verse can mean both of the above as well as mean ‘being energetic’.

By using the alternative meanings of the original Greek words, we can also render this verse as follows: “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven is being pressed into through forceful and energetic efforts of the committed ones” (Matt 11:12 Paraphrased); which brings it more in line with the related verse – “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it” (Luke 16:16).

With this background, a possible interpretation and understanding of the verse can be: “From the time John the Baptist started giving the call to repent and undergo the baptism of repentance, till now, those who responded to his call have done so with a resolute mind and firm determination, striving to withstand all opposition and to persevere in the call steadfastly.”

But do also keep in mind that when Lord Jesus spoke these words, the era of salvation by grace had not been initiated. At that time the people still believed in righteousness by works of the Law, which is why they believed in being forceful or industrious, and energetic in their efforts to be acceptable to God. Moreover, Lord Jesus categorically used the words “From the days of John the Baptist until now”, setting a definite time frame for the applicability of the condition; and neither subsequently in the gospels, nor later in any of the epistles has this (being ‘violent’ or ‘forceful’ or ‘energetic’) been mentioned ever again as an exhortation or precondition for gaining entry into the Kingdom of God. So it would be wrong to surmise from this verse that strong self-efforts are required or are a prerequisite for gaining entry into God’s Kingdom.

But energetic and determined efforts to grow in the Christian faith and maintain the sanctity of their Christian calling after being saved by grace through repentance of sins and coming to a personal faith in Lord Jesus has always been the call for all Born Again children of God, as we see from Paul’s example of persevering and forcefully disciplining himself for the sake of his ministry, and teaching the same perseverance and willingness to endure to young Timothy from passages such as 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, 2 Timothy 2:3-5 & 4:7.

In other words, for us living in this age of grace, salvation is by God’s grace not any self efforts, but maturing in faith and being active and effective for our Lord does require our being energetic and forceful in disciplining ourselves as well as facing opposition in the practice of our faith.

Will Back-Sliders go to Heaven?

Question:

Once a person is saved, if he back-slides, then will he go to heaven?

Answer:

Whosoever has been saved, i.e., voluntarily and with a true heart, has repented of his sins, accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal savior, has asked for forgiveness of his sins from Him, and has submitted his life to Him, only that person will go to heaven by the grace of God – but only God knows the actual spiritual condition of man, therefore it is only God who can decide on who will go to heaven, and who will not.

According to God’s Word, the Bible, it is very clear and firmly established that salvation is forever, i.e. is eternal. The writer of the epistle to Hebrews, writing about the Lord Jesus Christ’s work to provide salvation to mankind writes, “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,” (Hebrews 5:8-9). The Lord Jesus also said that He will give eternal life to all who believe in Him (i.e. an endless and indestructible life for all eternity, eternal life) and at the same time also assured that no one will be able to take the saved ones out of the Lord’s, or God’s hands (John 10:27-29) – this statement of the Lord has very serious and extremely important implications. On the basis of this promise from the Lord, to lose one’s salvation implies that, somehow Satan has been able to snatch away the saved persons from the Lord’s, or God’s hands, and taken possession of them again. If at all somehow this were to be possible, it would mean that three impossibilities have become possible – first, that Satan is more powerful than God; second, that the Lord Jesus spoke a lie, He gave a false assurance that no one will be able to take away a saved person from the hand of the Lord or of God; and third, that the Lord does not know about Satan’s power or His own power, or God’s power; He is just saying things without any basis! Since any and all of this is an absolute impossibility and can never happen, therefore it is evident that any person who has been saved, on the basis of John 10:27-29 can never ever lose his salvation. And since those who are saved are no longer under any condemnation (Romans 8:1), therefore those who are actually saved, will most certainly enter heaven, whatever be their state of maturity in faith and standing in spirituality.

But it is only the Lord God who knows, who is an actual Christian Believer and who is not. For example, take Judas Iscariot; he was called to be a disciple by the Lord, he stayed in fellowship with the Lord, he learnt from the Lord, he too went for preaching in the power and instructions from the Lord, along with the other disciples, and along with the disciples he too preached the gospel, he too did miracles, but in the end he was called ‘the son of perdition’ and ‘the only one lost’ (John 17:12), and went into eternal destruction. The Lord Jesus towards the end of His Sermon on the Mount had said that not everyone who calls Him ‘Lord’ will enter into heaven, even though they may have abundantly preached, worked miracles and done other remarkable works in the Lord’s name – the Lord called all such works as ‘iniquity’ – and made it clear that only they will enter heaven who are obedient to God and work according to the will of God (Matthew 7:21-23). Therefore on the basis of the evident behavior, preaching, and works of any person we can never say for sure that all those who claim to believe in the Lord and everyone who preaches or works in His name, is actually a saved person! Paul also cautioned and exhorted that Satan and his angels come as angels of light and apostles of Christ to deceive people (2 Corinthians 11:3, 13-15). Therefore it is only God who knows the fact of a person’s being saved, and only He can decide, and does decide, about a person’s being saved or not.

The Bible also says that there will be Christian Believers who truly repented and came to the Lord with a true heart, they were really saved, but they did not do anything that could be considered worthy of being rewarded by the Lord. At the time of judgement when their works are evaluated, they will surely enter heaven because they are saved, but will enter empty handed, without any rewards, and remain so forever for all eternity (1 Corinthians 3:9-15). Like for everyone else in the world, even the Christian Believers will face judgment on the basis of their works, rather, the beginning of judgement will be with the Christian Believers (1 Peter 4:17-18), but the judgement of the Christian Believers will not be for their salvation, but for giving them eternal rewards based on the evaluation of their works – salvation is not based upon works, but rewards are based on works. Salvation is only by the grace of God through repentance from sins and coming to faith in the Lord Jesus; not through any works of any kind, nor by fulfilling any traditions, or rituals, or carrying out religious observances of any kind (Ephesians 2:1-9).

There are many such people who after coming into the Christian Faith, for some reason or the other, back-slid or fell away from the Faith, but the Lord in accordance with His promise (Hebrews 13:5) did not leave or forsake them. Sooner or later, through some way, Lord brought them back into the Faith, and subsequently they were used mightily for the Lord, and through their witness and example of returning back into the Faith they became a source of encouragement and courage to others who were weak in, or had fallen away from the Faith. If we look at it from our current context, then the time when the Lord Jesus had taken the penalty of the world’s sins upon Himself, at that time we had no physical existence. Also, nowhere is it written in the Bible that the Lord took upon Himself and suffered the penalty of only those sins of the people which they had committed before coming to the Lord – i.e., the sins they had committed before being saved; and the Lord has left the remedy of their sins committed after their being saved in their own hands, by virtue of their works – this is an impossibility – how can a part of salvation be dependent upon the grace of God, and the remaining part be based on the works of a person? 

The Lord has paid in full, the penalty for all the sins of all the people committed in their entire life-time, at whatever time in the history of the world they have existed. He has made available not a just partial but the complete way out from the deadly consequences of every person's entire sin burden of their entire life-time; now there is nothing left for any person to accomplish by his own efforts to live a saved life. When the Lord has taken upon Himself all the sins of every person, from their birth to their death, has paid in full for them, then which sin is left that will hinder the person from entering heaven? Is his sin of back-sliding or falling away from the Faith not a part of the sins of his lifetime, the price for which has already been paid in full by the Lord? 

And if, supposing, having been cleansed on being saved, a person is able to maintain his life pure and sinless by his own efforts, works, and abilities, then he could have done the same before being saved as well – then the Lord's coming has been in vain; rather, the sinful, mortal man, actually has become greater than the Lord God! Since if this were possible, then man merely by his works, can accomplish that for which the Lord had to leave heaven and come down as a man to earth, suffer ignominy and torture, and had to sacrifice His life – this is an absolutely inconsistent and impossible contention! Moreover, which saved person can in all honesty say that since salvation, he has never – physically, mentally, or in thoughts, ever committed any sin? The Apostle John says: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (1 John 1:8, 10) – take note that though he was a saved person and an Apostle, yet, through the use of the word "we" he is including himself amongst the sinners referred to in this verse. Therefore what difference if any is left between those who have back-slid or fallen away from the Faith, and those who haven't? The one falling away has also sinned, and those who are still in the Faith, they too have sinned or do sin – and since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), therefore both of them are in a similar situation, and both are justified before God not by their works of any kind, but solely by the grace, forgiveness, and love of God, and both are made acceptable for entry into heaven through the grace and forgiveness of God.

Therefore for those who have back-slid or fallen away from faith, instead of criticizing and condemning them, we should pray for them; and we should leave their returning back into the Faith and being useful for the Lord in the hands of the Lord, to be accomplished according to the time and plan of God.

Worshiping and Glorifying God - Part 8: Guaranteed from Heaven

Guaranteed from Heaven

The spiritual principle of God multiplying and returning manifold back to us of whatever we invest for Him and for His work in His will is not conjecture, but one stated by none other than the Lord Jesus Himself; and simultaneously He has also assured us that of whatever we invest for God, the returns will be a hundredfold.

To a query put up by Peter, “Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time--houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions--and in the age to come, eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30). Take note of the assurance given in the infallible words of the Lord – a guaranteed from heaven hundred-fold return on whatever investment we make for the sake of the Lord and the gospel.

The Lord here is making an offer of double returns – hundredfold on earth, and eternal life in the age to come. Don’t get put off by the words ‘with persecutions’ – we face them even in our secular jobs which we do for the world. Which one of us can say that we have no problems or issues in our secular jobs? We all have them; we all put up with them, and we all continue to work with them, well knowing that they will always be there. If we were to be given an offer by a CEO of a company of an absolutely guaranteed hundred-fold return on each and every investment we make under that offer in his company, although along with some problems; how many of us would let the offer of increasing our worldly wealth a hundred-fold pass? If we are willing to take those ‘persecutions’ in our stride for returns on secular jobs on the assurance of some man, why not be willing to do the same for the Lord?

The answer to this predicament is in the incidence immediately preceding Peter’s query and the Lord’s answer – read Mark 10:17-18, to see the full picture. The Rich Young Ruler had a desire for eternal life, a reverence for the Lord and he did believe that the Lord will provide him the answer to his quandary; but what he did not have was the trust to act on the Lord’s solution. The Lord did provide him the solution (Mark 10:21-22), but it was too radical, too unexpected and seemed too steep a price to pay; and he left disappointed, just as he had come. What the Lord was asking him to do was no different from what the Lord had taught His disciples – Give to Get: “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).

This is the same place where most of us falter and suffer loss – despite our reverence for the Lord, our belief in Him, our desire for eternal things, we are not willing to take the Lord at His Word; we want to listen to what He has to say to us, but do not have the courage to obey Him. We are not willing to let go of that which God has placed in our hands but is asking us to let go. God wants us to have faith in Him, that when we voluntarily empty ourselves at His behest, He will fill us up with even more and even better. It is only when we give, when we empty ourselves that we make available to God the required space to fill us up abundantly with new and better blessings.

It is said that ‘better’ is often the enemy of the ‘best’; don’t let the ‘better’ which you now have prevent you from getting the ‘best’ that God wants you to have. Invest, sow what you have for God’s kingdom in His field, and prepare to receive the bountiful harvest.