Matthew 16:27,28 - For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father's glory

16:27

Reward is a concept we are sometimes wary of and reluctant to talk about. Perhaps this is a response to the nonsense that prosperity preachers peddle. However, the correct response is to teach what the Bible teaches, and Jesus was not afraid to speak about rewards. And look at what He is dealing with in this section. Jesus is talking about the cost of following Him, being prepared to lose our own life, to make sacrifices, and one of the motivations for this is the reward He will bring. Jesus will return “in His Father’s glory”, and will “reward everyone according to what they have done”! It is worth standing up for Jesus, the reward is great. That is not the whole story, but it is part of it and we need to embrace this part, along with the rest of the story.

16:28

This verse speaks about the disciples seeing Jesus come in His kingdom. Some see this as referring to the transfiguration, which we are going to be told about next, but this seems an unlikely meaning. For while the transfiguration was significant it was hardly the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. The more likely explanation is that it refers to the post-resurrection church. Remember that this section began with Jesus foretelling His death. To the disciples this seemed like a complete disaster, but after the resurrection they would see that it was the greatest event in history, and at Pentecost a new kingdom came into the earth.  We should note that it says “in His kingdom”. The church is part of the kingdom of Christ, it is His kingdom, and of the increase of His kingdom there shall be no end.