And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”
28th October 2024: Horsham
This passage is commonly misunderstood as implying that the end of time – the end of the world – would take place during the lifetime of some of the disciples. Jesus, some would like to say, got this bit wrong.
Not a bit of it! I want to suggest that this is a complete misreading of the words of Jesus.
I’m going to let NT Wright explain!
‘Jesus thinks, it seems, that the kingdom of God will come during the lifetime of some people present. It has been fashionable to take Mark 9:1 as a classic example of misplaced hope, with Jesus and the early Christians looking for the end of the space-time world and the establishment of a totally different existence. But that’s not what Jewish language like the good world that God made and loves. Jesus seems to think that evil will be defeated and the kingdom will come, precisely through his own suffering and death.’
NT Wright: Mark for Everyone; p111
I read this passage as a prophecy in the words of Jesus. It is seen to come to pass in the lifetime of many who were present at the time it was given. With the death and resurrection of Christ, and following the death of one of the disciples (Judas Iscariot), we see the power of God break out in amazing and extraordinary ways, empowering the remaining disciples, exactly as prophesied by Jesus.
‘Till they see the kingdom of God coming with power – So it began to do at the day of Pentecost, when three thousand were converted to God at once.’
John Wesley: Ultimate Commentary on Mark, p2464
Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK