What did Christ mean when he said in Luke 9-27 i tell you the truth some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of GOD?

Answer 1

That certain people would be granted a glimpse of Christ in His Glory before they died. The eleven did when they witnessed His ascension into heaven. John actually was given a vision of Christ in His Kingdom of heaven, and images of the Eternal Judgement that are still to come.

Answer 2

This is to be found in Mark 9:1, where it foreshadows Mark chapter 13. The reference is intended to be an introduction to the fuller statement in chapter 13, because the two statements are paired in Mark's chiastic structure. In Mark 9:1, Jesus briefly tells the disciples that some of them see the kingdom of God come to earth before they die. This goes unremarked until, in chapter 13 Jesus prophesies the end of the world and his own return on clouds of glory, during the lifetimes of those then living. The references to the destruction that occurred in the late 60s gives an indication of when this was expected to occur. Jesus told his listeners that they would see the Temple destroyed, and the abomination of desolation, followed by the Son of man coming in clouds of glory, and that this would take place during their own generation.

Mark 9:1 was copied more or less faithfully as Matthew 16:28 and Luke 9:27, but we find it ceases to be an introduction to their versions of the second, fuller passage, which the two later evangelists revised, with good reason.

By the 80s of the first century, when Matthew's Gospel was written, the return predicted in Mark's Gospel was becoming unlikely - the generation had already passed - and the author of Matthew had to change the emphasis away from an impending end of the world. While copying as faithfully as possible from Mark, he changed the position of the sentence about "this generation", relative to the destruction of the great buildings, so that it referred to something else altogether. He added, and emphasised, material where Jesus told the disciples that the end is not yet, and that no man knows when the end of the world will occur. Matthew 24:21 talks of great tribulation that will be followed by the end of the world and the second coming.

Luke was somewhat later than Matthew and even more clearly could not say that the destruction of Jerusalem meant the end of the world. This gospel talks about the end of the world as vaguely in the future, keeping the reference to this generation, but in reference to the need to preach the gospel.

The authors of Matthew and Luke may not have even realised that the author of Mark intended this passage as an introduction to the fuller passage. By amending their versions of the main passage, they left Matt 16:28 and Luke 9:27 hanging as obscure oracles that seems meaningless. It is only in Markthat we see it as a paired introduction to the prophecy that the world will end within the lifetimes of some of the disciples.

Answer:

This is actually covered in Matthew, Mark and Luke under the "transfiguration" account.

Jesus is quoted at the end of Matthew 16: "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." (Matt.16:28)

And takes up again with chapter 17: "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them..." (Matt.17:1-2).

Mark relates the account in chapter 9... not 13.

"And He said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power..." (Mark 9:1).

Luke 9:27 says: "...I tell you the Truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Kingdom of God."

Matthew reveals that what Peter, John and James saw was a "VISION" of the Kingdom [17:9], with Jesus, Moses and Elijah appearing to them in their "glorified" state.

The three men saw Jesus then as John describes Jesus in Revelation as He appears now at His Father's throne in heaven [compare: Matt.17:2 with Rev.1:13-16].

To be sure... all of Judaea was anticipating the establishment of the Kingdom of God on the earth around that time, because all the prophecies seemed to be pointing to it. Jesus' disciples eagerly expected Him to produce it on many occasions during their three-and-a-half years walking with Him... especially, with His promise that they would be ruling the Kingdom with Him on their own thrones:

"...ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Matt.19:28)

They were disappointed time and time, again for three years... and devastated on the night of Jesus' arrest and subsequent murder the next day. They had no clue.

Expectation of the return of Jesus Christ has been entertained by every generation since then. Rome's destruction of the Temple looked like the end of the world to them. Napoleon... World War I... World War II, were all seen by many as events signalling what men call the "end of the world" and Jesus' return.

It's the anticipation of it... and the misunderstanding of the prophecies... that's kept it alive and urgent and vital in the minds and hearts of believers. If any one of the generations since Jesus' ascension into heaven had known it was going to take over 2000-plus years before Jesus returned, and that they were going to be dead and mouldering in the grave for centuries, how "enthusiastic" might they have been about spreading the "good news" of the Kingdom? [which is actually not being preached so much in these last days]

When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians... it's evident that even he thought he would be one of the saints who would be ALIVE when Jesus "gathered" them into the clouds.

"...then WE WHICH ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN shall be caught up together with them ['THEM' are the DEAD IN CHRIST who shall be resurrected BEFORE the ones that are alive on the earth are gathered] in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air..." (I Thess.4:17).

But, for the three men whom Jesus took into the mountain with Him that day -- they "saw the Kingdom of God before they died" as Jesus promised... in a VISION... and kept it to themselves as commanded, until after Jesus raised from the dead. And recorded it for us, today.

It was a "vision" that they saw. That's what Jesus meant.