(Text and Audio)
Title: A Tough Question and 5* Possible Answers
I purposefully ended last week’s sermon a verse short because I wanted us to have a full lesson dedicated to what Jesus says to his apostles in verse 23. To be sure, the difficult question that today’s sermon gets it’s title from is this: What, exactly, is Jesus saying when he tells his apostles, “…you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”? and I want us to see what are considered to be the most accepted interpretations of what Jesus means here, and what the strengths and weaknesses of each explanation are. Finally this morning, I will offer you my perspective, because, while the first four explanations all have merit, I think they each miss an important point that I want us to catch.
Question: What, exactly, is Jesus saying when he tells his apostles, “…you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”?
Answer One: This refers to the second coming of Christ.
Strengths:
- It fits other uses of this phrase by Matthew. (Matthew 24:30, 25:31) (Have someone read these)
Weakness:
- Consider Matthew 16:28
- It doesn’t seem to fit the urgency found in verse 23. (In other words, the Son of Man hasn’t returned yet, so how would this verse be comforting to people 2000 years ago?)
Answer Two: It refers to the resurrection and ascension.
Strengths:
- Jesus could have meant that the Kingdom is “coming” when he ascends and the Holy Spirit is sent as our helper.
Weakness:
- The primary persecution described by Jesus in Matthew 10:17-22 comes AFTER Jesus ascends. Therefore, if this is what Jesus meant, it wouldn’t offer much encouragement, and it doesn’t really fit the timeline.
Answer Three: Jesus means “before I rejoin you.”
Strengths:
- It’s the simplest reading.
- It would offer immediate encouragement.
Weakness:
- Again, this doesn’t fit the timeline of the persecution of vv17-22, which came after Jesus ascended.
- Most of the time “Son of Man” is used, it’s referring to judgment, and that doesn’t make sense in this context.
Answer Four: The “Coming” refers to the Judgement against Israel and the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70.
Strengths:
- Fits the sense of urgency in verse 23
- Fits the persecution that would have taken place after Jesus’ ascension, and before A.D. 70.
- Fits other references of “Son of Man” being a term of terrible judgment
- Fits with Matthew 16:28
Weakness:
- Seems a bit too narrow an explanation. Is The Son of Man’s coming ONLY about judgement on Israel, or the fuller extent of the establishment of His kingdom?
Answer Five: The Roby Proposal
First of all: Here’s what we’ve been missing in the first four explanations: Jesus’ words are supposed to be an encouragement to the people that are hearing them. Jesus is saying, “Yes, these difficult times are coming, but, take heart, you won’t be able to go through every city before the Son of Man comes.”
What, then, is the Son of Man coming?
I think it’s the broader picture of the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom.
The Son of Man Coming is the establishment and rule of the Church of Jesus Christ here on Earth.
Strengths:
- It comes true.
- Fits the sense of urgency
- Fits the sense of encouragement (Jesus seems to be saying, “Relief is on the way!” If that’s true, what did that “relief” look like?)
- Fits the theme of Judgement
- Doesn’t conflict with Matthew 16:28
Weakness:
- A bit of a stretch?