26 "Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." ~ Luke 9:26-27
This is the first mention of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus in the gospel of Luke. In His first coming, His goal was to be the sacrifice of God that would procure God's forgiveness on behalf of all who would believe. But in today's text, the Lord Jesus is describing His Second Coming when His glory will be on display, not His humility as in His first coming. His Second Coming is not to be confused with the rapture of the Church which could happen any moment.
Peter had spoken earlier on behalf of all of the disciples that the Lord Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And the Lord Jesus told the twelve, after Peter’s statement, not to tell people of their accurate assessment of Him because He did not fit in with the populaces' preconception of the Messiah. They did not understand that He must die first. After He died on the cross the disciples were devastated and disoriented. They, clearly, did not expect His necessary death.
With that understanding fairly firmly placed in the minds of the disciples, the Lord Jesus gives a challenging statement in v.26. "Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."
The context here describes when the Son of Man comes in His glory at His Second Coming. And, for those who have not received the free gift of forgiveness of sin, they will face the holy God with shame. To avoid their shame is to deal with the shame of their sin, now. Once we have owned our sinfulness, we have a choice to receive the free gift of forgiveness through the death of the Lord Jesus. And, those who are not ashamed of their sin, and have not received the forgiveness of God, the Lord Jesus will be ashamed of them at His coming.
There are people who refuse to be ashamed of their sinfulness, and so they are ashamed of the Lord Jesus and His message. They’re ashamed of the gospel. They are ashamed to be associated with the Lord Jesus. What offended these was that He called their religious activity hypocrisy. And He said, they were the poor, and the prisoners, and the blind, and the oppressed, that their true spiritual condition was one of absolute poverty, they were spiritually bankrupt. And, because they were blind to spiritual truth, they would not receive that message.
This is why the apostle Paul said, “I will boast only in Christ Jesus, my Lord.” Christians are people who are not ashamed of Jesus Christ, but they are ashamed of themselves and they come to Him in shame to be forgiven. Should I be ashamed of the one who died on the cross to deliver me from sin? Should I be ashamed of the One who loved me with a perfect love from before the world began?
The Lord Jesus was not to be their Messiah. They would not have this man to reign over them, they said. They were ashamed of Christ. Everything about the Lord Jesus was a stumbling block to them and an offense to them, not just the cross, everything else. They put Him on a cross because they were ashamed of the fact that He claimed to be their Messiah. It offended them that one so humble, one so meek would claim to be the Messiah.
In v.27 we read, "Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." The Lord Jesus is referring to the fact that Peter, James and John will see His transfiguration which is recorded in Luke 9:28-36. These three will shortly be given a preview of the coming of the Son of Man in His kingdom power and glory. The Lord Jesus had just said there's going to be a Second Coming and so, He gives a preview to Peter, James, and John.
They had seen His power, but they hadn't seen the kingdom, they only saw the signs. They were about to be taken behind the scenes, and see the eternal kingdom and glory and the power that the Lord Jesus will display at His Second Coming.
In Luke's Gospel, the Lord Jesus is referred to as the "Son of Man" twenty-five times. The designation, "Son of Man," implies the humanity and deity of the Lord Jesus. This description is taken from the books of Ezekiel and Daniel where we discover that there was a twofold description of Him as the One who would step into the exalted role of redeemer. He was both man and God, and, in order to redeem man, He had to become a man. But, He could not be anyone's savior without being God.
The Lord Jesus referred to Himself most often as Son of Man because He came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. He was subtle. He made claims that were explicit in certain settings and implicit in others. And only when the time was right, when He was on trial for His life, and they said, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the living God?" did he say, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man coming with great power and glory." This will happen at His Second Coming, and we will be with Him forever.
