Cranfield argues that
Jesus’ promise in Mark 9:1 is in some sense fulfilled by his transfiguration
when he powerfully manifested his glory after six days, and that the τινες may indicate the
three disciples who saw Jesus transfigured. He sees the transfiguration being
carried forward to the time of Jesus’ resurrection and finally to that of the parousia
(Cranfield, Mark, 287-88). This does not seem to be fully correct, for
it is quite implausible to say that Jesus expected many of his bystanders to
die within six days of time. Donald Hagner suggests that Jesus predicted the
destruction of Jerusalem that would happen with that generation – an event
which is closely linked with end-time scenarios and the parousia of the
Son of Man (Matthew 14-28; Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1995], 486-487). But
this interpretation does not suit the Markan context, and both the
interpretations do not do justice to the phrase εν δυναμει.
The sayings of Jesus
such as Mark 9:1, 13:30, Luke 9:27, and Matthew 10:23 seem to suggest that
Jesus expected his return within the lifetime of his own generation. Does this
mean that Jesus expected the full coming of the kingdom of God in his own
life-time on earth, as Schweitzer suggests? (The Quest of the Historical
Jesus [London: A & C Black, 1922], esp. 357)? This does not appear to
be the case. Jesus restricted the experience of seeing the kingdom of God in
the future to only some of the bystanders, and this shows that Jesus could not
have expected the kingdom to come with power within a very short period.
However, that some would not die before they saw the kingdom does not mean that
others would die before that time. The others may also be alive when it happens,
but they will not have the privilege of seeing or experiencing the powerful manifestations
of the kingdom (in this case εως αν grammatically should be read with the
subjunctive ιδωσιν). The statement of Jesus certainly looks to the coming of God’s kingdom
in the distant future, but not too distant, because there are some who will be
alive to see it come. Therefore, Mark 9:1 probably refers to the imminence of
the kingdom; that is, the powerful manifestation of the kingdom of God lies in
the future, but not as distant a future as the coming of the Son of Man in the
clouds. Within the implied amount of time it is difficult for us to interpret
Jesus’ saying as denoting the parousia because the promise remains yet
unfulfilled.
What even, then, did
Jesus intend by his saying in Mark 9:1? The plausible interpretation is that,
for Jesus, the kingdom of God will be powerfully manifested here on earth within
a reasonably short time via the life and witness of the church empowered by the
Holy Spirit. In both Mark 9:1 and the parallel in Luke 9:27, the context agrees
with this interpretation, for in both Gospels this saying of Jesus appears in
the context of self-denial and confession (Mk. 8:34-9:1; Lk. 9:23-27). Although
there is in the previous verse a reference to the parousia (Mk. 8:38;
cf. Lk 9:26), the emphasis actually rests on discipleship and boldness publicly
to confess Jesus and his words. The self-denial and witness of his disciples is,
for Jesus, the evidence of the presence of God’s kingdom with power. For Mark,
Jesus’ act of casting out demons is the manifestation of the power of the Holy
Spirit (Mk. 3:20-30); and Matthew, as we have seen, identifies this act as denoting
the presence of the kingdom of God (Matt. 12:28). This is likewise the same
thing Luke calls the witness of the church (the community of Jesus’ disciples),
which happens as a result of the Spirit’s power. Indeed, for Luke, the
restoration of the kingdom of God is inevitably linked with the δυναμις of the Holy Spirit
(Act. 1:6, 8; cf. Lk. 24:49 and also see above). Definitely it is the parousia
that the fullness of the rule of God is to be manifested, but the power
of God’s rule is to be seen in the manifestation of the Spirit’s power in
the life of the church as exemplified by self-sacrifice and outward confession of
Jesus. Thus, the enigmatic saying in Mark 9:1 seems to indicate that Jesus
expected the coming of the kingdom of God with power in the future, but not in
the distant future, and such a manifestation is to be seen in the life and
witness of the church born in the power of the Holy Spirit. Due to the
prominence of this theme in Luke-Acts, Luke 9:27 would also seem to agree with
this meaning even though εν δυναμει is missing from the
verse. In this sense the kingdom if imminent, within human reach now more than
ever. At the same time, the kingly rule of God in its fully glory will arrive
in the future at the coming of the Son of Man with his angels. The coming of
the kingdom of God with power is not the same as the coming of the kingdom
of God in its full glory. (Jey J. Kanagaraj, “Jesus’ Message of the
Kingdom of God: Present and Future Tensions Revisited,” in B.J. Oropeza, C.K.
Robertson and Douglas C. Mohrmann, Jesus and Paul: Global Perspectives in
Honor of James D.G. Dunn. A Festschrift for his 70th Birthday [Library of
New Testament Studies 414; London: T&T Clark, 2009, 2019], 24-34, here, pp.
32-34, italics in original)
