Texts in Conversation
In Matthew 16, Jesus’ claim that some would not experience death before seeing the Son of Man’s kingdom parallels a similar saying in 4 Ezra, both texts likely reflecting the language of Jewish apocalyptic traditions.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Matthew 16:28
New Testament
26 For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28 I tell you the truth, there are some standing here who will not experience death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Date: 70–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
4 Ezra 6:26
2 Esdras
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
24 At that time friends will make war against one another like enemies. The earth will stand in fear with those who dwell in it. The springs of the fountains will stand still, so that for three hours they won’t flow. 25 “It will be that whoever remains after all these things that I have told you of, he will be saved and will see my salvation, and the end of my world. 26 They will see the men who have been taken up, who have not tasted death from their birth. The heart of the inhabitants will be changed and turned into a different spirit. 27 For evil will be blotted out and deceit will be quenched. 28 Faith will flourish. Corruption will be overcome, and the truth, which has been so long without fruit, will be declared.”
Date: 70–132 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In every case where the phrase “taste death” is used in the New Testament (compare Mark 9:1; Matt 16:28; Luke 9:27; Hebrews 2:9; also Sibylline Oracles 1.82), “death” follows “taste” so that we might say this word order is simply more likely than not, although as P. Oxy. 654 and perhaps 4 Ezra 6:26 show, it is not a necessary word order (for Greek retroversion of 4 Ezra, see Schlatter, Johannes, 218). Moreover, in the two other cases of seeing death in the New Testament (Luke 2:26; Hebrews 11:5), “death” follows “see”, unlike in John. In both cases, the phrase has the sense of literal, physical death ..."
Jeffrey Michael Tripp, “Remember the Word That I Told You: Direct Internal Quotation in the Gospel of John” (diss., Loyola University Chicago, 2016), 83.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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