Mat 16:28 Verily I say to you, There be some standing here who shall not taste of death until they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

The use of "taste" in referencing death is typical of Christ's use of food and eating as symbols for the body and the physical. However, as a prediction, it seems from the Greek that all Christ is saying is that Christ will die and go to God before any of the apostles and followers. Too much is made of the meaning for the "some" and "coming" part of this verse, but the original Greek words don't have the same sense at all. It isn't even clear that the "his" (autos) refers to Christ's kindom, since the pronoun most likely refers to God's kingdom. Christ consistently referred to the kingdom as God's and in the previous verse Christ said that he was going (same word used here, erchomai) to the glory of God. Here he is just repeating that, saying he is going to God's kingdom.

Alternative translation: The truth is that no one standing here shall taste death until they see the Son of man go into his kingdom.


"Some" is from tis, which can mean "someone," "any one," "everyone," "many a one," "whoever," and so on. In a question, it can mean "who," or "what."

"Stand" is from histêmi, which means "to make a stand," "to set up," "to place," or "to stand."

"Taste" is from geuomai, which means "to taste," "to feel," and "to experience."

"Death" is thanatos, which means "death" and "a death sentence."

"Coming" is from erchomai, which means "to come" and "to go." It means "to set out" and "to arrive at." It is a little like we use the phrase "he is on his way," which can mean either that he is coming or going with no direct reference to the position of the speaker. Here it could mean that Christ goes into or comes into his kingdom.