Jesus is discussing the nature of "Self" in the larger context of his death.
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
Because he is always destined, this son of the man, to show up in the reputation of that father of his, among those messengers of his. Also then he will pay back to each in accordance with that business of his.
Many words in this verse--"shall," "every," "man," and "works"--are not what we expect. When you look at the original in Greek, it tells a very different story than the common translation.
Its Greek first word, translated innocuously as "shall" on "is going to," is not the future tense of "come." It is an active verb meaning "it is destined." This is a rare word for Jesus to use. He only uses it when speaking of prophecies. This first phrase means "is destined to arrive" but it also means "always on the verge of arriving without arriving." This is a good description of the prophecy about our expectations of Jesus's return.
Jesus is placed among the messengers. This could mean that he was categorizing himself as one of them. The angels could belong to either Jesus or his Father and the person rewarding could be either Jesus or his Father, and the Father the closest noun to these pronouns.
To add to the humor, the word translated as "glory" actually primarily means "expectation" not "glory." Everyone reading it after the fact has that expectation. The word translated as "every" is not the common word meaning "every" but a special word with the sense of "each individually."
We are rewarded according to what we make of our selves.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "shall" should be something more like "is destined."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "shall" is not a helping verb but an active one.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "come" is not an active verb but an infinitive.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "Father" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "angels" is not shown in the English translation.
- UW - Untranslated Word -- The word "angels" means "messengers." It is the untranslated Greek word adopted into English.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "reward" is not the common word usually translated as "reward."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "every" is not the common word usually translated as "every."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "man" is not the common word usually translated as "man."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "angels" is not shown in the English translation.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "works" is not the common word usually translated as "works."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "is going" should be something more like "is destined."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "is going" is not a helping verb but an active one.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "Father" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "glory" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "angels" is not shown in the English translation.
- UW - Untranslated Word -- The word "angels" means "messengers." It is the untranslated Greek word adopted into English.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "reward" is not the common word usually translated as "reward."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "each" is not the common word usually translated as "each."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "person" is not the common word usually translated as "person."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "angels" is not shown in the English translation.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "what" is not the common word usually translated as "what."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "they" should be something more like "of his."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "have" doesn't exist in the source.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "angels" is not shown in the English translation.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "done" should be something more like "work."
For --The word translated as "for" introduces a reason or explanation so "because" and, in questions, "why." However, since this word always appears in the second position, it is more like an aside remark like, "consequently" or "as a cause."
the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
Son -- The word translated as "son" more generally means "child" or "descendant." The phrase "the son of man" is the common way Christ refers to himself. It is discussed in detail in this article. Its sense may be "the child of the man."
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that required the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession, but it can also mean "belonging to," "part of," "which is," "than" (in comparisons), or "for," "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs.
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
man - The Greek word for "man" means "man," "person" and "humanity" in the singular. In the plural, it means "men," "people," and "peoples."
shall - (WW, WF) The word translated simply as "shall" is actually a loaded term with two very different meanings. It means both "to be destined" and, more interestingly, "to always going to do without actually doing." It is not an indication of the future tense as the "shall" later in the verse is. This verb is in the present tense, so currently "is destined" or "always on the verge of." It is in the present tense as is the "come" later in the verse
come - (WF) "Come" is the verb that means "to set out" and "to arrive at." There is an article here about how Christ uses this word. It is a little like we use the phrase "show up," which can mean either that he is coming or going with no direct reference to the position of the speaker
in - The word translated as "in" also means "within," "with," or "among."
the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
glory "Glory" is from a noun meaning "expectation" and "opinion." More about this term in this article. It came to mean "reputation," especially "good repute," "honor," "glory" and rarely "ill repute." The closest concept is to the way Christ uses it is often the one of "recognition," though its primary meaning of "expectation" works a well here.
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that required the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.
his -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. This pronoun follows the noun so "of his."
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
Father -- "Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor so "forefathers." It is the word that Christ uses to address his own Father.
with - With genitive, this preposition means generally, "with," "together with," "in the midst of," "among," "between." "in common," "along with," "by the aid of," and "in conjunction with." With dative, "between," "among," "in company with," with a number "complete," and "over and above."
his -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. This pronoun follows the noun so "of his."
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
angels; - (UW)"Angels" is from a noun meaning "messenger" and "envoys" though it became to mean "semi-divine beings" in later use from its use in the NT. It is the noun form of the verb meaning "laughing loudly," but the form of the word doesn't fit the context.
and - The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
then -- The "then" is from an adverb meaning "when," "at what time," "at some time or other," "at some unknown time, and "at some time in the future." With the subjective negative ) before it, the sense is "not when."
he -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.
shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English. The "shall" here indicates that this in the future tense. It isn't anything like the "shall" above before "come."
reward - (CW) "Reward" is from a verb that doesn't mean "reward." It means "to give back." In a financial sense, to "pay back." It is used to for an activity or for work for which we are compensated. Hence, the idea of "paying back." that means "to give back," "to assign," "to deliver over," and "to sell." It has the sense of a fair exchange not simply a reward as such.
every - -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "every" means "each," "all and each severally," and "each by himself."
man -- (CW) This does not come from the Greek word for "man," but from the masculine form of the previous word.
according to - The word translated as "according to" means both "individually" and "concerning."
his -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. This pronoun follows the noun so "of his."
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
works. - (CW, WN) "Works" is translated from a Greek word that Jesus only uses here. It is not the word that Jesus usually uses that is translated as "works" or "deeds." It is also singular, not plural. This word has much more meaning of a financial transaction, and means "doing," "transaction," "business," "action," "recovery of debts," and "practical ability." It is singular, not plural.
For --The word translated as "for" introduces a reason or explanation so "because" and, in questions, "why." However, since this word always appears in the second position, it is more like an aside remark like, "consequently" or "as a cause."
the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
Son -- The word translated as "son" more generally means "child" or "descendant." The phrase "the son of man" is the common way Christ refers to himself. It is discussed in detail in this article. Its sense may be "the child of the man."
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that required the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession, but it can also mean "belonging to," "part of," "which is," "than" (in comparisons), or "for," "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs.
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
Man - The Greek word for "man" means "man," "person" and "humanity" in the singular. In the plural, it means "men," "people," and "peoples."
is going - (WW, WF) The word translated simply as "is going " is actually a loaded term with two very different meanings. It means both "to be destined" and, more interestingly, "to always going to do without actually doing." It is not an indication of the future tense as the "shall" later in the verse is. This verb is in the present tense, so currently "is destined" or "always on the verge of." It is in the present tense as is the "come" later in the verse.
to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.
come - "Come" is the verb that means "to set out" and "to arrive at." There is an article here about how Christ uses this word. It is a little like we use the phrase "show up," which can mean either that he is coming or going with no direct reference to the position of the speaker
in - The word translated as "in" also means "within," "with," or "among."
his -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. This pronoun follows the noun so "of his."
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
Father's -- "Father" is the Greek noun that means "father" or any male ancestor so "forefathers." It is the word that Christ uses to address his own Father.
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
glory "Glory" is from a noun meaning "expectation" and "opinion." More about this term in this article. It came to mean "reputation," especially "good repute," "honor," "glory" and rarely "ill repute." The closest concept is to the way Christ uses it is often the one of "recognition," though its primary meaning of "expectation" works a well here.
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that required the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.
with - With genitive, this preposition means generally, "with," "together with," "in the midst of," "among," "between." "in common," "along with," "by the aid of," and "in conjunction with." With dative, "between," "among," "in company with," with a number "complete," and "over and above."
his -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. This pronoun follows the noun so "of his."
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
angels; - (UW)"Angels" is from a noun meaning "messenger" and "envoys" though it became to mean "semi-divine beings" in later use from its use in the NT. It is the noun form of the verb meaning "laughing loudly," but the form of the word doesn't fit the context.
and - The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
then -- The "then" is from an adverb meaning "when," "at what time," "at some time or other," "at some unknown time, and "at some time in the future." With the subjective negative ) before it, the sense is "not when."
he -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.
will -- This helping verb "will" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English. The "shall" here indicates that this in the future tense. It isn't anything like the "shall" above before "come."
reward - (CW) "Reward" is from a verb that doesn't mean "reward." It means "to give back." In a financial sense, to "pay back." It is used to for an activity or for work for which we are compensated. Hence, the idea of "paying back." that means "to give back," "to assign," "to deliver over," and "to sell." It has the sense of a fair exchange not simply a reward as such.
each - -- (CW) The Greek word translated as "each" means "each," "all and each severally," and "each by himself."
person -- (CW) This does not come from the Greek word for "person," but from the masculine form of the previous word.
according to - The word translated as "according to" means both "individually" and "concerning."
what -- (CW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
they -- (WW) The word translated as "they" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. It is singular and not a subject. This pronoun follows the noun so "of his."
have - (IW) There is no verb here.
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
done. -- (WW) "Works" is translated from a Greek word that Jesus only uses here. It is not the word that Jesus usually uses that is translated as "works" or "deeds." It is also singular, not plural. This word has much more meaning of a financial transaction, and means "doing," "transaction," "business," "action," "recovery of debts," and "practical ability." It is singular, not plural.
μέλλει [10 verses] (verb 3rd sg pres ind act) "Shall" is mello, which is a verb meaning "to be destined to," "to be likely to," "to be about to," "to be always going to do [without actually doing]," "to delay or put off
γὰρ (conj) "For" comes from gar which is the introduction of a clause explaining a reason or explanation: "for," "since," and "as." In an abrupt question it means "why" and "what."
ὁ (article sg masc nom) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
υἱὸς (noun sg masc nom) "The Son" is from huios, which means a "son," and more generally, a "child."
τοῦ (article sg masc gen) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
ἀνθρώπου (noun sg masc gen) "Of man" is from anthropos, which is "man," and, in plural, "mankind." It also means "humanity" and that which is human and opposed to that which is animal or inanimate.
ἔρχεσθαι (verb pres inf mp) "Come" is from erchomai, which means "to start," "to set out," "to come," "to go," and any kind of motion. It means both "to go" on a journey and "to arrive" at a place.
ἐν (prep) "In" is from en, which means "in," "on," "at," "by," "among," "within," "surrounded by," "in one's hands," "in one's power," and "with."
τῇ (article sg fem dat) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
δόξῃ [26 verses](noun sg fem dat) "Glory" is doxa, which means "expectation" and "opinion." It came to mean "reputuation," especially "good repute," "honor," "glory" and rarely "ill repute." It came to mean "glory" and "magnificence" in external appearance through Christian writing after the Gospels were written.
τοῦ (article sg masc gen) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
πατρὸς (noun sg masc gen) "The Father" is from pater, which means "father," "grandfather," "author," "parent," and "forefathers."
αὐτοῦ (noun sg masc gen) "His" is from autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself," "yourself," "himself," "herself," "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him," "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord."
μετὰ (prep) "With" is from meta, which means "in the midst of," "among," "between," "in common," "along with," "by the aid of," "in one's dealings with," "into the middle of," "coming into," "in pursuit of," "after," "behind," "according to," and "next afterward"
τῶν (article pl masc gen) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
ἀγγέλων [29 verses](noun pl masc gen) "Angels" is aggelos, which means "messenger" and "envoys" though it became to mean "semi-divine beings" in later use.
αὐτοῦ (noun sg masc gen) "His" is from autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself," "yourself," "himself," "herself," "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him," "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord."
καὶ (prep)"And" is from kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "also." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even," "also," and "just."
τότε (adv) "Then" is from tote, which means "at that time" and "then."
ἀποδώσει [22 verses](verb 3rd sg fut ind act) "He shall reward" is apodidomi which means "to give back," "to restore," and "to deliver." It has the economic sense of "to sell" or "to give something for one's own profit." It begins with apo the preposition of separation and origin, the idea of "from" in English, -didômi which means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," and "to describe."
ἑκάστῳ [9 verses] (adj sg masc dat) "Every man" is hekastos, which means "each," "all and each severally," and "each by himself."
κατὰ (prep) "According" is from kata, which means "downwards," "down from," "down into," "against," "down toward," "opposite," "separately," "individually," "at a time," "towards," "in accordance with," "concerning," "corresponding with," "during the course of a period," and "severally."
τὴν (article sg fem acc) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
πρᾶξιν [1 verses](noun sg fem acc) "Works" is praxis, which means "doing," "transaction," "business," "action," "recovery of debts," and "practical ability."
αὐτοῦ (noun sg masc gen) "His" is from autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself," "yourself," "himself," "herself," "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him," "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord."