Bible Strands
Matthew 23:39
For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses the Jerusalem religious leaders immediately after Matthew 23:38 declares their temple left desolate. He pronounces a strict condition regarding their future recognition of Him.
The words — ἴδητε (idēte) means "you shall see," and οὐ μὴ (ou mē) functions as an absolute negative, together establishing that their future sight of Him is strictly bound to a specific verbal confession.
The thread — The quoted phrase directly parallels the crowd’s acclamation in Matthew 21:9 and the temple liturgy of Psalm 118:26, while Romans 11:25 extends the broader theme of Israel’s future turning.
Why it lands — The text states that the leaders will not see Him again until they verbally acknowledge His divine commission, requiring readers to confront the explicit condition attached to recognizing Christ’s identity.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Cross-references
- Psalms 118:26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.
- Matthew 21:9 The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”
- Romans 11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
- Isaiah 40:9 Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
- Hosea 3:4 For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.
- Zechariah 12:10 Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
- Luke 2:26 The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
- Luke 10:22 All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”
- Luke 17:22 Then He said to the disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
- John 8:21 Again He said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”