If it didnt happen then, then Jesus did not tell them a truth, and he clearly said;
Luke 9:27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God
.
If it did not happen, even for a good reason, then God said something that was wrong? and even in the old testament I think you would agree Jesus said he would be rejected. So he also cant contradict Himself.
If God were limited to your personal take on how things work with God, then yes, He was dishonest, but what I must then ask you is how much you know about what you call the OT? How many times did God say that something was going to happen to someone or to a nation that He later changed His mind on the basis of circumstances and/or one of the patriarchs standing in the gap for them?
At the time Jesus spoke those words to those people at that time, He spoke absolutely the truth as to His plans for them at that time. What those people didn't know and that wasn't revealed to them at that time is that the statement Jesus made to Israel was based upon the faithfulness of Israel beyond that point.
Please keep in mind that throughout scripture, Israel was symbolized as a fig tree:
Luke 13:6-9
6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a
fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and
sought fruit thereon, and found none. [Howe long was Jesus' ministry before the cross?]
7 Then said he unto
the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these
three years I come
seeking fruit on this
fig tree, and
find none:
cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? [Israel's fall.]
8 And
he answering said unto him, Lord,
let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: [What happened one year after the ascension of Christ?]
9 And
if it bear fruit,
well: and
if not, then after that thou shalt
cut it down.
Jesus had two pathways before Him, either to leave Israel standing had we accepted Him as Messiah, or cut us down in our unfaithfulness. What happened?
Romans 11:11
I say then, Have
they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather
through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
There it is. Israel fell. People ask when, and Luke 13 gives a very good hint that those people could not have known about until afterward. What happened one year after the ascension of Christ? Who was stoned, with an entire chapter attributed to his scathing indictment against Israel? Stephen. Notice that, before, Christ was seated at the right Hand of the Father, but Stephen THEN saw Jesus STANDING at the Father's right Hand. Why? That action speaks of...His going into action, which was to cut down that tree that had failed to produce the fruit of faith.
At the fall of Israel, the original plan changed in the direction of something that remained hidden (mystery) in God from the creation of the world. It was kept that way for VERY good reason:
1 Corinthians 2:7-8
7 But we speak the wisdom of God
in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which
God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which
none of the princes of this world knew: for
had they known it,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
It's not so much the cutting down of Israel that was the mystery, but rather what's revealed in Romans 11:11 above...salvation having come directly unto the Gentiles (if it came to them, that means they didn't have it before, right?) who had no way of salvation before (Eph. 2:12)...other than to join with Israel, but with Israel cut down, something had to happen as an alternative path...salvation had to COME unto the Gentiles who, before, didn't have direct access before. Evangelical pastors reject this vehemently from their pulpits of false teachings, and yet there it is clearly laid out in scripture.
So, yes, the Lord has and can make changes to His statements about individuals and even Israel as a whole by putting them off for a time, as has happened in relation to what He said to those people at that time as it was planned to transpire in that moment. He has every prerogative to stretch out the fulfillments of His earlier declarations. For any of us to assume otherwise, given the track record of the Lord's stated plans for people and individuals throughout time, I personally respect His right over His creation to stretch the time table given alternative contingencies that He chose to keep hidden in Himself for reasons that are later revealed and that Evangelical pastors and the academic leadership of many Bible Cemeteries happen to not like.
Putting the pieces together, like a puzzle, is what one must do, no matter how unfair it seems to a number of university students out there who thought it should all be laid out in a methodical and (to them) seemingly logical line of understandable storyline. God isn't sovereign as most people tend to define that descriptor because He is still governed by His nature alone, and therefore has limitations within Himself. It's within Him to break up the narratives into pieces, parsed out to different of the prophets and apostles at different times. I'm not saying you think otherwise on all this, but I felt this needed to be said generally speaking.
Does this help?
MM
