Matthew 23:39

“For I say to you, You shall not see me from now on, until you shall say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' ”

And the people would never see Him again until their hearts were open to receive Him, until they were ready to welcome Him as the pilgrims had welcomed Him into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:9), and as had been promised in the Psalms (Psalms 118:26). In other words until they would acknowledge His Messiahship and more. But it should be noted that in the Greek ‘until' reflects not certainty of fulfilment, but doubt whether it will be fulfilled. It is an offer that is open. There is no guarantee that it will be fulfilled.

For some it would happen within the next few years as His first assault was made on Jerusalem (Acts 1-11) and thousands welcomed Him. They would not only bless Him Who came in the Name of the Lord, but they would also be baptised into His Name (Matthew 28:19). For the ‘henceforth' (from now on - ap arti) compare Matthew 26:29; Matthew 26:64. In Matthew 26:64 the Jewish leaders are promised that His reception of enthronement would shortly be manifested to them in what would happen after they had sentenced Him to death. Then they would see with their own eyes the manifestation of His power, and the fact that He had been made both Lord and Christ. In Matthew 26:69 the manifestation of His presence was so near that He would not again drink of the fruit of the vine until His Kingly Rule had come, when once again He would drink it with them under His Father's Kingly Rule. (Luke has ‘until the Kingly Rule of God comes', and in Luke the ‘coming of the Kingly Rule of God' regularly indicates its present manifestation rather than its future eternal existence - see Luke 10:9; Luke 10:11; Luke 11:20; Luke 17:20). So ‘from now on' indicates the crisis of the moment and then points to the continuing nature of what will follow.

For others it would possibly await the end times, for the general impression of the Old Testament is of a turning to God after their times of suffering. We cannot, however, be sure that that will be so because those promises could be referring to ‘the last days' which began at the resurrection (Acts 2:17; 1 Corinthians 10:11; Hebrews 1:2; Hebrews 9:26; 1 Peter 1:20; 1 Peter 4:7). We may distinguish now from then but in Scripture it is all one. However, if Israel is to turn to God it can only be by their repenting and turning to their Messiah. There is no other way. And in the end, however recalcitrant old Israel is, the assurance is that He will triumph. For He is founding a new Israel, which will spring from the old (Matthew 16:18; Matthew 21:43; Galatians 6:16; Ephesians 2:11; Jas 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1; 1 Peter 2:9). That is what this message is promising. It is the future of old, cast off Israel (Matthew 21:43; Romans 11:15) that is in doubt, not His. For one day all His true people will say, ‘Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the LORD'.