24:26a–b

Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then to enter His glory?: This is a rhetorical question. It emphasizes the necessity for the Christ to suffer and then enter his glory. It also implies that the two disciples should have known about this already. They should have understood that these sufferings were necessary before the Christ entered his glory. Some ways to translate this question are:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer before entering into his glory? (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Did not the Christ need to suffer ⌊and die⌋ like that before he entered his glory?

• As a statement. For example:

⌊As the prophets said,⌋ it was necessary for the Christ to suffer these things before he entered his glory.
-or-
You ought to understand that the Messiah had to suffer first, and only after that, be honored.
-or-
They said that the Christ must suffer these things before he enters his glory. (New Century Version)

Translate the question and what it implies in a way that is natural in your language.

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of 24:26a and 24:26b. See the General Comment on 24:26a–b at the end of 24:26b for an example.

24:26a

Was it not necessary for the Christ: The word necessary indicates here that God had already determined what the Christ must do. God decided what must happen to the Christ. Then the prophets had predicted that those things would happen. A similar meaning occurred in 24:7, where the Berean Standard Bible translated it as “must.”

Some ways to translate it in this context are:

It was determined ⌊by God⌋ that the Christ must…
-or-
Was it not necessary for the Messiah to…? (Good News Translation)

See the examples in the preceding note for more translation suggestions.

the Christ: Here the word Christ is used as a title. The Jews used this title to refer to the person whom God had appointed and promised to send as king and savior. The title Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah,” and the two words have the same meaning.

For more information, see the note at 20:41b also Christ in the Glossary.

to suffer these things: The phrase these things refers to the events that were summarized in 24:20. Jesus was condemned by the chief priests and other Jewish leaders, tried by the Romans, and crucified. Some other ways to refer to these sufferings here are:

to suffer in this way (Revised English Bible)
-or-
to suffer (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
experience such persecution

24:26b

and then to enter His glory: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and then introduces the result of Christ’s suffering. The suffering was necessary for him to enter his glory. It is clear in this context that he would enter his glory only after he suffered. You should translate this connection in a clear way in your language. Other ways to translate it in English are:

and after that, enter his glory
-or-
before entering his glory (New Living Translation (2004))

You should connect 24:26b with 24:26a in a way that is natural in your language.

to enter His glory: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as to enter His glory refers to Jesus receiving honor and authority to rule with God. God had promised to raise Jesus from the dead and give him power and authority to rule over everything. The phrase His glory refers to this authority and the great majesty and splendor it implies.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

receiving his honor/authority
-or-
ruling over everything
-or-
beginning his majestic reign

His glory: The phrase His glory refers to the glory/honor that Jesus deserves and that God promised him. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

the glory/honor that he ⌊deserves⌋
-or-
the glory/power that ⌊God⌋ ⌊planned⌋ for him

General Comment on 24:26a–b

In some languages it may be more natural to reverse the order of clauses in this verse. For example:

26bBefore receiving glory/majesty ⌊as King⌋, 26athe Messiah would have to suffer all these things.

Translate the clauses in a natural order in your language.

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