Matthew 19:27-29 Introduction Two weeks ago, we looked at the story of the rich young ruler who wanted to know what good thing he must do in order to inherit eternal life. In the end, this is what Jesus told Him: If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me (19:21). But the rich young ruler went away sorrowful, because he had great possessions. The thing that Jesus had asked of him was simply too great a sacrifice. Now that the rich man has gone away, Peter has something on his mind. I. Matthew 19:27 Then Peter said in reply, See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have? The disciples have done what the rich man would not. They didn t have great possessions to sell, but what little they did have they have left to follow Jesus. So if the rich young ruler would have had treasure in heaven, Peter wonders what the disciples will have. Now I m convinced that Peter is genuinely concerned (cf. Hendriksen). If it s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God, then Peter wonders where he and the rest of the disciples really stand. Even after Jesus said that with God all things are possible, Peter is still just a little concerned and perhaps even worried. See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have? But it s also probably true that Peter is still a little too much like the rich man. He s still tempted to think of what he and the rest of the disciples have done as hopefully deserving something from God or at least putting them in His better graces. What Peter needs, then, is some comfort and also some correction. Jesus begins with comfort in verses 28-29, and then moves on to correction in verse 30 and the parable that follows. So this morning, then, let s be comforted and encouraged! Then Peter said in reply, See, we have left everything and followed you. The few possessions we did have, we ve left for an itinerant life of living off the generosity of others. We ve been deprived of so many of even the simple comforts and pleasures of life things that so many people just take for granted. So then are we wrong to look forward to a better, and more triumphant, and more prosperous future? Can we be sure that our story has a happy ending? Calvin writes: As they had led a poor and wandering life, which was not unaccompanied by disgrace and by annoyances, and as no better condition for the future presented itself, [Peter] properly inquires if it be to no purpose that they have left all their property, and devoted themselves to Christ. What then will we have? II. Matthew 19:28 Jesus said to them, Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 1
Before we dig a little deeper into these words, let s just sit back and be amazed. Peter, Jesus answers, You want to know what you will have? Well let me tell you what you will have! When the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus prefaced this promise with the words, Truly, I say to you Why did Jesus do this? Never, ever, was Jesus obligated to preface his words (which are the very words of God) with a reminder of their truthfulness and certainty, and yet for our sake in order to strengthen our weak faith and speak true comfort to our souls He did! Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. The new world is the new heavens and the new earth (2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1-5; Isa. 65:17). But Jesus actually says, In the regeneration The point seems to be not so much the entire eternal state, but rather the specific time when all things are regenerated and made new. In the same way, when Jesus says that the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, the point seems to be not simply the entire time that He is sitting on the throne, but rather a specific day that He sits down or takes His seat in order to accomplish some specific task. So perhaps we could translate like this: In that coming day when all things will be made new, and the Son of Man will take His seat on His glorious throne But don t leave us hanging! For what purpose is the Son of Man seating Himself on His glorious throne? What is He going to do? What is about to happen? Now before we go any further, we need to look back (again) at Daniel chapter seven. In verses 2-7 Daniel sees four great beasts. The first was like a lion, and represented Babylon (both the king and the people). The second was like a bear, and represented Medo-Persia (both the king and the people. The third was like a leopard, and represented Greece (both the king and the people). The fourth beast was different than all the others and had ten horns. This beast represented Rome (both the king and the people). But then thrones are placed, and the Ancient of Days takes his seat in order to judge the four beasts. After the judgment of the four beasts (11-12), there came before the throne something, or someone very different. This one was not a beast like a lion, or like a bear, or like a leopard, or a beast with ten horns. This one was like a son of man! Now if the lion, the bear, the leopard, and the beast with ten horns represented Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome (both the king and the people together), then if we had to take a guess, who would the one like a son of man represent? Well, the one like a son of man would represent Israel both the king and the people! This one like a son of man was presented before the ancient of days, and to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Jesus received this royal authority and kingdom when after His resurrection, He ascended into heaven and was presented before the Ancient of Days. But He still awaits the final consummation of the kingdom that He has received (1 Cor. 15:20-28). And it s this final consummation that Jesus is thinking about in Matthew 19 where Jesus sees Himself as the fulfillment of the one like a son of man in Daniel chapter 7. Jesus said to [His disciples], Truly, I say to you, In that coming day when all things will be made new, and the Son of Man will take His seat on His glorious throne You who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. For what 2
purpose is the Son of Man seating Himself on His glorious throne? It is for the purpose of judging the twelve tribes of Israel (cf. Lenski; Mat. 25:31-32). But He will not judge them alone. He will be accompanied by His twelve disciples. The King will share His rule and reign, and even the exercise of judgment with those who have followed Him with His people! And so the one like a son of man in Daniel is fulfilled not only in Jesus as the King, but also in His people who share in the King s royal authority! So we could say that we guessed correctly! The one like a son of man in Daniel, the one who receives dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, he represents Israel not only the king, but also the people. And so even in Daniel, the story of the one like a son of man (9-10, 13-14) is the story of the Messiah and the story of all the saints (21-22, 26-27). Daniel 7:21-22, 26-27 The Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom the court shall sit in judgment and the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the most high; his [or their ] kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him [or them ; cf. NRSV]. In Daniel, the one like a son of man represents Israel both king and people. And so in Matthew, Jesus sees this one like a son of man fulfilled in Himself as the King of Israel, and in His disciples as the people of Israel. But now we have what could seem to be a very serious problem! What about the twelve tribes of Israel? Jesus says that in that coming day when all things will be made new, and the Son of Man will take His seat on His glorious throne, the twelve tribes of Israel will not be the ones sharing in His royal authority, but rather the subjects of His judgment! How can this be? How can this be, and the word of God in Daniel still be true? Well, we ve actually already seen the answer! And it should become even more clear when we look again at Jesus words. Remember, Jesus sees that the one like a son of man in Daniel is fulfilled in Himself as the King of Israel, and in His disciples as the people of Israel. Jesus is redefining and reconstituting His people from the mixed community of an ethnic and political nation (made up of both believers and unbelievers) to the regenerate community of a truly spiritual nation (the true Israel of God, the eschatological assembly of the Messiah, the Church; Gal. 6:16; 1 Peter 2:9-10). And as one sign of this renewal and transformation, Jesus purposefully chose twelve disciples ( twelve thrones ) to be the foundations stones of this new Israel! It was no accident that Jesus chose twelve disciples not eleven, not thirteen, and not any other number. The twelve disciples represent something bigger than themselves. They represent the entire number of God s chosen people as the true Israel of God! So it should not bother us that Judas, the traitor, was one of the twelve to whom Jesus was speaking! Of course Judas would not be sitting on one of the twelve thrones. It should not bother us that Judas replacement had not perhaps followed Jesus in exactly the same way as the original twelve disciples (cf. Acts 1:21-22). The point is not the specific names of the twelve, but rather the fact that the number is twelve, and this number is representative of all Israel the reconstituted or new Israel of the Messiah s eschatological assembly which is the Church of Jesus Christ. So the number twelve is representative of all the saints of the Most High (cf. Daniel); it s representative of all who have followed Jesus, and who will therefore share in His royal authority and rule (cf. Daniel). 3
But if the twelve disciples on twelve thrones represent the new and reconstituted Israel (the disciples would be the foundational leaders of the church), then how should we think of the twelve tribes of Israel? Well, since the twelve tribes do not share in the royal authority of the kingdom, but are rather subject to the judgment of the twelve apostles (who do share in the royal authority of the kingdom), we should probably see the twelve tribes as representing the Jewish people who rejected the Messiah and scorned and persecuted His disciples (cf. D.A. Carson; Hagner; Blomberg; Morris; France; Lenski; Rev. 11:7-8; Mat. 8:10-12; Acts 13:46). * Already, the disciples have seen the hostility and persecution of the Jewish leaders, and also the shallow and fickle praises of the Jewish crowds. But now they are standing just across the river from Jerusalem, where in only a couple of weeks they will see Jesus cruelly put to death, and where some of their own number will end up with a similar fate of suffering and even death. The Jews who have left everything to become followers of the Messiah and members of His new assembly are being rejected, scorned, and persecuted by the unbelieving Jews who still think that they are the true Israel the true people of God (John 8:39-47). This was almost certainly the experience of Matthew s own Jewish church. When Peter said to Jesus, See, we have left everything and followed you, he must also have been mindful of the fact that they were certainly not liked by the respected religious leaders of Israel. They were very much alone, and vulnerable, and seemingly at the mercy of their own fellow countrymen. Peter is confused, concerned, worried, discouraged. What then will we have? And Jesus responded with these wonderful words of comfort, and encouragement, and hope: In that coming day when all things will be made new, and the Son of Man will take His seat on His glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Here is the promise not only of ruling and reigning with Jesus, but of taking part in the judgment of one s persecutors. Here is the promise of vindication. Listen to what Jesus said to His assemblies in Smyrna and in Philadelphia: Revelation 2:9; 3:9 I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. So here Jesus says to His Jewish disciples, and to the entire Jewish church: I will one day make it clear to all of your unbelieving countrymen that you are the true Jews and the true Israel of God (Rom. 2:25-29; John 1:47). I will vindicate you before the twelve tribes of Israel, and they will know that I have loved you. In that coming day when all things will be made new, and the Son * To borrow the Apostle Paul s language, if the twelve disciples represent the Jerusalem above who is free, and who is the mother of all true Jews, then the twelve tribes would represent the present Jerusalem (and particularly the Jerusalem of Jesus day) who is in slavery with her children (Gal. 4:25-26). I can also appreciate the interpretation of Hendriksen who sees the twelve tribes as symbolic of the New Covenant Community and the twelve apostles as reigning in a position of special authority over this New Israel. It seems to me that the main problems with Hendriksen s interpretation are the use of the Greek word for judge in the New Testament, the use of the word Israel in Matthew, and especially the background of Daniel chapter seven (see comments above, and also France, Carson, and Lenski). 4
of Man will take His seat on His glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. So far the words of Jesus seem to assume only Jews the Jewish assembly of the Messiah on the one hand (twelve thrones), and the unbelieving Jewish nation of Israel on the other hand (twelve tribes). But this is only because the Gospel of the kingdom has not yet been sent to the Gentiles (Mat. 10:5-6). When the Gospel is sent to the Gentiles (Mat. 28:18-20), the words of Jesus will become, in Paul (cf. Hagner): 1 Corinthians 6:2 Do you not know that the saints [not just Jewish believers, but all of the saints whether Jews or Gentiles] will judge the world [not just unbelieving Israel, but the entire unbelieving world whether Jews or Gentiles]? Jesus promise to His twelve disciples is also a promise to all of us who are now a part of His true Israel. In that coming day when all things will be made new, and the Son of Man will take His seat on His glorious throne, we who have left everything and followed Him will also sit enthroned, and with Him we will judge the world (cf. Rev. 2:26-27; 3:21). This is truly one of those promises that we must accept, and believe, and comprehend, and understand by faith, for otherwise it is simply too big(!) to have any real impact upon our lives. Jesus prefaced this promise with, truly, I say to you, because He would not have us miss out on the strength, and encouragement, and comfort of these words. Such promises are designed to strengthen the hand of disciples who need encouragement along the path of lowly service; for they will find themselves at the mercy of those who show no respect for this following in the footsteps of a Christ who went to his glory through suffering. The lower disciples are called upon to stoop, the higher they can expect to be raised in the future kingdom of God (Nolland). So how low are we willing to stoop? And would we be willing to stoop even lower if we truly believe that one day we will sit enthroned with Jesus, and that with Him, we will judge the world? But now Jesus concludes: III. Matthew 19:29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. The disciples have stooped very low. They ve effectively left houses, brothers and sisters, father and mother, children, and lands; and all this for a cause that seems to have resulted so far only in a guarantee of suffering and persecution. But Jesus promises His disciples that one day, not only will they sit with Him on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, but they who have left everything will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. In Mark and Luke, this reward of a hundredfold is said to begin in this life (Mark 10:29-30; Luke 18:29) when we become part of the family of God and have all things in common (2 Cor. 8:1-4, 13-15; 9:6-11; 1 Tim. 6:17-19; Eph. 4:28). But Matthew seems to be emphasizing the fullness of this reward in the age to come when those who have left houses will inherit a home in the New Jerusalem, and those who have left lands will inherit the entire redeemed earth, and those who have left family will inherit the joyful fellowship and companionship of the perfected family of God. You see, there is nothing that we can possibly give up in this life, but that we will receive the same thing back a hundredfold in the age to come! We could almost say that it s impossible to truly sacrifice 5
anything for God, because in the end, God will reverse every sacrifice and everything that we have ever left for Christ s sake will be lavished upon us a hundredfold! A hundredfold! Certainly, this should free us to be able to leave more and stoop lower for the sake of Christ! Certainly, a reward of a hundredfold must be all of God s grace, and none of our merit! Brothers and sisters, one day we ll sit enthroned with Christ, and with Him we will judge the world and be vindicated. One day all that we have ever left for Christ s sake will be heaped back upon us a hundred fold, and we will inherit eternal life. And in that day, mankind will say, Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth (Psalm 58:11). Now, almost, the question of Peter sounds truly silly. What then will we have? More than any of us here can possibly comprehend. Conclusion Do you ever feel discouraged or disillusioned, wondering with Peter, What then will I have? Do you ever feel afraid to suffer the world s opposition and persecution because you wonder with Peter, What then will I have? Do you ever feel hesitant to make sacrifices for Christ s sake because you wonder with Peter, What then will I have? One day we will sit enthroned with Christ, and with Him we will judge the world. One day all that we have ever left for Christ s sake will be heaped back upon us a hundred fold, and we will inherit eternal life. In that day, mankind will say, Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth (Psalm 58:11). 6
Daniel 7:2 7, 9-10, 13-14, 21-22, 26-27 I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. ~ The first was LIKE a lion [represents Babylon king and people] ~ And behold, another beast, a second one, LIKE a bear [represents Medo-Persia king and people] ~ After this I looked, and behold, another, LIKE a leopard [represents Greece king and people] ~ After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns [represents Rome king and people] As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened ~ I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one LIKE a son of man [represents Israel King/Messiah and saints], And he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. AND TO HIM WAS GIVEN DOMINION AND GLORY AND A KINGDOM, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed The Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when THE SAINTS POSSESSED THE KINGDOM the court shall sit in judgment AND THE KINGDOM AND THE DOMINION AND THE GREATNESS OF THE KINGDOMS UNDER THE WHOLE HEAVEN SHALL BE GIVEN TO THE PEOPLE OF THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH; his [or their ] kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him [or them ; cf. NRSV ]. The mighty kingly authority of the kingships under the whole heavens will have been given to a holy people on high. Its kingship will be one that stands for ever; every authority will honor and show obedience to it. (WBC; Goldingay) 7