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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 19:27 - 19:30
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_19:27-30
27Then Peter said to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?" 28And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.
Mat_19:27 "what then will there be for us" Peter had left all but he still was thinking about it! The disciples still expected an earthly kingdom with a special reward for themselves (cf. Mat_20:21; Mat_20:24).
Mat_19:28 "the Son of Man" See the full note at Mat_8:20.
▣ "you who have followed Me. . .shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" This must refer to the original Twelve Apostles (cf. Luk_22:30), while Mat_19:29 expands the benefits of abundant blessings and eternal life to all believers (cf. Mat_20:16; Mar_10:31; Luk_13:30).
To whom does this phrase "the twelve tribes of Israel" refer?
1. the new Israel, the church (cf. Rom_2:28-29; Gal_6:16; 1Pe_2:5; 1Pe_2:9; Rev_1:6)
2. the believing Israel of the eschaton
It seems to me the verse is emphasizing that the Twelve will share Jesus' glory and reign. Verses like this should not be used to build elaborate theories of the nature of the eschaton! See Special Topic: the Number Twelve at Mat_14:20.
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NASB, NKJV "in the regeneration"
NRSV "at the renewal of all things"
TEV "in the New Age"
NJB "when everything is made new again"
The word means "rebirth." Philo used it for the rebirth after th flood. It was used by Greek thinkers for the new world order. Here it refers to the rebirth at the consummation of the New Age of the Spirit. The disciples still thought this would happen in their lifetime. They were surprised by the two-stage coming of the Messiah.
Initial creation was damaged; the recreation after Noah's flood was also polluted, but the rebirth of the Messianic consummation will be pure, ideal (cf. Isa_9:6-7; Isa_11:1-10; Mic_5:2-5 a; Revelation 21-22).
Mat_19:29
NASB "many times as much"
NKJV, NRSV "a hundredfold"
TEV "a hundred times more"
NJB "a hundred times as much"
There is a Greek manuscript variation at this point. The term "hundredfold" is in the uncial MSS à , C and D, while "manifold" is in MSS B and C. The first option follows Mar_10:29 and the second Luk_18:30. Most scholars assume that Matthew and Luke follow the structure of Mark. One's commitment to Jesus must supercede his devotion to family, possessions and even life itself (cf. Mat_10:34-39; Luk_12:51-53).
The new age of righteousness is described in agricultural hyperbole (as in the OT). The Bible is not clear on what heaven will be like.
1. renewed Garden of Eden
2. agricultural abundance
3. beautiful city
4. new spiritual realm
What this text does reveal is that personal faith in Jesus now secures the blessing of heaven in the future. No personal sacrifice now will go unnoticed or unrewarded! The key blessing is "eternal life" with God in Christ! All else pales into insignificance.
We must be careful of holding a theology of sacrifice now for abundance later! True wealth is intimacy with God. Jesus' statements are
1. hyperbolic
2. addressed to the disciples'current understanding
3. showing the radical, selfless decision involved in "following" Him!
I think Jesus' words here are hyperbolic and related to OT agricultural imagery. He expressed Himself this way because of the Apostles'misunderstanding of the spiritual nature of the Kingdom of God. It does not make sense to me for believers to reject materialism in this life only to claim it in the next (" pie in the sky, by and by Christianity"). Jesus is trying to encourage them on a level they can comprehend. This is not a text to base one's views of heaven on! The afterlife, both hell and heaven, are veiled. Earthly metaphors are used to describe both, but only because of our current blindness caused by the Fall (i.e., "we see through a glass darkly," 1Co_13:9-12). We must always guard against "what's in it for me" Christianity. Heaven, like the Kingdom, is all about Him!
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Mat_19:30 Things are not as they appear to us (cf. Mat_20:16; Mar_10:31; Luk_13:30). God's ways of evaluation are different from ours (cf. Isa_55:8-11). Child-like disciples are received, while the wealthy and privileged are rejected (i.e., Mat_8:10-12). Biblical faith causes an unexpected reversal of the creation!
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