Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 19:28

"And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." — Matthew 19:28 (ASV)

In the regeneration — In the only other New Testament passage where this word occurs, it is applied to baptism as the instrument of the regeneration, or new birth, of the individual believer (Titus 3:5). Here, however, it clearly has a wider scope. There is to be a new birth for humanity as well as for the individual. The sorrows the world was to pass through were to be like the birth pains of that passage into a higher life . Beyond these sorrows lay the restitution of all things (Acts 3:21)—the coming of the victorious Christ in the glory of His kingdom. This was present in the thoughts of the disciples and, though in a different way, in the mind of Christ Himself.

In that triumph, the Twelve were to be sharers. Given their stage of understanding at the time, the disciples would have necessarily interpreted these words as suggesting a kingdom restored to Israel, in which they would be assessors of the divine King. They would see themselves not only or primarily as judging every person according to their works, but as "judging" the twelve tribes of Israel in the older sense of the word: redressing wrongs, guiding, and governing. Just as the statement that the Son of Man would sit on the throne of His glory recalled the vision of Daniel 7:14, so these words assured them that they would be foremost among the saints of the Most High, to whom glory and dominion had been given in that same vision (Daniel 7:27).

The apocalyptic imagery clothing this promise reappears in the vision of the twenty-four elders seated on their thrones (Revelation 4:4) and in the sealing of the 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel (Revelation 7:4). The interpretation of Christ's words here is subject to the same conditions as that of those later visions. Whatever approximations to a literal fulfillment may lie in the distant future remains hidden. The promise receives an adequate fulfillment, however, if we see in it the assurance that in the final, triumphant stage of the redeeming work, the Apostles will still be recognized and held in honor, guiding the faith and conduct of their people. Their names will be on the twelve foundations of the heavenly Jerusalem (Revelation 21:14), and they will be sharers in the throne and glory of its King.

Similarly, the thought on which St. Paul dwells—that the saints shall judge the world (1 Corinthians 6:2)—refers not only or chiefly to any share the disciples of Christ will have in the final judgment. Rather, it points to the assured triumph of the faith, laws, and principles of action for which they were then persecuted witnesses.

We must not ignore the fact that, in at least one instance, these words, as absolute as they were in form, failed to be fulfilled. The guilt of Judas left one of the thrones vacant. The promise was therefore given subject to the implied conditions of faithfulness and endurance to the very end.