John Calvin 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)

Verily I say to you. So that the disciples might not think their labors have been wasted, and regret having begun their course, Christ warns them that the glory of his kingdom, which at that time was still hidden, was about to be revealed. It was as if he had said, “There is no reason why that lowly condition should discourage you; for I, who am scarcely equal to the lowest, will finally ascend to my throne of majesty. Endure then for a little while, until the time arrives for revealing my glory.” And what does he then promise them? That they will be partakers of the same glory.

You also shall sit on twelve thrones. By assigning to them thrones, from which they may judge the twelve tribes of Israel, he compares them to assessors, or first councilors and judges, who occupy the highest seats in the royal council. We know that the number of those who were chosen to be apostles was twelve, in order to testify that, by the agency of Christ, God intended to gather the remnant of his people who were scattered. This was a very high rank, but previously it was concealed; and therefore Christ holds their wishes in suspense until the final revelation of his kingdom, when they will fully receive the fruit of their election. And though the kingdom of Christ is, in some respects, manifested by the preaching of the Gospel, there is no doubt that Christ here speaks of the last day.

In the regeneration. Some connect this term with the following clause. In this sense, regeneration would be nothing other than the renewal that will follow our restoration, when life will swallow up what is mortal, and when our lowly body will be transformed into the heavenly glory of Christ. But I prefer to explain regeneration as referring to the first coming of Christ; for then the world began to be renewed and rose from the darkness of death into the light of life. This way of speaking occurs frequently in the Prophets and is very well suited to the context of this passage. For the renewal of the Church, which had been so frequently promised, had raised an expectation of wonderful happiness as soon as the Messiah should appear; and therefore, to guard against that error, Christ distinguishes between the beginning and the completion of his reign.