What does it mean that those who followed Jesus will judge Israel?

Explanation:

Peter asks what reward those who have followed Jesus will receive, Jesus explains that you who have followed me will sit on twelve thrones judging Israel. When Jesus says you who have followed me will sit on twelve thrones, he is referring to his disciples. We know this by looking to Matthew 19:23, which indicates that Jesus spoke to his disciples. This terminology appears again in Matthew 19:26, and then Matthew 19:26. Jesus is addressing the disciples throughout. He uses the second person plural personal pronoun also then in Matthew 19:28, you [plural] who have followed me, which confirms he is referring to the disciples.

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that while Jesus speaks directly to the disciples in this context, this does not mean that what he says does not refer to all who follow him. In other words, there is no reason to take you in an exclusive sense, as in, You and only you who have followed me will sit on twelve thrones. Rather, we may just as easily take Jesus as saying, You who have followed me, as in, my followers in general, will sit on twelve thrones. The notion that when Jesus says you who have followed me he has all of his followers in mind is highlighted by the fact that Peter is the one doing the talking. When Peter asks a question, he represents not only the disciples but all followers of Jesus.⁵ Thus, since Jesus responds to Peter, we should take it that his response applies to all believers.

Response to counterargument:

The problem with this counterargument is that it is one thing to say that Peter represents all the followers of Jesus, and another to show that this is the case. From Peter’s exchange with Jesus in Matthew 19:27–28 all we can conclude is that Peter represents the disciples. We know from the context that Jesus speaks directly to the disciples (Matthew 19:23). Further, we know that the disciples have left everything to follow Jesus, so when Peter asks what those who have left everything to follow Jesus will receive, he likely represents the disciples. Finally, Jesus uses the second person personal pronoun you when he responds to Peter, likely referring to those who were with him, namely, the disciples.

Explanation:

While it might be difficult to understand what it means that the twelve disciples will judge the twelve tribes of Israel, Matthew 19:28 is not the only passage where Jesus says this. For example, in Luke 22, Jesus is eating the Last Supper with his disciples. In fact, Luke refers to the disciples as the apostles (Luke 22:14), so we know he has the Twelve in mind. Suddenly an argument breaks out between the disciples over who will be the greatest (Luke 22:24). Jesus explains that the disciples should not lord their authority over anyone, but ought to serve one another. Then Jesus explains that those who stayed with him during his trials will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 22:28–30). That Jesus twice mentions the fact that the disciples will rule over the twelve tribes of Israel suggests that, even if the details are mysterious, the Twelve will one day judge Israel.⁶

Counterargument:

There is a problem with this counterargument. First, the question here is over what Jesus means when he says that you who have followed me will judge the twelve tribes of Israel. We know from Paul’s letters that the gospel of salvation is for all people (Galatians 3:28), and that at the end of time, Jesus will not only judge Israel but all nations (Matthew 25:32).⁷ Given the fact that Jesus will judge all nations, and that salvation is open to the Gentiles, it’s hard to see why Jesus would suggest that only the twelve tribes of Israel will be judged. Thus, it could be that Jesus uses the phrase twelve tribes of Israel as a metaphor.

Second, if Jesus is using the term twelve tribes of Israel as a metaphor, then there is no strength in the argument that Jesus uses the same phrase elsewhere. In other words, it could be that Jesus uses the same metaphor twice, which does not support the notion that the disciples will rule over Israel. Rather, it supports the notion that whatever the metaphor twelve tribes of Israel stands for, Jesus uses that metaphor on multiple occasions.

Response to counterargument:

First, the argument here is not that Jesus is saying only the twelve tribes of Israel will be judged. Rather, the argument is that only the disciples will be involved in judging the twelve tribes. Maybe other believers will be involved in judging all the nations, or maybe not. But when it comes to the twelve tribes of Israel, only Jesus and the disciples will be involved. Second, we should not take this phrase as metaphorical because in Matthew 19:29, Jesus seems to expand the scope of his teaching to include every believer, but he does not say that these will judge along with the Twelve.⁸ Thus, the Twelve will judge the Israelites, and the rest of the believers will receive eternal life.

Explanation:

There is likely a parallel between Matthew 19:28 and Daniel 7, where Daniel has a vision of the Ancient of Days ruling over a kingdom.⁹ There we learn that the Ancient of Days is given dominion, glory, and a kingdom (Daniel 7:14). We also learn that the saints of the Most High will possess the kingdom forever, which means that they will reign with the Ancient of Days. Likely, Matthew has picked up on the notion that the Ancient of Days refers to Jesus and the disciples are the saints of the Most High.

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that, even if there is a connection between Daniel 7:1–28 and Matthew 19:28, Daniel 7:1–28 does not suggest that the Twelve will rule over Israel. Rather, it suggests that Jesus will rule along with all the saints over all nations. We can deduce this from Daniel 7:14 where we read that all peoples, nations, and languages will serve the Ancient of Days. Thus, Jesus will have dominion over all, and not just the twelve tribes of Israel. Further, when Daniel says that the saints of the Most High will have dominion over the kingdom forever, he does not indicate that this refers to the disciples. Rather, he seems to have all believers in mind. Thus, while there might be influence from Daniel 7:1–28 that Jesus will reign with believers over the nations, it does not suggest that only the disciples will reign over Israel.

Possible weaknesses:

The weakness with this view is that it is not at all clear what it means that the disciples will rule the twelve tribes of Israel. Scripture as a whole seems to indicate that salvation is open to everyone and is based on grace through faith. Thus, the whole world will be judged by Jesus at the end of times. What it means that the disciples will judge, and that they will judge the ancient tribes of Israel, is not an obvious theme in Scripture. Still, that the Twelve judging Israel is mysterious does not mean that it is not going to happen, but it does leave one wondering whether Jesus is speaking metaphorically.

Explanation:

When Peter asks Jesus what those who follow him will receive, Jesus explains those who follow him will reign with him judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Does this mean that Jesus is saying the disciples will judge the Israelites? Likely not. Most likely Matthew wants us to understand Matthew 19:28 in light of Matthew 19:29.¹³ When we reach Matthew 19:29 we learn that anyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or fathers or land for Jesus’ sake will receive one hundredfold and inherit eternal life. In other words, it’s not just the disciples who will rule with Jesus, but all who follow him. Thus, when Matthew says that the disciples will judge the twelve tribes, this is simply a special example of what it means to receive one hundredfold.¹⁴

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that Jesus seems to clearly distinguish the reward of the disciples with the reward of all those who follow him.¹⁵ In Matthew 19:28 Jesus explains that the disciples will reign over Israel and in Matthew 19:29 he says that all who follow him will receive one hundredfold. Why would Jesus carefully distinguish these two groups when he really means to say the same thing? In other words, if Jesus wants the disciples to understand that all believers will reign with him, he may have just said that all who follow him will reign over Israel instead of just the disciples.

Response to counterargument:

The problem with this counterargument is that this view simply disagrees with the contention that Jesus distinguishes two groups in Matthew 19:28–29. One might try to make an argument to show that there is a distinction, but the argument of this view is that while there might seem to be, there is not. Instead, Jesus is explaining in detail what it means that all who follow him will reign over the tribes of Israel. That is, all who follow him will receive one hundredfold and eternal life.¹⁶

Explanation:

When Jesus tells the disciples that they will rule over the twelve tribes of Israel, this is a figurative way of saying that the Twelve are promised an incredible exaltation for their current sacrifice for Christ. In other words, Jesus is not saying that the Twelve and only the Twelve will judge the tribes of Israel. Rather, he is saying that the disciples who have left everything to follow Jesus will be greatly exalted for their sacrifice. Jesus then goes on to say that in fact, everyone who has left Jesus will receive one hundredfold, that is, be greatly exalted, and will receive eternal life. We can deduce that this is what Jesus means because in Matthew 25:31–32, he explains that when he sits on his judgment throne, all the nations will be gathered before him. And all who gave the little ones a bit of food or water will join Jesus in his kingdom (Matthew 25:31–32).¹⁷ Thus, there will not be a separate judgment for Israel, but all will be judged. That the disciples will judge Israel is Jesus’ way of saying that because the Twelve followed him, although they are poor now in the eyes of the fellow Israelites, they will in fact be exalted over them when Christ returns in all his glory.

Counterargument:

While it might be that Jesus mentions judging all the nations in Matthew 25:31–32, it could be that there will be two judgments. That is, Jesus will judge all the nations, and then he will judge the twelve tribes. If there will be two judgments, then we can hold both that the disciples will judge the Israelites and then Jesus will judge the rest of the nations.

Response to counterargument:

The problem with the notion that there will be two judgments is that it is ad hoc. That is, the suggestion that there will be two judgments is simply posited in order to make sense of something that is otherwise difficult to make sense of, with no direct evidence that there will be two judgments. A more plausible explanation is that Jesus is being metaphorical. It is not unlike Jesus to be metaphorical. For example, in John 2:19 Jesus says that if the Jews destroy the temple, he will raise it up in three days. Of course, Jesus is using the temple as a metaphor for himself, for he will be killed and will rise after three days.

Possible weaknesses:

The weakness of this view is that the plain reading of the text suggests that the disciples will judge the twelve tribes of Israel. We know that Israel was the special chosen people of God, so we can understand if they endure a sort of separate judgment at the hands of the disciples. Still, although it is logically possible that there is a separate judgment, it is hard to square this with the fact that the Gentiles have been grafted into the covenant.