According to Matthew, Jesus says, “When the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, at the regeneration of the world, you will also sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Mt. 19:28).
This verse is very puzzling: at that time Jesus and the twelve apostles are on their way from Galilee to Judea, they have crossed the Jordan but have not yet arrived in Jerusalem. Therefore among these Twelve is also Judah, who according to this verse will also have his throne from which he will judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
If we stay within the scope of the Gospel narrative (according to which Judas consummated the betrayal and then hanged himself out of remorse (Mt. 27:3-5), in which the narrator knows how it ends, it is not clear how Judah can have a throne for himself for all eternity. The thing is impossible.
This short passage also leaves one stunned in a second respect: on the throne of glory sits the Lord (YHWH) alone. Glory is the Divine Being when He reveals Himself; His throne is the symbol of righteousness, as is easy to see in the Old Testament:
Is. 66:1 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, the earth the footstool of my feet.
1 Kings 22:19: “Micah said, ”Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on the throne; the whole army of heaven was around him, on the right and on the left.”
Among other things, the “sons of man” have been given the earth but not the heavens: “The heavens are the Lord's, but the earth he has given to the sons of man” (Psalm 115:16).
Finally, the concept of “regeneration” (palingenesis in the Greek text) is a concept that does not exist in the Jewish world (the word does not exist at all), but is typical of Greek philosophy (Heraclitus and the Stoics).
Therefore, it does not seem likely that Jesus could have said what Matthew reports.
