People From Every Tribe

People from Every Tribe

The twelve sons of Israel (Jacob) were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. These were the ancestors of the original twelve tribes—ethnic Israel, the people of God, the recipients of all the promises of God.

Significantly, when Jesus began his ministry, he chose twelve men to be his disciples. Matthew listed them as Simon (also called Peter), Andrew, James and John (sons of Zebedee), Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, Thaddaeus, Simon (the zealot), and Judas Iscariot (Matthew 10:2-4). By choosing twelve disciples, Jesus not only signaled his mission to Israel but also indicated that he was raising up a new people to displace the nation that would reject him and his message. He told his disciples, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28). In other words, Jesus’ disciples would be the leaders of the true remnant of God’s people, who by embracing Jesus would bring judgment to all who had the advantages of the promises and yet rejected Christ.

Those represented by the twelve tribes and those represented by the twelve apostles unite in the church. In Revelation 21, the apostle John describes the ultimate gathering of all of God’s people in the new Jerusalem. John describes twelve gates to the holy city that comes down from heaven. The gates have the names of the twelve tribes of Israel written on them, pointing to the fact that the heavenly city is the true Israel, with its splendor far exceeding anything the prophets had seen. John also describes the foundations, which are inscribed with “the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” It is the saving work of Jesus Christ, witnessed by the twelve apostles, that provides the foundation to the city where God’s people will live forever.

Our eternal home will be populated by the true Israel—the people of God who come from the twelve tribes and those taught by the twelve apostles. This includes all those in both the Old and the New Testament eras who responded to God by faith and whose spiritual origin rests exclusively in God’s grace.

Jesus, you have established a new people for yourself—all those who believe the testimony of the Twelve who spoke of your saving work. This is the foundation of my life now as well as my eternal life.