The King And His Kingdom
The Lord Jesus will rise from the dead, and He will inherit His kingdom. He will also bequeath the kingdom to these men as well. They are good soil, and they have remained faithful to the Lord in His trials (testings up to this point). This is why, even after they flee, Jesus can restore them and use them after His ascension.
Introduction
The Perseverance of the Men
Perseverance. These men remained with Christ in spite of His trials.
νεό-φυτος, -ον (< νέος, φύω), [in LXX: Jb 14:9, Ps 143 (144):12, Is 5:7 (נֶטַע), Ps 127 (128):3 (שָׁתִיל)*;] newly-planted (LXX). Metaph., as subst., ὁ ν., a new convert, neophyte, novice: 1 Ti 3:6.†
A Promise of the Kingdom
Luke 22:29
And I appoint unto you (κʼαγω διατιθημαι ὑμιν [k’agō diatithēmai humin]). They had on the whole been loyal and so Jesus passes on to them (διαθημαι [diathēmai] verb from which διαθηκη [diathēkē] comes).
The mid. alone is found in the NT.
1. The sense “to determine,” “to appoint” may be seen in Lk. 22:29 f.: κἀγὼ διατίθεμαι ὑμῖν καθὼς διέθετό μοι ὁ πατήρ μου βασιλείαν, ἵνα ἔσθητε καὶ πίνετε ἐπὶ τῆς τραπέζης μου ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ μου, καὶ καθήσεσθε ἐπὶ θρόνων τὰς δώδεκα φυλὰς κρίνοντες τοῦ Ἰσραήλ—an eschatological promise of the parting Jesus to His disciples that as the Father has ordained royal dominion (→ βασιλεία) for Him, so He ordains for the disciples a share in His future reign as those who shall feast (→ τράπεζα) and rule (→ θρόνος, → κρίνω) with Him. Whether we find the obj. of the διατίθεμαι in the βασιλείαν of the subsidiary clause (to give a thought similar to Lk. 12:32), or whether we find it in the ἵνα clause, which is better2 (cf. Mt. 19:28), διατίθεσθαι obviously has the force of freely ordaining or authoritatively disposing and not of making testamentary disposition;3 for the διατίθεσθαι of Jesus corresponds to that of the Father, who is certainly not making His will, and in the context of the sayings of the disciples it has no more connexion with the death of Jesus than the similar sayings in Lk. 12:32 and Mt. 19:28.4 As the eschatological βασιλεία is ordained for Jesus by the sovereign declaration of the will of God, so it is decided by the sovereign resolve of Jesus that the disciples should reign with Him.5 On the expression διατίθεσθαι διαθήκην, “to make a covenant,” which in the NT, as distinct from the LXX, is used only of the resolves or dispositions of God in salvation history (Ac. 3:25: τῆς διαθήκης ἧς ὁ θεὸς διέθετο πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας ὑμῶν, Hb. 8:10 [== Ἰερ. 38:31]: αὕτη ἡ διαθήκη ἣν διαθήσομαι τῷ οἴκῳ Ἰσραήλ, 10:16: ἡ διαθήκη ἣν διαθήσομαι πρὸς αὐτούς), → διαθήκη, 125.
b. as a technical legal term: “to make final testamentary disposition in view of death”: e.g., Isaeus 7:1: διέθετο τὴν οὐσίαν ἑτέρῳ; CIG, II, 2448: τάδε διέθετο … Ἐπικτήτα; P. Oxy., 104, 4; Jos. Ant., 13, 407: τὴν βασιλείαν εἰς τὴν Ἀλεξάνδραν διέθετο. διατίθεσθαι διαθήκην [-ας], or abs. “to make a will,” Lys. 19, 39; Aristot. Pol., II, 9, p. 1270a, 27 f.: κἂν ἀποθάνῃ μὴ διαθέμενος (→ διαθήκη, 124); hence ὁ διατιθέμενος “testator,” Isaeus, 1:26, 34f.; BGU, 448; Ditt. Or., 509, 6 and 16; P. Oxy., 99, 9 and 15 etc.; and less frequently, and only in older texts, c. “to come to an arrangement or to order things with others”: Xenoph. Mem., II, 6, 23: δύνανται καὶ τὴν ἔριν … ἀλλήλοις διατίθεσθαι (“to settle strife”); Ditt. Syll.3, 205, 10 ff.: τὴν φιλίαν καὶ τὴν συμμαχίαν … ἣν διέθεντο πρὸς ἀλλήλας αἱ πόλεις (“to establish friendship and covenant relationship”); Plat. Leg., VIII, 834a: διαθεμένους αὖ περὶ τούτων νόμους (“to coordinate laws,” cf. shortly before 833e συννομοθετεῖν); Aristoph. Av., 440 f.: ἢν μὴ διάθωνταί γʼ οἵδε διαθήκην ἐμοὶ ἥνπερ ὁ πίθηκος τῇ γυναικὶ διέθετο (“to reach agreement,"rd; “to conclude a treaty,” → διαθήκη); Ditt. Syll.3, 955, 24: ὡμολόγησαν καὶ διέθεντο Ἀρκεσινεῖς ὀφείλειν Πραξικλεῖ ἓξ τάλαντα (3rd cent. B.C.). The emphasis differs, however, from that of συντίθεσθαι, from which διατίθεσθαι is quite distinct. It does not fall on the reciprocal nature of the action. The element of reaching a decision being still strong, it falls rather on the legally binding character of the decision reached either in relation or with respect to others.1
2121 רָדָה (rādâ) I, rule.
Derivative
2121a מִרְדָּה (mirdâ) dominion (Isa 14:6).
This verbal root is found in later Semitic dialects (but not Ugaritic). It occurs in two senses. One is cognate to Akkadian radu although the Hebrew root developed the specialized meaning “to tread” and is used in the Qal stem in this sense only once (Joel 4:13), “Come! Tread! for the winepress is full, the vats are overflowing.” The second meaning is “to rule” and is used some twenty-two times in the OT, occurring in every section and type of context. The initial usage appears in Gen 1:28, “And let them rule over the fish of the sea.” (The allusion to this verse in Ps 8:6 [H 7] uses māšal.) There is no definite structure to its use in parallel poetry, as the root may be placed in either the first (Ps 68:28) or the second hemistich (Ps 49:15). rādâ does not occur as a synonym in proximity to the more frequent verb, māšal (q.v.). Generally rādâ is limited to human rather than divine dominion (Ps 110:2, et al.) The root is used of the rule of Israel over its enemies (Isa 14:2) and of the Gentile nations’ rule over subject peoples (Isa 14:6). A most difficult and unusual usage occurs in Lam 1:13, RSV mistakenly reads, “From on high he sent fire; into my bones he made it descend,” while KJV and JPS more precisely translate, “From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them.” But to be preferred is the reading, “He sent fire from above into my very bones and it overruled them.” There is one instance of the Hiphil stem in Isa 41:2, speaking of the reign of the king-messiah, “And causes him to rule over kings.”
A possible derivative is mirdâ “dominion” which is not found unless it be the true reading of the MT mrdāp (q.v.) in Isa 14:6.
I רדה: qal: pf. רָדוּ, רְדִיתֶם; impf. תִּרְדֶּה, וְיֵרְדְּ, וְיִרְדּוּ, יִרְדֶּנּוּ; impv. רְדֵה, רְדוּ; inf. רְדוֹת; pt. רֹדֶה, רֹדִים:—1. tread (in the wine-press) Jl 4:13;—2. rule, govern abs. Ps 72:8, w. be over Gn 1:26.
[hif.: impf. יַרְדְּ Is 41:2; rd. perh. √rdd, or txt. corr. †]
A festival known variously as the feast of booths, tabernacles (Lv 23:34; Dt 16:13), or ingatherings (Ex 34:22) was the 3rd great occasion that all Hebrew males were required to observe annually. It began on the 15th day of the 7th month (Tishri), shortly after the observance of the day of atonement, which fell on the 10th day. The feast of booths lasted for 1 week and involved pilgrimage (ḥag). It was associated initially with the end of the year (Ex 34:22), when the agricultural work had been completed. The 1st day was marked by a symbolic cessation from all activity, after which burnt offerings were presented to the Lord. The 8th day was also one on which the congregation of Israel abstained from manual work and again offered burnt sacrifices. Leviticus 23:39–43 furnished details for the rituals which gave the festival its special name of booths or tabernacles. The fruit of “goodly trees” was to be gathered on the 1st day of the feast, along with palm fronds, willow branches, and boughs from trees in full leaf. From these, rough shelters or booths were to be constructed in which the people lived for the week of the feast. Every 7th year the observances were marked by a public recital of the covenant provisions to which the Israelites under Moses had committed themselves, a procedure designed to keep fresh in their minds the obligations as well as the blessings of the covenant relationship. A particularly significant observance of the feast of tabernacles took place in the time of Ezra, when the Judean community returned from Babylon—celebration of a kind unknown for centuries was held (Neh 8:13–18). From the context it appears that observance of the feast had lapsed during the monarchy. The feast at Shiloh where Hannah was mistaken for a drunken woman and the feast referred to in Judges 21:19 were evidently the feasts of booths. In a prophetic vision in which he saw all nations coming to Jerusalem to observe the festival of booths, Zechariah warned that those who did not continue this tradition could expect hardship and shortages of food (Zec 14:16–19).
The Father = God the Father
The Kingdom = the heavens and the earth
The Promise of Thrones
The Thrones - dominion over nations
The Table - wedding/celebration feast
The Food - celebration food
The meaning of the promise is parallel to what precedes. As they have shared the trials, so they shall share the joy; and as they have proclaimed the Kingdom to Israel, so they shall exercise royal power over Israel, judging them according as they have accepted or rejected what was proclaimed. Comp. 1 Cor. 6:2, 3; Rev. 20:4.