Jesus tells his disciples that in his kingdom, in the ‘regeneration’ of the people of God, ‘when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel’ (Matt. 19:28; cf. Lk. 22:30). ‘Regeneration’ is palingenesia. In the background is the use of the metaphor of new creation to describes the restoration of Israel in Is. 65:7; 66:22. Josephus uses the word to refer to the ‘rebirth’ of the nation following the exile (Ant. 11.2.9 §66).

A man comes to Jesus and asks what good thing he must do to inherit the life of the age to come (not ‘eternal life’ in the traditional sense). Jesus tells him that in order to enter life he must keep the commandments. The man has done this. What is still lacking? Jesus tells him that if he would be ‘perfect’, he must sell what he has, give to the poor, and follow him. What is the meaning of ‘perfect’ here?

This verse has often been used to support a theology of spiritual warfare. In fact, Jesus is saying something quite straightforward but crucial for the continuation of the community of believers and the success of the message that they proclaimed.

In 1998 Dr Andrew Overman discovered the ruins of a large Roman temple at Horbat Omrit. He believes that the temple was built by Herod in Caesarea Philippi to honour Augustus at the time when the emperor was coming to be worshipped as a living God. He suggests that the phrase ‘the son of living God’ in Peter’s confession (not found in Mark 8:29) reflects a conscious challenge to the divinity of Augustus.

The reference to this wicked generation locates the saying historically. I would suggest that Jesus is talking about the generation of Jews that would suffer the horrors of the war against Rome. He casts out demons from Israel, but he warns that these homeless spirits will return with a vengeance and wreak havoc. The derangement of the possessed who confronted him was nothing compared to the self-destructive madness of those who, a generation later, rebelled against Rome. Josephus describes the lead up to war in these terms…

This verse comes in the context of Jesus’ instructions to the twelve before sending them out to proclaim the imminence of the reign of God (10:7). In particular it presupposes the warning that they will face persecution from the Jews as they go through the towns of Israel (10:23). There is no thought here of a mission to the Gentiles as such, but as they proclaim the coming of the kingdom of God to Israel, they can expect to be dragged before both Jewish and Roman authorities (10:17-18).

The allusion to Hos. 6:6 LXX (‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’) brings into view the wider context of Hosea’s prophecy. The people of Israel will take their sacrificial animals to the temple, but they will not find the Lord there (Hos. 5:6). He has withdrawn from them until they acknowledge their guilt and seek his face, saying: ‘Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him’ (Hos. 6:1-2).