Did Jesus’ Apostles Get What They Expected?

Sacra Pizza Man blog ^ | 2/15/2015 | Sacra Pizza Man

[CharlesOConnell]

 How Did James & John Envision Jesus' Kingdom?

 They Asked to Sit at His Right & Left Hand; the Other Ten Were Indignant.

 What Was This Kingdom They Thought They Would Rule?

 What Eventually Became of Them All?

The Apostles Believed that Jesus Would Restore the Kingdom of David, Which Was at Its Greatest Extent and Stability in the Time of his son Solomon.  But Jesus's Apostles Spread His Kingdom Worldwide, Far Beyond the Greatest Extent of Israel's Empire.  The Apostles Never Could Have Imagined Their Eventual Fates.
The Apostles "Get Down to Business", Trying to Establish the Pecking Order
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him, with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." 22 But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." 23 He said to them, "You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; 28 even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." - Matthew 20:20-28	35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him, and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." 36 And he said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?" 37 And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." 38 But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" 39 And they said to him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, "You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:35-45
What Did The Apostles Think They Would Be Getting, Once Jesus "Restored the Kingdom"?
21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. … 24 For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates; and he had peace on all sides round about him. 1 Kings 4:21;24
These Two Maps Aren't Perfectly Synchronized - The Larger Map is Perhaps More Accurate about the Extent of David & Solomon's Kingdom - The Smaller Map Shows David's Kingdom Superimposed Upon the Map of the Modern Middle-East, Though It May Make the Borders Too Wide.
What Happend to Them All?
The Point Is, The Apostles Were All Martryred. Their Dreams of Empire Never Materialized.

[CharlesOConnell]

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17 So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. Romans 7:15-20

[jagusafr]

Preparing to teach on James s this morning, I read both of the references scriptures yesterday. Thanks for the affirmation, CC!

[ClearCase_guy]

I find it hard sometimes to say the way that I feel
I do the very things I hate to do
I act like a child and I’m afraid of what is real
And so I try to cover up the truth

I stumble like a drunk along this crazy path I walk
I have a hundred thousand questions too
I’ll go to any length to prove that nothing is my fault
Then later on I will deny the proof

I don’t like to win but then again I hate to lose
And in between is something I can’t stand
I don’t care what you think and I hope that you approve
I am just an ordinary man

Sometimes I want to stop and crawl back into the womb
And sometimes I cannot tell wrong from right
But I ain’t gonna quit until I’m laid in my tomb
And even then they better shut it tight

— T Bone Burnett - Shut It Tight

[CharlesOConnell]

youtube.com/watch?v=MZ7Ev5SN--8

[Boogieman]

“The Point Is, The Apostles Were All Martryred.
Their Dreams of Empire Never Materialized.”

Yet. That’s very important. The Kingdom of God is already at hand, it just hasn’t materialized on Earth in its final form yet. Christ will rule the world as King from Jerusalem, make no mistake about that.

[ifinnegan]

This may be one of the dumber things I’ve read.

[ravenwolf]

It would have been impossible for them to understand it all then but they must have understood it eventually other wise we would not be understanding it either.

We know that believers have been living in the kingdom of God for two thousand years.

[sasportas]

You must have went to a lot of trouble formulating this, great maps, etc., but what you are driving at is beyond me. Unless you are an amillennialist, preterist, or postmillennialist, that is. If so, it would explain the apparent befuddlement about the prophetic expectancy of the Apostles.

The apostles weren’t followers of Plato, pagan philosophy, nor were they gnostics, they were of the Jewish hope, who believed in “this world, and the world to come” eschatology. The “world to come” being the “regeneration” Jesus spoke about, Matt. 19:28, a purged earth, to be ushered in at the 2nd coming.