What is the meaning of Matthew 10:40? He who receives you • Jesus is speaking to His apostles, men He has personally commissioned and empowered (Matthew 10:1). • To “receive” them means to welcome, support, and listen to their teaching. See how Lydia “opened her home” to Paul and his team (Acts 16:14-15), and how Gaius was commended for receiving traveling teachers (3 John 5-8). • By tying blessing to how people treat His messengers, Christ underscores the dignity of faithful witness. Compare Matthew 25:40: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these My brothers, you did for Me.” receives Me • Welcoming Christ’s representatives equals welcoming Christ Himself. Luke 10:16 echoes the thought: “Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me.” • This is not mere symbolism; Jesus identifies personally with His servants. Saul learned this when the risen Lord asked, “Why do you persecute Me?” even though Saul had been chasing Christians (Acts 9:4-5). • Our response to gospel messengers reveals our response to the Messiah. John 13:20: “Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever receives the one I send receives Me.” and he who receives Me • Receiving Christ involves faith, love, obedience, and surrender (John 1:12; 14:23). • The verse shifts from human messengers to the divine Messenger, showing a chain of relational unity. Hebrews 3:1-2 reminds us that Jesus Himself is “the Apostle and High Priest” whom the Father sent. receives the One who sent Me • Jesus never stands alone; He is eternally one with the Father (John 10:30). To embrace the Son is to embrace the Father’s heart, plan, and authority. • John 14:9-10: “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.” John 5:23 adds, “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” • Salvation, therefore, is relational—entering fellowship with the triune God through the doorway of Christ and His gospel preached by faithful servants. summary Jesus links the welcome given to His messengers with the welcome given to Himself and, ultimately, to the Father who sent Him. Honoring those who carry the gospel is not optional courtesy; it is a tangible response to the Lord. To receive God’s servants is to receive Christ, and to receive Christ is to enter fellowship with the Father. |
    |