He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me

 

 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth.  I did not come to bring peace but a sword.  For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.'  He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

"He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward.  And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.  And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward."

 

- Matthew 10:34-42 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus is speaking to the Twelve as He is sending them out on their first apostolic mission.  In yesterday's reading He taught, "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master.  If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!  Therefore do not fear them.  For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.  And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?  And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.  Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.  But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven." 

 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth.  I did not come to bring peace but a sword."  My study Bible comments that just before His most violent death on the Cross, Christ promised peace to His disciples.  But the existence of evil provides the necessity for spiritual warfare.  The earth to which Christ came was under the authority of Satan, called by Christ the "ruler of this world" and the "god of this age" by St. Paul (John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4).   Therefore, my study Bible says, it's essential that Christ wage war against the leader of vice with weapons of virtue (Ephesians 6:11-18).  It also notes that genuine peace is reconciliation to God through faith in Christ and surrender to truth.  Genuine peace has division as a byproduct because not everyone wants truth.  In a fallen world, divisions are necessary for truth to be manifest (see also Luke 12:51).

"For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.'  He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."  My study Bible notes that this fulfills the prophecy of Micah 7:6.  It says that in addition to the literal meaning, which has been experienced in the Church since the time of Christ, the older generation being divided from the younger generation also symbolizes, first of all, the rejection of the new covenant by followers of the old covenant, and also the spiritual struggle between our old, sinful state and our renewal in Christ (Ephesians 4:20-24).  To carry one's cross, my study Bible explains, a true disciple must be ready, if necessary to sacrifice even family relationships. 

 

"He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward.  And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.  And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward."  My study Bible comments that apostles are ambassadors who represent the Lord.  Therefore, all who extend to help them are showing mercy directly to Christ and will receive God's reward (Matthew 25:40).  

 

 It's interesting that my study Bible comments on the apostles as ambassadors who represent the Lord.  When one thinks of an ambassador, from ancient times it was understood that an ambassador was a representation of the figurehead or monarch for whom that ambassador was working.  In other words, the ambassador for an emperor fully "embodied" the emperor.  Whatever harm might be done to the ambassador, for example, it is as if it were done to the figurehead and the country itself.  This still continues today in terms of modern political life of the world; an ambassador is more than a figurehead or messenger, but a stand-in for the country itself and its leadership.  An embassy is considered the territory of the country it represents, regardless of where it is located.  In this sense, the apostles bear Christ and the Kingdom into the world, and as Jesus uses the term "little ones" as well, one must consider that, in some sense, this is referring to all who bear the Kingdom within them and into the world.  Any time we take our discipleship seriously, we seek to bear Christ's image into the world in the same sense that an ambassador bears a country or its leader into the world.  It is in this way that "whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward."  We also must correctly understand the concept of "name" here properly, and that concept is entirely related to the notion of ambassador or embassy as part and parcel of a country or a leader.  That is, not a symbol, but a presence.  Christ's name is the extension of His presence, His "house" in some sense.  So, when Jesus says, "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me," He is, in effect, speaking of His name, the extension of Himself and His presence, and through the name which is that of His Father who sent Him.  It stands to reason, therefore, to infer that the more deeply we bear Christ into the world, as His disciples, the more profoundly we may understand His words in this respect.  There, even within the context of these disciples being sent out on a great apostolic mission -- the first one! -- we are taught fundamental truths about the working of this Kingdom and how essential the practice of discipleship is to everything we do.  That is, the following of His commandments, in taking up our cross, for the ways in which we live our lives to Him (to lose one's life for His sake in order to find it), and together with the consciousness that we are all ambassadors.  That is, we must be aware that we all seek to be true to this Kingdom in bearing it into the world to others.  Let us be aware of the power in Christ's words, the reward that belongs to a prophet, to one who is righteous, and to even a "little one" in the name of a disciple.  For this is worthy of our lives and our dedication.