Rewards of a King Received

Introduction

Last week, we saw that Jesus was very clear about the nature of the mission he was sending his Apostle’s on, and equally clear on the mission we take on as we carry out the Apostolic mission. That is, Christ’s disciples will be like sheep among wolves as they go out proclaiming the Gospel to the world. As they go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and later to all the nations of the world, they will be hunted by those who are enemies of God and of Christ. They will see the Gospel break up families, get them into legal trouble, and even lead to their death. The way is so dangerous that Jesus warns them to have the cunning wisdom of snakes as well as the innocence of doves, so that they might avoid as much conflict as possible. But conflict is sure to come, and it is sure to cost these disciples of the cross dearly.

Yet this is not all that the Disciples will find when they share the Gospel. Some will listen, some will believe, some will accept them and their message and join them in their faith in Christ. While Jesus said it would be better for Sodom than for the cities that reject the message of the Gospel preached by the Apostles, on the other hand there is a great reward for those who receive the Apostles and their message with joy.

You, Me, and the One who Sent me

Here the relationship inherent in what Jesus means when he says “he who receives you receives me” shows Christ’s abounding love for them, that he reckons what is done to them as done to himself.

There is an OT connection, where the voice of Moses was to be to Israel as the voice of the Lord. Similar authority is being given to the Apostles and thus we, as Christians, fall under the authority of their teachings recorded in the NT.

To receive Christ, one must receive the one who preaches Christ and they must accept the Apostolic testimony found in the NT Scriptures. One cannot accept Christ apart from being part of his Church and believing the Scriptures that have been given to us through the Apostles. One cannot come to Jesus their own way, they must come through the Word preached by God’s messengers.

What is being received? It is not doctrine primarily, although the accepting of true doctrines in a reasonable fruit of this, but it is receiving them as Apostles. You cannot accept the Gospel and reject those whom Christ has appointed to give it to you. We cannot have eternal life apart from God’s Word or God’s Church. It is the teaching of the Apostles who were eyewitnesses of Christ that we have believed, and it is those teaching that we proliferate as we take on that role of messenger.

We see this in 2 Cor 5 where Paul calls himself an ambassador of Christ. If he is an ambassador, how people treat him is how they treat the one who sent him. We should have this attitude towards those who deliver the Word to you. Whether it is the preaching from the pulpit, you own Scripture reading, or the encouragement and exhortation of a brother or sister in Christ, take the Word of God delivered to you as from God through these vessels that God uses. To reject God’s vessels is to reject God himself.

However, it is the message of the Kingdom that defines this ministry. Paul says in Galatians that if anyone, even an apostle, comes to you with a different Gospel than what was delivered about Christ, let them be accursed. So we see that the message of the Gospel is what is received when an Apostle is received. Thus, it is important for us to take the words of the writer to the Hebrews seriously,

Hebrews 2:1 ESV

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

What we have heard is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel that was based in the OT and fully revealed in the coming of our Lord. It is the Gospel of the good news of salvation for all who hope in the one whom God has sent to be the sacrifice for our sins. It is at the same time a message of calling people to follow the King and to treat him as their King. They are to worship him, adore him, serve him, humble themselves before him as he rules over them as both King and Saviour. This is the message of the Kingdom, and we must take care that we are not compromising on that message. Am I following Christ the way Christ calls me to follow him?

Receiving God’s People

This also becomes the cornerstone of Christian hospitality. We welcome one another in the Lord because of the message we carry and the presence of Christ created in us as image bearers. When we welcome one another, fellowship with one another, we do not do it just because it is polite or socially enjoyable, but because we see the witness of Christ in each other’s lives. Those who accepted the Apostles were rewarded because in the Apostles they saw Christ and were moved to follow him by obeying and believing the words the Apostles gave to them. So special hospitality is offered to those in whom we see the witness of Christ, in our fellow Christian, knowing that there is a reward for receiving such in His Name.

John Calvin:

Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke Matthew 10:37–42; Mark 9:41; Luke 14:25–33

Though God enjoins us to perform offices of kindness to all mankind, yet he justly elevates his people to a higher rank, that they may be the objects of peculiar regard and esteem.

While we are to be kind to all men, a certain love exists in the church that cannot be shared with those outside. A brotherly love, a Christ-like love, and it is Christ in us that we love and receive. And so, Jesus goes on, rewards are given to those who receive his ambassadors. He names three groups where each is not very specific, but they begin from a person of large importance, a prophet, to one who is of seemingly little importance, one of these little ones. This encapsulates all disciples of Christ and bids us receive each one, great or small, simply because they are a disciple of Christ. And if a disciple, than Christ dwells in them and we find ourselves serving and communing with Christ himself.

Receiving the Prophet

John Gill sees the prophet as the preacher, the messenger of God who preaches the Gospel. In Israel, the prophet was the top of the religious authority structure, being the only man that had the authority to rebuke the king as the voice of God. In the NT, prophets held various roles that essentially came down to an ability and authority to speak the words of God on God’s behalf. That being the case, a prophet held a very high position in the early church and they were often itinerant, going from church to church to give some revelatory guidance or direction for God’s people.

The Puritans saw preachers as prophets, and although I don’t believe they replace the NT role of a prophet, there is a prophetic sense in the preaching ministry since the preacher, by the help of the Holy Spirit, has the authority to bring God’s Word to bear on the lives of the people. Whatever we understand here, it is clear that receiving a prophet meant receiving one of great spiritual significance who was certainly proclaiming the truth of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Because he is a prophet. This person is received specifically because they are a spokesperson of God, a preacher of the Gospel of the Kingdom. Note again the acceptance is based on whether or not this person biblically represents Christ.

The reward is not the reward of being a prophet, but rather a reward equal to what was done for such a man of God. It is right for us to honour those who brought the Gospel to us, our pastors, our parents, our elders in the church, even our friends who may have spoken Gospel truth in a meaningful way to us. Let us accept them with all joy and expect the reward of receiving them and their words as far as they align with the holy Word of God.

Receiving the Righteous Man

Again, Gill sees the righteous man as a Christian who may not be in an official capacity of teaching in the church, yet shows the righteousness of Christ through this righteous lifestyle. The point is that we are to show honour in the church, not based on external factors, but based on the righteous and holy lifestyles we see our brothers and sisters take on.

We should train our hearts to be attracted to people that set for us a good example in the Christian life. David Brainard, whenever he would venture from his lonely place in the forest where he preached to the natives, always earned for good, uplifting conversation of Christ and would communicate in his diary his disappointment when he few times with other Christians were dominated by worldly talk. Seek our the kind of company that exhorts your soul. I see a lot of young people in churches today who like to get involved in young-adult studies which often are little more than game nights and social parties. Nothing inherently wrong with these, but are we creating the kind of social environments in the church where our souls are fed? Where we accept each other, not because they are fun to be around, but because they walk the Christian walk in such an exemplary way that we accept them and welcome them into our lives so we can be more like them? I enjoy being with people my own age as much as the next person, but let us lead our hearts to enjoy the company of the most holy men and women we find in our lives.

Once again, welcoming and receiving a righteous man has a heavenly reward equal to it. Not only is such a reception good for our souls, but it is rewarded in eternity. We gain a closer walk with God and riches in the next life. Welcome the spiritually mature into your life, surround yourself with them, and be blessed.

Receiving the Child

Now here is the smallest in the Kingdom of Heaven, the one with the quietest voice to testify the things God has done. The one who is immature in the things of faith. The one who is confused about many things. The one who often falls into sins but seeks to live a repentant life. This littlest one which Jesus cares for so carefully, despite their being, as it were, prematurely born and is perhaps barely alive in the faith. But as long as grace is sensible in their life, they are a brother or sister in Christ and are to be welcomed with the fullness of grace. To receive such a one is to receive Christ himself. To give a cold cup of water to them simply for the reason, and no other, that they are a disciple of Christ, there is surely reward for such an action done in such a heart.

When such a one goes into the world, they do not always show Christ in the clearest way they could. Yet, they show enough of Christ that some predestined by God will receive them, and to those the Kingdom of God belongs. We see the power of God at work in his smallest children in the world.

When we see such a one, let us not be concerned with their weakness, but rather accept them because they belong to Christ.

There is a sense in which we should all see ourselves as such a one, the lowly child in the lap of our heavenly Father. We are not great or worthy on our own, but because the spirit of Christ dwells within us, we are worthy of acceptation and we have been accepted by the Father and we ought to be accepted by the brethren.

Accepted must be understood biblically, however, Being accepted doesn’t mean your sin will be accepted. On the contrary, being accepted means being encouraged and even disciplined to leave your sinfulness behind. We are accepted on the basis of Christ despite our sin, but the proof must be in the pudding. We must be able to show we indeed belong to the Lord before we can expect to be accepted in this way.

Conclusion

Rewards are given in accordance to the persons who receive those sent by God. Yet the reward for welcoming even the least of God’s people cannot spoil or perish. The reception of the little one is a reception of Christ and the Gospel. So in this mysterious way, our unity is born of our common purpose to welcome Jesus and his message. This is why the church must always unite in truth, for it is in our common pursuit of truth that we come to welcome it in one another, but only in those who have believed the truth. We dare not unite with the most innocent of heretics and yet we dare not sever our ties to the least of our brothers because in them we see our Saviour, we see in their life his ministry, and in coming to Christ we come to one another.

This means that the mission of the church is primarily fueled by love, and not just any love, but a love for Christ that is so powerful that it draws me to every image I see of him, which draws me to the church. A good church is simply a community where you best see Christ in all the individuals in unity. As the Apostles went on their mission, they drew to themselves those whom, by God’s election, were seekers of truth, inspired by the Holy Spirit to know the truth which can set you free. Missions is simply going into the world preaching truth that will resonate with those hearts that have been prepared by God. You meet, they believe, they receive you, more come, a church is established.

Growing in love for Christ is how we grow in our love for one another, a love for the lost, and a love for heavenly things. The rewards are our heavenly inheritance, kept for those who proclaim the truth and for those who accept the truth.