[Note: This sermon expounds Matthew 10:40–42 as part of the continuing study of the Lord's teaching in Matthew. Delivered 21 August 1977, Montreal.]
"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me." The "you" in this verse does not refer to all Christians generally — the context makes this plain. Verse 38 has just said that those who do not take up their cross and follow are not worthy of the Lord. The "you" here are those committed disciples who have taken up the cross: they are Christ's representatives in the world. As God's ambassador represents his country, and to receive the ambassador is to receive the nation he represents, so to receive a true disciple of Christ is to receive Christ himself.
This carries a profound implication about the character of Christians. The question every Christian must face is: do people encounter Christ when they encounter me? This is not only a matter of individual witness — it is a corporate matter as well. When the communist authorities in China purified the church by persecution, something remarkable was revealed: the nominal Christians fled, and the true ones remained. It was through seeing the faithfulness of those true Christians under pressure that many who had previously had no interest in Christianity came to faith. The mediocre, double-minded Christian is not only a weak witness — he is a stumbling block, giving people a wrong impression of what Christ is like and what the gospel produces.
The principle of receiving must be understood carefully: "He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward." The receiving must be for the right reason. If you welcome a servant of God simply because you like his personality, or because he is charming and interesting, that is not receiving him as a prophet — and you do not receive a prophet's reward. You must receive him for what he is: a messenger of God, carrying the word of God. The 2 John 10–11 passage is the negative counterpart: "If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works." The same seriousness about reason applies in both directions.
"Little ones" in verse 42 does not mean those who are physically small, nor does it primarily mean young children. In Greek, the word means those who are little in esteem, of no importance — the nobodies. Matthew 18:6 confirms this: "little ones who believe in me." These are the disciples, the servants of God, who are nobodies in the eyes of the world — as the prophets and righteous men were nobodies and often despised in their own day. Isaiah was rejected; Jeremiah was thrown into a dungeon. Every true servant of God throughout history has been a nobody in the world's reckoning.
The principle of reward has two dimensions. First, God gives the reward whether the servant wants it or not — it is not negotiable or optional. Second, the reward is proportional, not absolute. The widow who gave her two mites gave more than all the rich men putting large sums into the treasury — because proportion matters to God, not figure. God does not measure giving by the amount; he measures it by the cost to the giver. Even the cup of cold water given to one of these little ones — the smallest possible act of service — will not go unnoticed or unrewarded by God.
The final and ultimate reward is Christ himself. God said to Abraham: "I am your exceeding great reward." Not a thing, not a position, not an honour — God himself is the reward. There is a children's illustration that captures something of this: if you place a piece of candy inside a glass jar with a narrow neck, a child can put their hand in to grasp the candy, but cannot pull it out while holding the candy tightly — the fist is too large. To receive, the child must let go. So it is in the spiritual life: those who cling tightly to what they have in this world cannot receive the fullness of what God offers. You must let go to receive.
# Our Union with Christ — Matthew 10:40–42 (Part B) — Becoming as a Nobody; Sharing in Others' Work; the Principle of Reward
[Note: This is Part B of the sermon on Matthew 10:40–42, continuing directly from Part A. Delivered 21 August 1977, Montreal.]
"Except you become as a little child" — as a nobody — "you cannot enter the kingdom of God." The Lord Jesus is not speaking here primarily of childlike innocence or simplicity, though those qualities have their place. He is speaking of status: to enter the kingdom, you must be willing to become a person of no importance, of no standing in the world. This is the very character of the "little ones" of verse 42 — the disciples who are nobodies to the world but precious to God.
The prophets who were promised rewards by God — Isaiah, Jeremiah — were precisely those who were nobodies and worse in the eyes of their contemporaries. Isaiah was rejected; Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern in the dungeon. The pattern is consistent throughout Scripture: those whom God esteems most highly are those whom the world dismisses or despises. Every true servant of God will be a nobody in this world. The cross confirms this: Galatians 6:14 says the cross crucifies the believer to the world and the world to the believer. When the cross does its work, the world no longer values you and you no longer value the world's valuation of you. Daniel is the great Old Testament example — a man of extraordinary gifts and position who had completely died to the world, so that even the lions could not harm him.
The "little ones" — these nobody-disciples — prove to be those closest to the Lord. Matthew 25:31 onwards makes this explicit at the final judgment: the Lord says to the righteous, "I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me." The righteous are bewildered — "Lord, when did we see you?" His answer: "As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." The principle of union with Christ runs all the way through: what is done to the least of his disciples is done to him.
On the principle of reward, the comparison of the rich young ruler and the widow with her two mites illuminates everything. The rich young ruler went away sorrowful because he had great possessions — his wealth prevented him from following. The widow gave everything she had. In God's economy, the poor consistently give more and the rich consistently give less — not in absolute terms, but proportionally, which is the only measure that matters to God. Those who have the least to give, and give it, are giving far more than those who give large amounts from their abundance.
Three things summarise this passage. First, union with Christ: to receive a true disciple is to receive Christ himself, because the disciple is inseparably united with his Lord. Second, sharing in others' work: by receiving a prophet, a righteous man, or one of these little ones, you share in what they are doing — the reward for the work flows to you as well, even if you did not go yourself. Third, the principle of reward: God measures by proportion and sacrifice, not by quantity; the cup of cold water is seen and remembered, and will be rewarded. These three together are the Lord's encouragement to every disciple who has chosen to be a nobody for his sake.