Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 10:40

"He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." — Matthew 10:40 (ASV)

As the discourse, viewed as a whole, moves from the Twelve to all believers, so also does its conclusion. Verse 40 probably refers primarily to the apostles, and vv.41–42 move through “prophets” and “righteous men” down to “these little ones” (GK 3625)—i.e., the least in the kingdom, seen as persecuted witnesses in the latter part of the discourse. The classes mentioned are not mutually exclusive, since “these little ones” surely includes the apostles, prophets, and righteous men; they are all “little ones” because they are all targets of the world’s enmity. To give a cup of cold, freshly drawn water, the least that courtesy demands, to the least disciple just because he is a disciple will be rewarded. “Prophets” refers to those who speak for God and for those with whom Jesus’ followers are aligned (cf. 5:10–12); “righteous men” is a generic category that refers to all those who are righteous in Christ Jesus (cf. 5:20), including the righteous people of earlier generations.

Verse 42 makes it clear that the sole reason for rewarding those who treat Jesus’ disciples well is not because they are prophets or righteous people—they are in fact “little ones”—but because they are Jesus’ disciples. The prophet’s reward and the righteous man’s reward are therefore not disparate but kingdom rewards that are the fruit of discipleship. To receive a prophet because he is a prophet (as in 1 Kings 17:9–24; 2 Kings 4:8–37) presupposes, in the context of v.40, that he is Christ’s prophet; the same came be said about the “righteous man.” Thus the person who receives a prophet receives Christ, his word, his ways, and his Gospel, and he or she expresses solidarity with the people of God (these “little ones”) by receiving them for Jesus’ sake (cf. 2Jn 10– 11; 3Jn 8). Jesus promises that no such persons will lose their reward.