Jesus was a promiser

JESUS WAS A PROMISER
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 10:42 And whosoevershall give to drink
unto one of these littleones a cup of cold water only, in
the name of a disciple, verilyI say unto you, he shall in
no wise lose his reward.—
GreatTexts of the Bible
The Ministry of Small Things
In ordinary circumstances there is scarcelyany act that canhave less about it
of self-denial and self-sacrificethan the gift to any one of a cup of cold water.
The wateris so abundant, and the gift of it involves so little costor care, that it
is bestowedwithout thought of obligation, rendered and receivedwithout
thought of any gratitude being due. Here, however, our Lord brings into play
a principle which dignifies and ennobles the simplest acts, and gives signal
value to the smallestgifts. It is not the value of the gift in itself, but the end the
giver had in view, and the spirit in which he gave it; it is not the gift, but the
motive that the Lord causes to stand out in broadestrelief before our eye. The
gift may be greatin itself, and yet, in so far as the spirit and motive of the
giver are concerned, may be valueless. And, on the other hand, the gift or
deed may be insignificant in itself, yet when coupled with the spirit and motive
may be worthy of specialcognizance andhonour. More than all this—for
here, withdrawing our minds from all vain and selfish motives, striking a
death-blow at all self-seeking Pharisaismand hypocrisy, measuring men’s acts
by the high standard of genuine love to Himself, as representedin the person
of a disciple—our Lord leads us particularly to note that all acts are noble—

are worthy of honour and reward—only as the motives of the actorare
unselfish and loving, and spring out of regard to Christ Himself and respectto
His name and glory. Thus, if we were to place in one scale ofthe balance what
men should reckonthe noblestdeed or the noblest gift with only the love of
self in it, and in the other scale the most insignificant act or gift with the love
of Christ, and bestowedupon a disciple for His sake, thatinsignificant act or
gift, thus freighted with love to Him, would immeasurably outweigh the other.
Not only so, but if we take the Saviour’s estimate, He reckons the one as
valueless, while He tells that the other shall not lack its reward.
I
Little Things
1. Life’s most perfect gifts, life’s most perfect mercies, are little things. “A cup
of cold water.” We have sometimes become singularly blind. We setbefore
ourselves as life’s most perfectprizes, the summing up of life, the essenceofits
bliss, the things which the experience of every age has proved have no relation
to genuine bliss at all. We strive and deny ourselves, become untrue to our
divinest longings, strangle our noblest instincts in order to possessthem, and
they leave us hungry and haggardas ever. But it is common things, single
things, that quench thirst; not spicedwine, but the “cup of coldwater.”
Health, work, genuine friendship, the caressesoflittle children, the love that
setits hand in yours one beautiful morning five-and-twenty years ago, which
has become deeper, richer, sweeter, as your head has grown grey. God’s
sweet, simple gifts! A soul which is always young, which is as fresh in old age
as when it came first from the hand of God. That is life’s most precious
wealth, life’s most perfect gift—the “cup of cold water.”

I saw a rich man’s Bible a little while ago, and on the inside coverthere was
gummed a little messageofgoodwill from a poor man, and the rich man found
refreshment in it daily. It is a delightful study to go through the Epistles of St.
Paul and to discoverhow many obscure people ministered to the great
Apostle’s refreshment. “The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus;
for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamedof my chain.” “I was refreshed
by the coming of Fortunatus and Achaius.” These were allsubordinate
people; their names are linked with no greatexploits; but they gave cups of
cold waterto a mighty Apostle, and kept his spirit strong.1 [Note:J. H.
Jowett, in The Examiner, April 27, 1905.]
2. Our realsalvation, the things which refreshand put heart into us, are the
simplicities of the gospel—the cupof cold water. Charles Kingsley was a
scientist, but he was a poet also in every fibre of his soul; and it is only a
scientistwho is a poet that canexpound his own science. Charles Kingsley
showedhow the greatvolcanoes have been God’s most glorious workers.
Every harvest in the fruitful plains of Europe is due to the beneficentwork of
the volcanoesagesago;every grain of the rich soilwas melted out of the solid
granite. It is a romantic story, a perfectfairy tale, an enchantment, if you
know how to read it, if you have the imagination to picture the whole process
to yourself. But the embarrassedfarmer with a hundred calls upon him, who
finds it hard work to provide for his children, has little heart to think of those
things; he only wonders what the next harvestis going to be. So the great
mysteries of theology—theyought to be studied. Depend upon it that to give
up thinking is to impoverish the gospel. But those matters are not our real
salvation. There come times when those things are not bread, but stones—a
highly flavoured and elaboratelycookedfeast, but we cannot eatit. You have
laid out the table grandly. Like Ahasuerus at his banquet, you have setout
“vesselsofgold” and poured “royalwine” into them; but I am thirsty, and the
fever is in my blood still; I crave for “a cup of cold water.” “Godis love”;
“Godso loved the world, that he gave his only begottenSon”;“Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved”;“Him that comethunto me I will
in no wise castout”;“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”;
“Where I am, there shall ye be also”;“I go to prepare a place for you”—that

is the “cup of cold water”;I drink deep of it; it quenches my thirst; I am
young again; despair is gone;I am masterof life; nothing can quail me. It is
the “cup of cold water” that we need.
I have heard that during the battle of Fredericksburg there was a little patch
of ground which was occupiedin turn by the contending forces. It was
coveredwith the dead and the dying; and all through the afternoon of a weary
day the cry was heard, “Water, water!” A Southern soldierbeggedof his
captain to be allowedto answerthose piteous cries, but met with the refusal,
“No;it would be certain death.” He persisted, however, saying, “Above the
roar of artillery and the crack of the muskets I hearthose cries for water: let
me go!” He setout with a bucket of waterand a tin cup; for awhile the bullets
sang around him, but he seemedto bear a charmed life. Then, as the Federals
beyond the field perceived his purpose, the firing gradually ceased;and for an
hour and a half there was an armistice, while the soldierin grey, in full sight
of both armies, went about on his errand of mercy. Verily, that was the truce
of God!
And this was the kindness of our Lord. He came from heavento bring the cup
of cold waterto dying men. Ah, that was the greatestkindness that ever was
known. It was the most sublime heroism too. But the firing did not ceasewhen
He came to us with the waterfrom the wellbeside the gate at Bethlehem; His
mercy toward us costHim His life. What shall we render unto the Lord for
His loving kindness?1 [Note:D. J. Burrell, The Unaccountable Man, 222.]
II
Small Services

1. There cannot seeminglybe a more trivial service than a cup of cold water
given to the passing traveller. So we think in this land, where springs of water
and rivers abound, and where a cup of cold watercan be so easily obtained. If,
however, we go to the desert, as the weary traveller passes along it under the
burning rays of an Easternsun, how precious to him is the cup of coldwater
to allay his thirst! There have been seasons offamine when a loafof bread was
of more value than gold, and when he who brought it was the messengerof life
to those who were starving with hunger and staring death in the face. It may
seema very trifling thing to pay a visit to the house of a poor disciple and
leave there with him some small token of Christian kindness; yet the visit and
the actmay have been light and comfort to him in the hour of despondency
and distress. The widow on our northern Highland coastwho lost her only son
in a storm because there was no light to guide his frail bark to the natural
inlet of safety by the shore might seemto do a very slight thing when every
evening thereafterat sundown she put her little lighted oil-lamp in the end
window of her humble abode to burn till dawn of the morning; yet the trifling
act, as some might reckonit, was the safetyof many of the island fishermen in
nights of storm. Could we bring before our eye all the results of the acts that
in themselves seembut slight and insignificant, but which love to Christ has
evoked, it would be found that they have formed the starting-point of
influences that have told materially upon the well-being of mankind.
The other morning I saw an ingenious machine which told with the minutest
exactitude the strength of a bar of metal put to the test. You had only to look
at the indicator, and it told you within the hundredth fraction of a pound what
weight that bar of metal could bear. So the smallestthing may indicate the
force of Christian life, the store of Christian self-denial, the power of
Christian service, there is in you.1 [Note:J. M. Jones, The Cup of Cold Water,
13.]
2. Few men have the opportunity of performing greatthings in the cause of
the Lord. There are few that have greatthings, as these words are generally

understood, to do in the way either of service or of sacrifice forChrist. All
men cannot be missionaries, ordevote the whole of their time to direct work
in the vineyard of the Lord. All are not blessedwith temporal abundance.
MostChristian men are occupiedin the business of the world, and have to
engage in toil for their daily bread. Some, indeed, can command all their time,
but most have little more than their Sabbaths and their savings to offer to the
Master. They cangive only a portion of their means and shreds of their time
for labour in the vineyard of the Lord. They can give no more, for they have
no more to give. But we can all do little things; and there are a hundred little
things round about us which we can do, and which are crying to be done. In
one of the very greatestof his poems Wordsworthspeaks of
that best portion of a goodman’s life,
His little, nameless, unremembered acts
Of kindness and of love.
And that is surely what every goodman feels. If ever we have performed
Heaven’s highest ministry, and done some service which angels might have
coveted, it has been in some hour when on a bleak hillside we found a lost
sheepof the GoodShepherd, and bore it home to care, to love, and to safety.
And it was all done so simply. No church was near. We came not to God by
the path of beautiful service. We preachedno sermon. We satin the house of
loneliness, where men go softly, as though they feareda haunting spectre, and
simply spoke ofthe many mansions in the Father’s home. We watchedfor a
brief hour beside a child while the fever held him in its power, and spoke
words of delicate sympathy to the woman who was his mother. We smiled
upon a man when he was in the bitterness of defeat. We spoke a word of
encouragementto one who had a heavy burden to carry. And our acts were

cups of cold waterto dry and parched lips, and carried God’s great hope and
encouragementto hearts that were lonely and sad.
Mrs. Deane, who had often been a guest at Bishopscourt, writes:“WhenI first
went out to Capetownin 1898, a friend gave me an introduction to the
Archbishop and Mrs. WestJones, and said to me, ‘I have written about you to
the Archbishop, and you will be right.’ And so, indeed, I was!The friendship I
found at Bishopscourt, and my frequent visits to that lovely home, were the
greatesthappiness in my life at the Cape. Whateverthe Archbishop did, he
put his whole heart into it at the time, and this, I think, was largelythe secret
of his greatcharm. When he was talking to any one, he made that person feel
that, for the moment, he or she was his one interest in life. And so, again, his
heart was in his work or in his recreation, whicheverit might be. I think that
the Archbishop will be remembered much by his ‘faithfulness in little
things’—all those small details which go to make life pleasant. He liked to
recollectand mark birthdays and other anniversaries, to give wedding
presents, and to do all sorts of little, charming, unexpectedacts of friendliness.
He never omitted to answera letter, either personallyor by deputy, and I
believe that he really enjoyed being askedto do kindnesses, if he had not
already discoveredhis own way first. In more important matters he was ever
ready to give advice and sympathy. Every one who knew him loved him. And
no wonder!”1 [Note: M. H. M. Wood, A Fatherin God: The Episcopate ofW.
WestJones, 448.]
What are we set on earth for? Say, to toil;
Nor seek to leave thy tending of the vines,
For all the heat o’ the day, till it declines,

And Death’s mild curfew shall from work assoil.
God did anoint thee with His odorous oil,
To wrestle, not to reign; and He assigns
All thy tears over, like pure crystallines,
For younger fellow-workers ofthe soil
To wear for amulets. So others shall
Take patience, labour, to their heart and hand,
From thy hand, and thy heart, and thy brave cheer,
And God’s grace fructify through thee to all.
The leastflower, with a brimming cup, may stand,
And share its dewdrop with another near.1 [Note:E. B. Browning.]

3. The greatestthings are poor, if the little things are not done—those minor
courtesies whichdo so much to oil the wheels, to softenthe jars, and to heal
the heartaches ofthe world.
The most miserable homes I have ever knownhave often been those that
ought to have been the happiest; I envied them before I gotto know the whole
story. The house was a palace;the head of the householdhad workedhard,
had made money; he could command every luxury, and it was his one pride
that everything that money could command was at the disposalof every
member of his home-circle;art had done its best, culture had added its
sweetestministries; everything there—everything but the delicate courtesies,
the ingenious devices of love, which are life’s most perfectgraces.2[Note:J.
M. Jones, The Cup of Cold Water, 11.]
In OscarWilde’s tragic book, De Profundis, the author tells us how
unspeakablyhe was helped in his shame, when a friend paid him the common
courtesyof lifting his hat in his presence!But when these simplicities of life
are consecratedthey become sublimities, and they work the Lord’s will with
amazing fruitfulness. I think what is needed, above many things in our time, is
the sanctificationofconventionalities. Some men’s “Goodmorning” falls upon
your spirits like morning dew. There is one man in this city whom I sometimes
meet upon a Sunday morning, and his “The Lord be with you” revives my
spirit with the very ministry of grace. All these are cups of cold water.3 [Note:
J. H. Jowett, in The Examiner, April 27, 1905.]
III
The Motive

The true value of an action is to be measuredby its motive. The cup of cold
watermust be given “in the name of a disciple,” or, as St. Mark puts it,
“because ye are Christ’s.” There is nothing uncommon in the act of giving a
cup of cold waterto the thirsty one. But when we give the cup of coldwater to
the little ones upon whose brow we read the name of Christ, who died for
them, then the action is raisedto the moral sphere and wins the
commendation of the Lord of the little ones. A common deed becomes
uncommon when done in the name and for the sake ofChrist. Right motives
transform men and their actions.
1. The expression, “these little ones,” refers to His disciple-band, whom He
regards as little children in their want of experience and advantage. They had
the undeveloped perceptions of a little child; their spiritual senseswere not
sure and certain. They had a child’s immaturity of mind, and a great thought
overpoweredthem. They had a child’s uncertainty of limb, and were easily
made to stumble. They were “little ones” in the sphere of advantage. None of
the “greatones” ofthe earth were among them. None of them occupiedrank,
or possessedwealth, orwere adorned with culture. We find among them
children of disadvantage with their powers undisciplined and unknown. Mr.
Feeble-mind was there. Mr. Little-faith was among them. Mr. Limp-will was
of their number. And these “little ones” are among us in all times. The roads
are full of them. We may find them by every wayside. And the Lord looks
upon them with tender pity and solicitous love.
There is an Easternstory of a king who built a greattemple at his owncost,
no other one being allowedto do even the smallestpart of the work. The
king’s name was put upon the temple as the builder of it. But, strange to say,
when the dedicationday came it was seenthat a poor widow’s name was there
in place of the king’s. The king was angry and gave command that the woman
bearing the name on the scrollshould be found. They discoveredher at last
among the very poor and brought her before the king. He demanded of her
what she had done towardthe building of the temple. She said, “Nothing.”

When pressedto remember anything she had done, she said that one day
when she saw the oxen drawing the greatstones pasther cottage, exhaustedin
the heatand very weary, she had in pity given them some wisps of hay. And
this simple kindness to dumb animals, prompted by a heart’s compassion,
weighedmore in God’s sight than all the king’s vast outlay of money. What
we truly do for Christ and in love is glorious in His sight.1 [Note:J. R. Miller,
Our New Edens, 132.]
The Vision of Sir Launfal, by James RussellLowell, glows with the glory of
the right motive. Sir Launfal was a knight of the North Countree, who made a
vow to travel over sea and land in searchof the Holy Grail. Before his
departure, he sleeps, andin the dreams of the night he sees a vision of what is
and what will be. From the proudest hall in the North Countree, Sir Launfal
flashed forth in his unscarredmail, and saw a leper crouching by his gate,
who beggedwith his hand and moaned as he sat. A loathing came over the
knight, for this man, foul and bent, seemeda blot on the summer morn. In
scornhe tossedhim a bit of gold. Years seemedto pass, for in our dreams we
live an age in a moment. Sir Launfal, old and grey, returns from his weary
quest to find his heir installed in his place. Unknown, he is turned awayfrom
his owndoor.
As he sits down in the snow outside the gates, musing of sunnier climes, he
hears once more the leper’s voice, “ForChrist’s sweetsake, Ibeg an alms.”
The knight turns to the sound and sees againthe leper cowering beside him,
lone and white:
And Sir Launfal said, “I behold in thee
An image of Him who died on the tree;

Thou also hast had thy crown of thorns,
Thou also hast had the world’s buffets and scorns,
And to thy life were not denied
The wounds in the hands and feetand side:
Mild Mary’s Son, acknowledgeme;
Behold, through Him, I give to thee!”
So he parted in twain his single crust, and broke the ice of the stream and
gave the leper to eatand drink. Then, lo! a wondrous transformation took
place.
The leper no longer crouchedat his side,
But stoodbefore him glorified,
Shining and tall and fair and straight
As the pillar that stoodby the Beautiful Gate,—

Himself the Gate whereby men can
Enter the temple of God in Man.
And the voice that was softerthan silence said,
“Lo, it is I, be not afraid!
In many climes, without avail,
Thou hast spent thy life for the Holy Grail;
Behold, it is here,—this cup which thou
Didst fill at the streamlet for Me but now;
This crust is My body broken for thee,
This waterHis blood that died on the tree;
The Holy Supper is kept, indeed,

In whatso we share with another’s need;
Not what we give, but what we share,
For the gift without the giver is bare;
Who gives himself with his alms feeds three,
Himself, his hungering neighbour, and Me.”
Thus, with the true instinct of a prophet, did Lowellportray the right motive
in its recognition. When Sir Launfal in scorn tossedthe bit of gold to the leper,
the Holy Grail was far awayfrom the seeker;but when he sharedhis crust in
the name of Christ, he found what he sought. “Ye ask and receive not, because
ye ask amiss.”1 [Note:J. C. Owen.]
2. Realgoodnesscannever be confined to greatacts only. It invests with
sudden glory the life of him who ventures all and, leaving those things which
men count dearest, goes to tell the story of the love of Jesus to men who sit in
darkness and the shadow of death. But it also clothes with exquisite
graciousness those who, by the lesserministries of life, strive in all things to
interpret the beauty of the spirit of God, and hour by hour to give fine
revelations of the heart of Christ. It blazes out in some greatpiece of sacrifice
or self-renunciation, but it shines with a persistentlight in the exquisite self-
forgetfulness of a life that desires only to do the will of Jesus. David
consecrating greatwealthto the building of a temple, and a poor widow
casting two mites into the treasury; Moses delivering a whole people from
cruel bondage, and a simple unknown man giving a cup of cold wateronly to

one who is hot after life’s fierce battle—allthese manifest one and the
selfsame goodness,whichis the heart’s love and loyalty to God flowing
through all our deeds and consecrating them all.
When Edward Paysonwas dying, he said, “I long to give a full cup of
happiness to every human being.” If with such urgency of desire we should
daily go out among men, how selfishness wouldperish out of our dealings with
them! What love would be in our homes! What changes would be wrought in
human society!Now giving food to the needy, clothes to the naked, a toy to a
child, opportunity for work to the unemployed, a goodbook to one who will
prize it as the thirsty do water—in such simple ways will streams be made to
flow through life’s deserts, and cups of comfort come to famishing lips.1
[Note:G. M. Meacham, in The Homiletic Review, xx. 527.]
IV
The Reward
Some people tell us that it is defective morality in Christianity to bribe men to
be goodby promising them heaven, and that he who is actuatedby such a
motive is selfish. Now that fantastic and overstrainedobjectionmay be very
simply answeredby two considerations:self-regardis not selfishness,and
Christianity does not propose the future rewardas the motive for goodness.
The motive for goodness is love to Jesus Christ; and if ever there was a man
who did acts of Christian goodness onlyfor the sake ofwhat he would get by
them, the acts were not Christian, because the motive was wrong. But it is a
piece of fastidiousness to forbid us to reinforce the greatChristian motive,
which is love to Jesus Christ, by the thought of the recompense ofreward. It is
a stimulus and an encouragement, not the motive for goodness. This text
shows us that it is a subordinate motive, for it says that the receptionof a

prophet, or of a righteous man, or of “one of these little ones,” whichis
rewardable, is the reception “in the name of” a prophet, a disciple, and so on;
or, in other words, recognizing the prophet, or the righteousness, orthe
disciple for what he is, and because he is that, and not because ofthe reward,
receiving him with sympathy and solace andhelp.
1. What is the rewardof heaven? “Eternallife,” people say. Yes!
“Blessedness.” Yes!But where does the life come from, and where does the
blessednesscome from? They are both derived, they come from God in
Christ; and in the deepestsense, and in the only true sense, Godis heaven,
and God is the reward of heaven. “I am thy shield” so long as dangers need to
be guarded against, and thereafter“thy exceeding greatreward.” It is the
possessionofGod that makes all the heaven of heaven, the immortal life
which His children receive, and the blessednesswith which they are
enraptured. We are heirs of immortality, we are heirs of life, we are heirs of
blessedness, because, andin the measure in which, we become heirs of God.
“You forgot to mention where heaven is,” said the goodlady to her pastor
after a sermon on the better land. “On yonder hill-top stands a cottage,
madam,” replied the man of God; “a widow lives there in want; she has no
bread, no fuel, no medicine, and her child is at the point of death. If you will
carry to her this afternoonsome little cup of cold waterin the name of Him
who went about doing good, you will find the answerto your inquiry.”1 [Note:
M. J. McLeod, Heavenly Harmonies for Earthly Living, 38.]
2. In heaven as on earth men will get just as much of God as they can hold;
and in heaven as on earth capacityfor receiving God is determined by
character. The gift is one, the rewardis one, and yet the rewardis infinitely
various. It is the same light which glows in all the stars, but “stardiffereth
from star in glory.” It is the same wine, the new wine of the Kingdom, that is

poured into all the vessels, but the vessels are ofdivers magnitudes, though
eachbe full to the brim.
3. The reward is both present and future.
(1) There is present compensationfor doing good. It is impossible to do good
with a loving heart to Christ without growing good. Every act of kindness
done in the name of a disciple, and every work engagedin and prosecutedfor
His sake, andevery gift conscientiouslymade and bestowedfor the
advancementof His glory, expands the heart, enlarges the sympathies, and
deepens the sources ofits joy. There is no such pleasure to the heart as that
which proceeds from a deed of Christian benevolence and kindness, done
from love to the Saviour and His cause. Besides, the heart’s true pleasure is
increasedin the proportion that it is opened by the expanding power of true
Christian love through acts of Christian kindness done for the Saviour’s sake.
The deed reacts in blessing on the doer. Every lessonof Christian truth which
a Sabbath-schoolteacherimparts makes more precious to him the waterof
life as he fills up his cup with blessing for the souls of others. Every word we
utter for Christ, every deed we perform, every gift we bestow, is even now in
its reactive influence a presentreward.
Expositors of sacredScripture have spokendiversely concerning these
rewards. Forsome saythat all of them refer to the future bliss: as Ambrose,
on Luke. But Augustine says that they pertain to the present life. Whereas
Chrysostomsays in his Homilies that some of them pertain to the future life,
but some to the present. For the elucidation of which we are to considerthat
the hope of future bliss may exist in us in virtue of two things: first, in virtue
of a certain preparation or qualification for future bliss, which comes through
merit; and secondly, by virtue of a certain imperfect beginning of future bliss
in holy men, even in this life. For the promise of fruit in a tree is there in one
fashion when it throws out its greenfoliage;but in another fashionwhen the

first formation of the fruit begins to appear. And thus the merits spokenof in
the Beatitudes are of the nature of preparations or qualifications for
blessedness, whetherperfector incipient. Whereas the rewards set forth may
be either the perfect bliss itself, in which case they pertain to the future life: or
a certain beginning of bliss, as found in perfect men, and in that case they
pertain to the presentlife. Foras soonas a man begins to make progress in the
acts appropriate to the virtues and (spiritual) gifts, there may be goodhope of
him that he shall come to the perfection alike of the pilgrimage [of earth] and
of the fatherland [of heaven].1 [Note: St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa
Theologica, Prima Secundæ, lxix. § 2.]
In helping others we benefit ourselves;we heal our own wounds in binding up
those of others.2 [Note:St. Ambrose.]
(2) The highest reward will come hereafter. The present life is only the seed-
plot of eternity. “Nothing human ever dies.” All our deeds drag after them
inevitable consequences;but if you will put your trust in Jesus Christ He will
not dealwith you according to your sins, nor reward you according to your
iniquities; and the darkestfeatures of the recompense ofyour evil will all be
takenawayby the forgiveness which we have in His blood. If you will trust
yourselves to Him you will have that eternal life which is not wages, but a gift;
which is not reward, but a free bestowmentof God’s love. And then, built
upon that foundation on which alone men canbuild their hopes, their
thoughts, their characters, theirlives, howeverfeeble may be our efforts,
howevernarrow may be our sphere,—thoughwe be neither prophets nor sons
of prophets, and though our righteousness may be all stainedand imperfect,
yet, to our own amazement and to God’s glory, we shall find, when the fire is
kindled which reveals and tests our works, that, by the might of humble faith
in Christ, we have built upon that foundation, gold and silver and precious
stones;and shall receive the rewardgiven to every man whose work abides
that trial by fire.

“My day has all gone”—’twas a womanwho spoke,
As she turned her face to the sunsetglow—
“And I have been busy the whole day long;
Yet for my work there is nothing to show.”
No painting nor sculpture her hand had wrought;
No laurel of fame her labour had won.
What was she doing in all the long day,
With nothing to show at setof sun?
Humbly and quietly all the long day
Had her sweetservice forothers been done;
Yet for the labours of heart and of hand
What could she show at setof sun?

Ah, she forgotthat our Fatherin heaven
Ever is watching the work that we do,
And records He keeps of all we forget,
Then judges our work with judgment that’s true;
For an angelwrites down in a volume of gold
The beautiful deeds that all do below.
Though nothing she had at set of the sun,
The angelabove had something to show.
The Ministry of Small Things
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics

Receiving Christ
Matthew 10:40-42
W.F. Adeney
Jesus concludes his charge to the twelve on the eve of their mission with words
that have more reference to others, with a promise of blessing to those who
shall give a goodreceptionto the apostles. Earlierhe said that if any rejected
the messengers of Christ they were to shake off the very dust of their feet as a
testimony againstthe inhospitable people; and now he concludes his address
by cheering words on the other side, generouslyrecognizing a friendly
receptionof his disciples. Localand temporal as was the immediate occasion
of our Lord's remarks, they are evidently of lasting application.
I. THE BROTHERHOODOF CHRIST LEADS HIM TO REGARD
KINDNESS TO HIS DISCIPLES EXACTLY AS THOUGH IT WERE
OFFEREDTO HIMSELF. He is not the Oriental monarch treating his
subjects as a race of slaves. He is completely one with his people. Whatever
hurts them hurts him; whatevercheers them pleases him. There is a Christian
solidarity. The benefit or injury of one member affects the whole body (1
Corinthians 12:26). But if other members of the body are thus affected, much
more will the Head, which is in direct communication with the whole, be
affected.
1. This is meant as a greatencouragementfor the servants of Christ. They are
not desertedby Christ; he is in all their work, and he feels keenlyevery
kindness or unkindness offeredto them.
2. This suggestshow we may all have the unspeakable privilege of receiving
Christ. Not only a prophet or an apostle, but a little child, may bring Christ to
our home. Receiving the leastof Christ's disciples for his sake, we receive him.
II. THE CONDITION OF RECEIVING CHRIST IS RECEIVING HIS
DISCIPLES IN HIS NAME.
1. Receiving Christ's disciples. He does not speak here of indiscriminate
hospitality, nor of the neighbourly love which he elsewherecommends. Here is

a speciallyChristian action. Much is made in the New Testamentof brotherly
love - love to fellow-Christians. It is a greatprivilege to be able to help one of
Christ's own little ones.
2. Receiving them in Christ's Name. Thrice does our Lord refer to the
conditions of "the name" - "the name of a prophet," "the name of a righteous
man," "the name of a disciple." This points to a setpurpose in the hospitality.
The prophet is receivedas a prophet because we wish to honour prophets; the
righteous man as a righteous man because we desire to help the righteous; the
Christian disciple as a disciple, for Christ's sake. This is more than mere
kindness;it is a distinct recognitionof the claim of Christ. We are encouraged
to show kindness for Christ's sake, that we may please him - receiving the
envoy for the sake of the King.
III. THEY WHO THUS RECEIVE CHRIST'S DISCIPLES ARE DOUBLY
REWARDED.
1. In receiving, Christ. They are treated just as though they had shown
hospitality to the Lord Jesus Christhimself. But the reward of such
hospitality is in the very coming of Christ. When he enteredthe house of
Zacchaeus salvationcame there. To have Christ within us is to have a better
blessing than could be gotout of all the wealth of the Indies or all the joy of a
Christless paradise.
2. In receiving God. This thought is nearly akin to the teaching of the Fourth
Gospel(see John 14:9, 10). We do not merely receive Christ as a brother-man.
Beneaththe veil of the humanity of Jesus the very glory of God enters the
soul. Thus he who receives a child lop Christ's sake is blessedby having God
in his heart, and then his heart becomes a heaven. - W.F.A.

Biblical Illustrator
A cup of cold water.
Matthew 10:42
The cup of cold water
W. D. Horwood.
The doings of this life are had in remembrance: that no humble action in its
relation to high principles is lost; but is retained in a future judgment.
I. THE DUTY OF ACTING FROM CHRISTIAN MOTIVES.
1. Our Saviourpoints out this by three examples.
2. The duty derives its importance from God's omnipresence and omniscience.
The cup of cold watercomes under the Divine notice.
II. THE INFLUENCE OF OUR ACTIONS UPON THE DESTINIES OF
THE FUTURE.
1. The history of nations and individuals proves how the past acts upon the
future.
2. The promise of rewardby Christ shows how every simple act done with
reference to Himself is made to reactupon ourselves in a way we should not
anticipate apart from revelation.
3. Things done out of Christ, having no connectionwith His love, will perish.

(W. D. Horwood.)
Giving to the needy giving to Christ
St. Martin, before he was baptized into the faith of Christ, and while still a
soldier, showeda rare instance of love and charity. In the depth of winter, a
beggar, clothedin rags, askedan alms of him for the love of God. Silver and
gold he had none. His soldier's cloak was allhe had to give. He drew his
sword, cut it in half, gave one portion to the poor man, and was content
himself with the other. And of him it may be truly said, "He had his reward."
That night, in a vision, he beheld our blessedLord upon His throne, and all
the hostof heavenstanding on His right; hand and His left. And as Martin
lookedmore steadfastlyon the Son of God, he saw Him to be arrayed in his
own half-cloak;and he heard Him say, "This hath Martin, unbaptized, given
to Me."
Zeal for the young rewarded
H. Madgin.
I. THE OBJECTS OF COMPASSIONATEREGARD ALLUDED TO.
1. In their inherent depravity and their solemn destiny as intended for a state
of unending being.
2. In their natural condition of helplessness andweaknessamid the
circumstances ofperil to which they are exposedin their progress through the
world.
3. In their influence for goodor evil upon the world, and the final account
they shall give at the bar of God.
II. THE BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE WHO, UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF
CHRISTIAN MOTIVES, SHALL MAKE THE YOUNG THE OBJECTSOF
THEIR DEVOTED CARE.

1. They shall have their reward in the lovely and appropriate fruits with
which the objects of their compassionateregardshallbe adorned.
2. In the beneficialinfluence they shall thus originate and perpetuate.
3. In the approbation of their Saviour and their God.
(H. Madgin.)
A goodpassport
Some few years ago, three small children — a boy and two girls, aged
respectivelyten, seven, and four — arrived in St. Louis, having travelled
thither all the wayfrom Kulin in Germany, without any escortorprotection
beyond a New Testamentand their own innocence and helplessness. Their
parents, who had emigrated from the Fatherland and settled in Missouri, had
left them in charge of an aunt, to whom, in due time, they forwardeda sum of
money sufficient to pay the passage ofthe little ones to their new home across
the Atlantic. As the children could not speak a word of any language but
German, it is doubtful whether they would ever have reachedtheir
destination at all, had not their aunt, with a woman's ready wit, provided
them with a passport, addressed, not so much to any earthly authority, as to
Christian mankind generally. Before taking her leave of the children, the aunt
gave the elder girl a New Testament, instructing her to show it to every-
person who might accosther during the voyage, and especiallyto call their
attention to the first leaf of the book. Upon that leaf the wise and goodwoman
had written the names of the three children, and this simple statement: "Their
father and mother in America are anxiously awaiting their arrival at Sedalia,
Missouri." This was followedby the irresistible appeal — their guide,
safeguard, and interpreter throughout a journey over sea and land of more
than 4,000 miles — "Verily I say... unto Me." Many were the little acts of
kindness shown to the little travellers, many the hands held out to smooth
their journey, by those who read that appeal; and at length they reachedtheir
parents in perfect health and safety.

Christ's appreciationof little services
A Hannay.
1. Becausethey often have greatresults. A cup of cold wateris mentioned
here; we canhardly mention a service which one would more naturally think
of as a little service, than the giving of a cup of cold water;and yet it may be
greatin its results. It may allay the fever, and drive away the coming madness
of the man who is consumedby thirst — there may be life in a cup of cold
water. The fainting traveller in the desert, where the greedysun has lickedall
the waterup, would die but for the cup of cold waterwhich a provident
pilgrim brings to him. Many a castawayonthe ocean, drifting on his raft —
many a wounded soldier, writhing among the heaps of the smitten on the
battle-field — has spent his lastbreath in crying for a cup of cold water;and a
cup of watergiven at a criticalmoment would have savedlife.
2. When they are the best a man can render.
3. When they are truly rendered to Him. The giving of the cup of cold water,
you observe, acquiredits characterofmoral worth from its being given "in
the name of a disciple" — given for Christ's sake. It is possible to work in the
kingdom of Jesus Christ, and not serve Christ at all. A soldier may go out in
his country's wars, and make for himself, by his courage and success, an
imperishable name, and yet never really serve his country or his king, but
only himself; his one impulse throughout may be not loyalty, not patriotism,
but the desire of fame, the desire of power, a motive which never takes the
man out of himself.
(A Hannay.)
Slight services for Christ
J. Gage Rigg, B. A
1. Slight services are often all we have it in our powerto render. What canI
do for Christ?

2. Slight services are sufficient to show love for the Saviour.
3. Slight services, afterall, may be invaluable services — trivial — "cup of
cold water."
4. Slight services shallbe richly requited — "He shall in no wise lose his
reward."
(J. Gage Rigg, B. A,)
A small act the embodiment of self-sacrifice
In Bonar and MacCheyne'snarrative of their mission to the Jews in Palestine
(Edinburgh, 1839), anincident occurs, illustrative of this passage. "During
our ramble" (near Gaza), "... a kind Arab came forward from his tent as we
passed, offering us the refreshment of a drink of water, saying, 'Jesherhetu
mole?' — 'Will you drink water?'" The promise of our Lord seems to refer to
caseslike this, where the individual, unasked, seeksoutobjects on whom to
show kindness. The leastdesire to bless shall not lose its reward. We all know
how precious a gift a cup of coldwater may be, and what self-denialit may
involve, from the well-knownstory of Sir Philip Sidney and the wounded
soldier on the battle-field. Sidney, mortally wounded on the field of Zutphen,
was about to drink a glass ofwaterwhich some one had humanely brought
him to assuagehis agonizing thirst. Just, however, as he was about to press it
to his lips, he saw a soldier, in like plight with himself, looking wistfully at it.
Unable to resistthe pleading eyes of his fellow-sufferer, Sidney handed the
glass to him, exclaiming, "Thy necessityis greaterthan mine." It is well-
known that in WesternAustralia there is a great want of water, the rivers in
that part of the island-continent being few. Mrs. Millett, in her "Life in an
Australian Parsonage," describesthe feeling of distress, approaching to
despair, experienced by a mother and her child who had missed their wayin a
remote part of the colony, and who had the dreary prospect, as night came on,
of being many hours before they could hope to assuagetheir thirst; and. their
astonishment and delight, when, in that remote region, they saw, suddenly
emerging from the trees, a womanand a girl eachcarrying a bucket.

"Perhaps," says Mrs. Millett, "my friend mentally comparedthe incident to
that of all angel's visit, when the strangers showedher a spring at no great
distance, whither they were alreadyon their way to fetch water, having
already walkedtwo miles from their ownhome." We ourselves remember
with pleasure a hot summer evening many years ago, when, tired with a long
walk in the neighbourhood of Heidelberg, we askedthe mistress of a
picturesque German cottage fora glass of water. Readilywas it brought, and
the peasant-woman, onour thanking her, replied in a tone of true courtesy,
"Masserhaben wir genug." — "We have sufficient water." But, as Jeremy
Taylor says, he will have no reward, who gives only water, when his
neighbour needs wine or a cordial, and he could give it.
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
A cup of cold water - Υδατος, of water, is not in the common text, but it is
found in the Codex Bezae, Coptic, Armenian, Gothic, Anglo-Saxon, Slavonic,
all copies of the Itala, Vulgate, and Origen. It is necessarilyunderstood; the
ellipsis of the same substantive is frequent, both in the Greek and Latin
writers. See Wakefield.
Little ones - My apparently mean and generallydespiseddisciples.
But a cup of waterin the easterncountries was not a matter of small worth. In
India, the Hindoos go sometimes a greatway to fetch it, and then boil it that it
may do the less hurt to travelers when they are hot; and, after that, they stand
from morning to night in some greatroad, where there is neither pit nor
rivulet, and offer it, in honor of their god, to be drunk by all passengers. This
necessarywork of charity, in these hot countries, seems to have been practised
by the more pious and humane Jews;and our Lord assures them that, if they

do this in his name, they shall not lose their reward. See the Asiatic
Miscellany, vol. ii. p. 142.
Verily - he shall in no wise lose his reward- The rabbins have a similar
saying: "He that gives foodto one that studies in the law, God will bless him in
this world, and give him a lot in the world to come." Syn. Sohar.
Love heightens the smallestactions, and gives a worth to them which they
cannot possess withoutit. Under a just and merciful God every sin is either
punished or pardoned, and every goodactionrewarded. The most indigent
may exercise the works of mercy and charity; seeing even a cup of coldwater,
given in the name of Jesus, shallnot lose its reward. How astonishing is God's
kindness!It is not the rich merely whom he calls on to be charitable; but even
the poor, and the most impoverished of the poor! God gives the powerand
inclination to be charitable, and then rewards the work which, it may be truly
said, Godhimself hath wrought.
It is the name of Jesus that sanctifies every thing, and renders services, in
themselves comparatively contemptible, of high worth in the sight of God. See
Quesnel.
The Biblical Illustrator
Matthew 10:42
A cup of cold water.
The cup of cold water
The doings of this life are had in remembrance: that no humble action in its
relation to high principles is lost; but is retained in a future judgment.
I. The duty of acting from christian motives.
1. Our Saviourpoints out this by three examples.
2. The duty derives its importance from God’s omnipresence and omniscience.
The cup of cold watercomes under the Divine notice.

II. The influence of our actions upon the destinies of the future.
1. The history of nations and individuals proves how the past acts upon the
future.
2. The promise of rewardby Christ shows how every simple act done with
reference to Himself is made to reactupon ourselves in a way we should not
anticipate apart from revelation.
3. Things done out of Christ, having no connectionwith His love, will perish.
(W. D. Horwood.)
Giving to the needy giving to Christ
St. Martin, before he was baptized into the faith of Christ, and while still a
soldier, showeda rare instance of love and charity. In the depth of winter, a
beggar, clothedin rags, askedan alms of him for the love of God. Silver and
gold he had none. His soldier’s cloak was allhe had to give. He drew his
sword, cut it in half, gave one portion to the poor man, and was content
himself with the other. And of him it may be truly said, “He had his reward.”
That night, in a vision, he beheld our blessedLord upon His throne, and all
the hostof heavenstanding on His right; hand and His left. And as Martin
lookedmore steadfastlyon the Son of God, he saw Him to be arrayed in his
own half-cloak;and he heard Him say, “This hath Martin, unbaptized, given
to Me.”
Zeal for the young rewarded
I. The objects of compassionate regardalluded TO.
1. In their inherent depravity and their solemn destiny as intended for a state
of unending being.
2. In their natural condition of helplessness andweaknessamid the
circumstances ofperil to which they are exposedin their progress through the
world.

3. In their influence for goodor evil upon the world, and the final account
they shall give at the bar of God.
II. The blessednessofthose who, under the influence of Christian motives,
shall make the young the objects of their devoted care.
1. They shall have their reward in the lovely and appropriate fruits with
which the objects of their compassionateregardshallbe adorned.
2. In the beneficialinfluence they shall thus originate and perpetuate.
3. In the approbation of their Saviour and their God. (H. Madgin.)
A goodpassport
Some few years ago, three small children-a boy and two girls, aged
respectivelyten, seven, and four-arrived in St. Louis, having travelled thither
all the way from Kulin in Germany, without any escortor protectionbeyond a
New Testamentand their own innocence and helplessness. Theirparents, who
had emigratedfrom the Fatherland and settledin Missouri, had left them in
charge of an aunt, to whom, in due time, they forwardeda sum of money
sufficient to pay the passageofthe little ones to their new home across the
Atlantic. As the children could not speak a word of any language but German,
it is doubtful whether they would ever have reachedtheir destination at all,
had not their aunt, with a woman’s ready wit, provided them with a passport,
addressed, not so much to any earthly authority, as to Christian mankind
generally. Before taking her leave of the children, the aunt gave the elder girl
a New Testament, instructing her to show it to every- personwho might accost
her during the voyage, and especiallyto calltheir attention to the first leaf of
the book. Upon that leaf the wise and goodwoman had written the names of
the three children, and this simple statement:“Their father and mother in
America are anxiously awaiting their arrival at Sedalia, Missouri.” This was
followedby the irresistible appeal-their guide, safeguard, and interpreter
throughout a journey over sea and land of more than 4,000 miles-“Verily I say
… unto Me.” Many were the little acts of kindness shown to the little
travellers, many the hands held out to smooth their journey, by those who

read that appeal; and at length they reachedtheir parents in perfect health
and safety.
Christ’s appreciationof little services
1. Becausethey often have greatresults. A cup of cold wateris mentioned
here; we canhardly mention a service which one would more naturally think
of as a little service, than the giving of a cup of cold water;and yet it may be
greatin its results. It may allay the fever, and drive away the coming madness
of the man who is consumedby thirst-there may be life in a cup of cold water.
The fainting traveller in the desert, where the greedysun has lickedall the
waterup, would die but for the cup of cold waterwhich a provident pilgrim
brings to him. Many a castawayon the ocean, drifting on his raft-many a
wounded soldier, writhing among the heaps of the smitten on the battle-field-
has spent his last breath in crying for a cup of cold water;and a cup of water
given at a critical moment would have savedlife.
2. When they are the best a man can render.
3. When they are truly rendered to Him. The giving of the cup of cold water,
you observe, acquiredits characterofmoral worth from its being given “in
the name of a disciple”-givenfor Christ’s sake. It is possible to work in the
kingdom of Jesus Christ, and not serve Christ at all. A soldier may go out in
his country’s wars, and make for himself, by his courage andsuccess, an
imperishable name, and yet never really serve his country or his king, but
only himself; his one impulse throughout may be not loyalty, not patriotism,
but the desire of fame, the desire of power, a motive which never takes the
man out of himself. (A Hannay.)
Slight services for Christ
1. Slight services are often all we have it in our powerto render. What canI
do for Christ?
2. Slight services are sufficient to show love for the Saviour.
3. Slight services, afterall, may be invaluable services-trivial-“cupofcold
water.”

4. Slight services shallbe richly requited-“He shall in no wise lose his reward.”
(J. Gage Rigg, B. A,)
A small act the embodiment of self-sacrifice
In Bonar and MacCheyne’snarrative of their mission to the Jews in Palestine
(Edinburgh, 1839), anincident occurs, illustrative of this passage. “During
our ramble” (near Gaza), “ … a kind Arab came forward from his tent as we
passed, offering us the refreshment of a drink of water, saying, ‘Jesherhetu
mole?’-‘Will you drink water?’” The promise of our Lord seems to refer to
caseslike this, where the individual, unasked, seeksout objects on whom to
show kindness. The leastdesire to bless shall not lose its reward. We all know
how precious a gift a cup of coldwater may be, and what self-denialit may
involve, from the well-knownstory of Sir Philip Sidney and the wounded
soldier on the battle-field. Sidney, mortally wounded on the field of Zutphen,
was about to drink a glass ofwaterwhich some one had humanely brought
him to assuagehis agonizing thirst. Just, however, as he was about to press it
to his lips, he saw a soldier, in like plight with himself, looking wistfully at it.
Unable to resistthe pleading eyes of his fellow-sufferer, Sidney handed the
glass to him, exclaiming, “Thy necessityis greaterthan mine.” It is well-
known that in WesternAustralia there is a great want of water, the rivers in
that part of the island-continent being few. Mrs. Millett, in her “Life in an
Australian Parsonage,” describesthe feeling of distress, approaching to
despair, experienced by a mother and her child who had missed their wayin a
remote part of the colony, and who had the dreary prospect, as night came on,
of being many hours before they could hope to assuagetheir thirst; and their
astonishment and delight, when, in that remote region, they saw, suddenly
emerging from the trees, a womanand a girl eachcarrying a bucket.
“Perhaps,” says Mrs. Millett, “my friend mentally comparedthe incident to
that of all angel’s visit, when the strangers showedher a spring at no great
distance, whither they were alreadyon their way to fetch water, having
already walkedtwo miles from their ownhome.” We ourselves remember
with pleasure a hot summer evening many years ago, when, tired with a long
walk in the neighbourhood of Heidelberg, we askedthe mistress of a
picturesque German cottage fora glass of water. Readilywas it brought, and
the peasant-woman, onour thanking her, replied in a tone of true courtesy,

“Masserhaben wir genug.”-“Wehave sufficient water.” But, as Jeremy
Taylor says, he will have no reward, who gives only water, when his
neighbour needs wine or a cordial, and he could give it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
And whosoevershallgive to drink unto one of these little ones,.... OurLord
gradually descends from prophets to righteous men, and from righteous men,
to those of the lowestform and class among them; who have the leastmeasure
of grace, and share of spiritual light, and knowledge;who are outwardly the
poorest, meanest, and most contemptible in the eyes of the world; and are
little, even the leastof saints, in their own esteemand account:whosoever
takes notice but of "one" of these, receives him into his house, and gives him
a cup of cold wateronly, is regarded, a phrase used to express the least
favour, or benefit whatever.
"So saysF20Maimonides, one that calls to his friend to dine with him, and he
refuses, and swears, orvows, that he shall not enter into his house, nor will he
give him to drink, ‫תפט‬ ‫ןנוצ‬ "a drop of cold water", &c.'
Moreover, this is said to prevent any objection, on accountof the mean and
low condition persons may be in, to their relieving necessitous objects;for
everyone is capable of doing this, and if they can do no more, it is accepted.
Now whosoevertakesnotice of, and shows favour to the meanestof Christ's
people, though it be but bestowing so small a benefit as a cup of cold water;
yet, if it is done
in the name of a disciple, or because that poor personis a disciple of Christ,
verily, says Christ,
I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward: it will be observed another
day by Christ, who takes whatis done to the leastof his brethren, as done to
himself. The Jews saymany things in praise of hospitality, to ‫דימלת‬ ‫,םכח‬ "a

disciple of a wise man"; and observeF21,that he that hospitably entertains
such an one in his house, and causeshim to eat and drink, and partake of the
goods of his house, there is reasonto believe, he shall be much more blessed
than the house of Obed Edom was for the ark's sake, whichneither ate nor
drank with him; and which may be comparedwith this passage.
Geneva Study Bible
And whosoevershallgive to drink unto one of these r little ones a cup of cold
[water] only in the name of a disciple, verily I sayunto you, he shall in no wise
lose his reward.
(r) Who in the sight of the world are vile and abject.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And whosoevershallgive to drink unto one of these little ones — Beautiful
epithet! Originally takenfrom Zechariah13:7. The reference is to their
lowliness in spirit, their littleness in the eyes of an undiscerning world, while
high in Heaven‘s esteem.
a cup of cold wateronly — meaning, the smallestservice.
in the name of a disciple — or, as it is in Mark (Mark 9:41), because ye are
Christ‘s: from love to Me, and to him from his connectionwith Me.
verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward — There is here a
descending climax - “a prophet,” “a righteous man,” “a little one”;signifying
that howeverlow we come down in our services to those that are Christ‘s, all
that is done for His sake, and that bears the stamp of love to His blessedname,
shall be divinely appreciatedand owned and rewarded.
People's New Testament

Whosoevershallgive to drink to these little ones. By the "little ones" are
probably meant Christ's disciples.
A cup of cold wateronly. The smallestactof kindness. If done "becausehe
was a disciple," or out of regardfor Christ, he should never lose his reward.
Gooddeeds are never lost. Note the six things here spokenof as belonging to
discipleship of Christ: (1) Confessing, orprofessing;(2) Fighting; (3) Bearing
his standard (the cross);(4) Suffering; (5) Following;(6) Giving up life. These
are all the duties of the soldier.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
And whosoevershallgive to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold
wateronly in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise
lose his reward.
One of these little ones — The very leastChristian. Mark 9:41.
Abbott's Illustrated New Testament
These little ones;these my disciples, men of humble station, not greatin the
estimation of the world. Any act of kindness towards them, as disciples,
howeversmall the benefit, shows a spirit of love to Christ, and shall not lose
its reward.
Hawker's PoorMan's Commentary
REFLECTIONS
Let all the followers ofthe Lord Jesus, andespeciallyhis Ministers, behold in
the commissionhere given by him to his Apostles, the love of his heart, and

the interesthe takes in all that concerns them. And let not our view of the
unfaithfulness of hire. lings in any age ofthe Church, give the smallestdistress
to true Pastors. Jesus chosea Judas to mingle with his faithful Apostles,
though he knew that he was a devil when he chose him. But though he went in
and out with the disciples, yet had he no part nor lot in the matter; and when
he died, he went, as it is said, to his own place. Tares with the wheat, goats
with the sheep, are nevertheless as distinguishable and separate as though
they had never come together. The Lord knoweththem that are his. In the
end, an everlasting separationwill take place.
In the mean time, the persecution, hatred, and frowns of every enemy, shall
minister rather to the Redeemer's glory, than to the smallestinjury of the
Redeemer's cause.And it never should be forgotten, that Jesus is with his
people always to the end of the world. Jesus, therefore, lookson, knows all,
sanctifies all, and blessethall to his people's good! And Jesus speaks as in this
chapter, to drive awayall fear from the heart of his redeemed. To him that
over. cometh, will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also over,
came, and am sat down with my Father in his throne.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
42 And whosoevershallgive to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold
lose his reward.
Ver. 42. Unto one of these little ones]So the saints are called, either because
but a little flock, or little in their own eyes, or little setby in the world, or
dearly respectedof God, as little ones are by their loving parents.
A cup of cold water]As having not fuel to heat it, saith Jerome, nor better to
bestow than Adam’s ale, a cup of water, yet desirous some way to sealup his
love to poor Christ. Salvian saith, that Christ is mendicorum moximus, the

greatestbeggarin the world, as one that shareth in all his saints’ necessities.
Relieve him therefore in them; so shall you lay up in store for yourselves a
goodfoundation againstthe time to come; yea, you shall lay hold on eternal
life, 1 Timothy 6:19. Of Midas it is fabled, that whateverhe touched he turned
into gold. Sure it is that whatsoeverthe hand of charity touch, be it but a cup
of cold water, it turns the same, not into gold, but into heaven itself. He is a
niggard then to himself that is niggardly to Christ’s poor. If heaven may be
had for a cup of cold water, what a bodkin at the churl’s heart will this be one
day! Surely the devil will keepholiday, as it were, in hell, in respectof such.
Verily, I say unto you, he shall in no wise, &c.]By this deep asseverationour
Saviour tacitly taxeth the world’s unbelief, while they deal by him, as by some
patching companion or base bankrupt, trust him not at all, without either
ready money or a sufficient security. But what saith a grave divine? Is not
mercy as sure a grain as vanity? Is God like to break, or forget? Is there not a
book of remembrance written before him, which he more often peruseth than
Ahasuerus did the Chronicles? The butler may forget Joseph, and Josephhis
father’s house;but God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of
love, which ye have shown towardhis name, in that you have ministered to the
saints, and do minister, Hebrews 6:10.
Sermon Bible Commentary
Matthew 10:42
Goodof Little Acts to please God.
I. We are apt, as to this life or the life to come, to think of God as dealing with
us, in a sort of generalway, just as we do, "in a lump," as we speak. We think
of getting to heaven in a generalway, as something purchased for us (as it
indeed is) by the precious blood of Christ. We do not think what our own acts,
one by one, day by day, and hour after hour, have to do with our everlasting
lot. Every act in our lives is not only a steptowards heaven or towards hell; it
not only leads to God or from God; but whereveryou are, eachact has to do

with your everlasting condition when there. You know how, in piece-work, not
only the labour of the week orday is counted as a whole, but every single act
of that labour tells. Now this is just the way in which Almighty God
vouchsafes to speak to us, to deal with us. Every man shall receive his own
reward according to his own labour. As in earthly things eachactof labour
tells towards its end, so in our heavenly husbandry. The reward is above
measure, as God is above man; yet every act done for the love of God tells
towards that infinite reward.
II. In everything you do there is an inside and an outside; a part which man
may see, and a part which God only can thoroughly see through. That inside
is the intent with which we do it. Now in everything we do there may be a
whole world of inward life. Give to God, when you wake in the morning, one
strong earnestdesire that in all the acts, thoughts, deeds of the day you may
please Him. Whatever you do, try from time to time to do it as well as you
possibly can, to please Him. All is lost which is not in some way done for Him.
Some things may be done out of the very habit of desiring to do what He wills.
Some things are done expressly to please Him; some things are done with a
faint wish to please Him; some with a strong desire; some with a struggle,
because the wish to please ourselves interferes;some things easily, because we
have long been used to desire in this wayto please God, and use, in God's
grace, has made it easyto us. God has given us this Advent, that we may the
more think of His secondcoming, that we may anew prepare to meet Him.
How shall we prepare? Notwith great things, but by preparing our hearts,
through His grace, in all, little or great, to please Him.
E. B. Pusey, Sermons for the Church's Seasons,p. 31.
References:Matthew 10:42.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. vi., p. 18; A. Hannay,
Christian World Pulpit, vol. i., p. 436;Parker, CavendishPulpit, p. 127.
Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary

42. τῶν μικρῶν] To whom this applies is not very clear. Hardly (De Wette) to
the despisedand meanly-esteemedfor Christ’s sake. Ishould rather imagine
some children may have been present; for of such does our Lord generallyuse
this term, see ch. Matthew 18:2-6. Though perhaps the expressionmay be
meant of lowerand less advancedconverts, thus keeping up the gradation
from προφήτης. This howeverhardly seems likely: for how could a disciple be
in a downward gradation from δίκαιος?
I may observe that Meyerdenies the existence of the Rabbinical meaning of
disciples commonly attributed to ‫,םינטק‬ little ones. In the passage from
BereschithRabba quoted by Wetstein to support it, the word, he maintains,
from the context, means parvuli, children, not disciples.
τὸν μισθ. αὐτ.]His (i.e. the doer’s)reward: not, ‘the reward of one of these
little ones,’as before μισθ. προφ., μισθ. δικαίου:—the article here makes the
difference: and the expressionis reflective.
Heinrich Meyer's Critical and ExegeticalCommentaryon the New Testament
Matthew 10:42. ἕνα … τούτων]a single one of these ( δεικτικῶς)little ones.
According to the whole context, which has been depicting the despisedand
painful circumstances ofthe disciples, and is now addressing to them the
necessaryencouragement, it is to be regardedas intentional and significant
that Jesus employs the term μικρῶν(not μαθητῶν), an expressionwhich (in
answerto Wetstein)is not usual among Rabbinical writers to conveythe idea
of disciples. Otherwise Matthew 18:6.
μόνον] only, connectedwith what precedes.
τὸν μισθὸν αὐτοῦ]the reward awaiting him, in the kingdom of the Messiah;
Matthew 5:12. Grotius says correctly:“Docemurhic, facta ex animo, non
animum ex factis apud Deum aestimari.”
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament

Matthew 10:42. ΄ικρῶν, little ones)(see ch. Matthew 11:11, and Zechariah
13:7). A sweetepithet for disciples (cf. Matthew 10:41, for the double mention
of prophet, etc.)The world cares not for such as these. From these little ones
are made prophets and righteous men.— ψυχροῦ, of cold water) This is
without expense, and may be done even on the road. A proverbial expression,
and contrasted!with he that receiveth.(504)— μὴ ἀπολέση, shall not lose)A
consolationwhich, arising from former gooddeeds, cheers the disciple even in
the midst of subsequent dangers.(505)— αὐτοῦ,his) i.e., of the little one, or
rather his own. It is more to receive any one than to give him to drink, and
therefore it has a greaterreward.(506)
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
Ver. 40-42. He that receivethyou receivethme, &c.;we have the same Luke
10:16, only there it is, he that heareth you hearethme; and there is added, and
he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him
that sent me. In John 13:20, it is, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
receivethwhomsoeverI send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth
him that sentme. As greatprinces accountwhat favour is shownto their
ambassadors,who representtheir persons, shown unto themselves, and
whatsoeverindignities or affronts are done unto them as done to themselves,
so doth Christ.
Receiving is a generalterm, and capable of a large interpretation. That
hearing is one branch of it, Luke tells us. The scope of the context, and the
words that follow, do manifest that a giving entertainment to them in their
houses is another thing here meant. There is another more inward, receiving
of their doctrine by faith and love, to which undoubtedly there will be a great
reward. But whether it be here intended, I doubt. Our Saviour was sending
the twelve out, he had commanded them to take with them no gold, silver, nor
brass, no scrip, &c.;but when they came into any city, to inquire who there
were in that city who were worthy men, favourers to the gospel, and ready to
entertain strangers, and to go to their house or houses, saluting them, and to
abide there till they left the place. He furnisheth them here as it were with a

ticket, or bill of exchange. He gives them an assurance, thatwhatsoever
kindness should be done to them, he would accountit as done to himself. And
further hath assuredboth them, and all the world, that if any should come to
them to reveal the will of God, (for that the term prophet signifieth), if they
give him an entertainment upon that accountthey should be rewarded. What
is here meant by the term, a prophet’s reward, is variously guessed, whetherit
be,
1. The reward which God hath appointed for such as entertain his prophets;
or;
2. Such a reward as such a prophet shall himself receive;or;
3. The reward which the prophet; will give him or them, viz. prayers and
instruction.
That which appears to me most probable is, that no more is meant than a
liberal reward, for such shall be the reward of those who turn many to
righteousness, Daniel12:3. Those words, in the name of a prophet, are both
exclusive of those from the benefit of this promise who receive and entertain
the ministers of the gospelupon any other accountthan this, that they are the
Lord’s prophets; and also encouraging to those who may discern they have
been mistakenin their acts of charity of this nature; if they have been sincere
in their designs and actions, they shall not lose their reward, though the
pretended prophet so entertained prove but an impostor.
wateronly in the name of a disciple, he shall in no wise lose his reward. Christ
will not only reward those who show love to his prophets, but those who show
kindness to his members, whom the world counts contemptible, and calleth
little ones;nor shall those only be rewarded who give them great
entertainments, and make them greatpresents, but (if it be proportionable to
what they are able to do) though it be a kindness of the most minute
consideration, but a cup of cold water, they shall be rewarded. God rewards
the love we show to him, and the goodactions that flow from it. Here are three
persons mentioned, for whose entertainment and receptionGod hath
provided in this promise; a prophet, a righteous man, a little one: and a

threefold reward promised; the reward of a prophet, the reward of a
righteous man, and his reward. How to distinguish the righteous man and the
little one I cannottell, unless we understand by the righteous man one more
perfect, more eminent in holiness;and by the little one, one that is sincere,
though we cannot judge him so grown in grace and the knowledge ofChrist. I
should understand no more by the threefold rewards, than God’s more
particular value for his ministers, and for such as are more perfect in
holiness;while in the mean time he will not break the bruised reed, nor
quench the smoking flax; and that every one shall be rewarded according to
his works;which shall not be measuredby the quantity of the gift, but by the
obedience, and affection, and ability of the giver, Luke 21:2,3 Heb 6:10.
Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament
Little ones;disciples, even the feeblestof them.
In the name; because he is a disciple, from attachment to him and his Master;
he shall receive the approbation and blessing of his Lord.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
42. ἕνα τῶν μικρῶν. The reference may be to the disciples. But there appears
to be a gradation, in the loweststepof which are ‘these little ones.’Possibly
some children standing near were then addressed, or, perhaps, some converts
less instructed than the Apostles had gatheredround. ‘The little ones’then
would mean the young disciples, who are babes in Christ. The lowestin the
scale—apostles—prophets—the saints—the young disciples. The simplest act
of kindness done to one of Christ’s little ones as such shall have its reward.
ψυχροῦ (ὕδατος). As aqua is understood in Latin ‘Frigida non desit, non
deerit calda petenti.’ Mart. XIV. 103.
οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσῃ. οὐ μὴ expresses anemphatic denial. οὐ denies the fact, μὴ the
very conceptionof it; οὐ denies a thing absolutely, μὴ as it presents itself to us.
The explanation usually given of an ellipse of δέος ἐστιν fails to satisfy all
instances. See Goodwin’s GreekMoods andTenses, § 89.

Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable
The "little ones" in view of the context probably refer to the persecuted
disciples who remain faithful to the Lord. Anyone who assists one ofthem by
giving him or her even a cup of refreshing cold waterwill receive a reward
from God. That personcan even give the cup of cold water in the name of a
followerof Jesus, not in the name of Jesus Himself. The point is that no act of
kindness for one of Jesus" suffering disciples will pass without God"s reward.
"Keep in mind that the theme of this lastsectionis discipleship, not sonship.
We become the children of God through faith in Christ; we are disciples as we
faithfully follow Him and obey His will. Sonship does not change, but
discipleship does change as we walk with Christ. There is greatneed today for
faithful disciples, believers who will learn from Christ and live for Him."
[Note:Wiersbe, 1:40.]
This MissionDiscourse (ch10)is instruction for Jesus" disciples in view of
their ministry to call people to prepare for the kingdom. Jesus gave
the12Apostles specific directionabout where they should go and to whom they
should minister. However, He broadenedHis instruction in view of mounting
opposition to give guidance to disciples who would succeedthe Twelve. Their
ministry was essentiallythe same as that of the apostles. Jesusdid not reveal
here that Israel"s rejectionofHim would result in a long gap betweenHis
first and secondadvents. That gap is irrelevant to the instruction and its
meaning. Christian disciples today need to do essentiallywhat the Twelve
were to do but to a different audience and region( Matthew 28:19-20). Jesus
explained those changes afterHis firm rejectionby the Jews.

Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Matthew 10:42. One of these little ones. Either the disciples, or children, who
were present. The former is preferable. An allusion to their weaknessin
themselves as they went out on their mission.
A cup of cold wateronly. The smallestkindness.
In the name of a disciple, ‘because he is a disciple,’ out of love to Christ His
master.
Verily I say unto you. A solemndeclarationthat for such an act, he shall in no
wise, lose his reward. Not as before, the reward a disciple receives,but a
reward due to himself, measured, not by our estimate of the act, but by God’s.
In His sight it may be more worthy than the greatbenefactions which the
world applauds.—Thus those who went out to persecution, to casta sword
into the world, to be hated of all, and holding looselyto their lives for Christ’s
sake, bestowedblessings by their very presence, andHe who numbered the
hairs of their head, treasured up every act and look of kindness given them for
their Master’s sake.
The Expositor's Greek Testament
Matthew 10:42. he last word, and the most beautiful; spokenwith deep pathos
as an aside;about the disciples rather than to them, though heard by them.
“Whosoevershalldo the smallestservice, were it but to give a drink to one of
these little ones ( ἕνα τῶν μικρῶντούτων, cf. Matthew 25:40)in the name of a
disciple, I declare solemnly even he shall without fail have his appropriate
reward.”— ψυχροῦ:expressive wordfor water, indicating the quality valued
by the thirsty; literally a cup of the cool, suggesting by contrastthe heat of the
sun and the fierce thirst of the weary traveller. No small boon that cup in
Palestine!“In this hot and dry land, where one canwander for hours without
coming on a brook or an accessible cistern, you say‘thank you’ for a drink of
fresh waterwith very different feelings than we do at home” (Furrer,
Wanderungen durch das Heilige Land, p. 118).—Fritzscheremarks on the

paucity of particles in Matthew 10:34-42 as indicating the emotional condition
of the speaker.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
lose his reward.
And whosoevershallgive to drink unto one of these little ones. Beautiful
epithet! originally taken from Zechariah13:7. The reference is to their
lowliness in spirit, their littleness in the eyes of an undiscerning world, while
high in Heaven's esteem.
A cup of cold wateronly (meaning, the smallestservice), in the name of a
disciple - or, as it is in Mark (Mark 9:41), because ye are Christ's [ Christou
(Greek #5547)este (Greek #2075)]:from love to Me, and to him from his
connectionwith Me,
Verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. There is here a
descending climax - "a prophet," "a righteous man," "a little one;" signifying
that howeverlow we come down in our services to those that are Christ's, all
that is done for His sake, and that bears the stamp of love to His blessedname,
shall be divinely appreciatedand owned and rewarded.
Remarks:
(1) It is a manifest abuse of the directions here given for this first, hasty and
temporary, mission (Matthew 10:5-15), to take them as a generalDirectory
for the missionaries of Christ in all time and under all circumstances. The
cessationofthose miraculous credentials with which the Twelve were
furnished for this present Mission, might surely convince Christian men that
the directions for such a missionwere not intended to be literally followedby
the missionaries ofthe Cross in all time. Even our Lord Himself did not act on
the strict letter of these directions, having for needful uses, as Luther (in Stier)
quaintly says - "money, bag, and bread-baskets too."It is true that one or two

servants of Christ, in the course of an age, are found, who, in a spirit of entire
self-abnegation, consecrate themselvesto works of Christian philanthropy
without wealthor other ordinary resources, andyet not only obtain enoughto
maintain them in their work, but the means of extending it beyond all
anticipation, and that for a long series ofyears, or evena life-time. But the
interest and admiration which such casesdraw forth throughout the Christian
world shows them to be exceptionalillustrations of answerto prayer, and
childlike confidence in working the work of God, rather than the normal
characterof the work of His kingdom. At the same time, the servants of
Christ will do well to imbibe the spirit of these first directions-in simplicity of
purpose and superiority to fastidious concernabout their personalcomfort; in
energy also, and alacrity in prosecuting their work:taking as their motto that
golden maxim, "Freelyye have received, freely give;" yet "not casting their
pearls before swine," but acting on the principle that the rejectionof their
messageis an affront put upon their Master, rather than themselves.
(2) Though the vast change which the Gospelhas produced upon Christendom
is apt to make men think that our Lord's statements, here and elsewhere, of
the universal hatred with which Christians would be regarded, have become
inapplicable, we are never to forget that the hostility He speaks ofis a hostility
of unchangeable principles; and that although the unfaithfulness and timidity
of Christians, on the one hand, may so compromise or keepin the background
those principles which the world hates, or on the other hand, the world itself
may from various causes be restrainedfrom manifesting that hatred, yet,
wheneverand wherever the light and the darkness, Christ and Belial, are
brought face to face in vivid juxtaposition, there will the eternaland
irreconcileable oppositionof the one to the other appear.
(3) How vastly greaterwould be the influence of Christians upon the world
around them if they were more studious to combine the wisdom of the serpent
with the harmlessnessofthe dove! We have Christians and Christian
ministers who pride themselves upon their knowledge ofthe world, and the
shrewdness with which they conduct themselves in it; while the simplicity of
the dove is almostentirely in abeyance. Even the world can discern this, and,
discerning it, despise those who to all appearance are no better than others,
and yet pretend to be so. But on the other hand, there are Christians and

Christian ministers who have the harmlessness ofthe dove, but being totally
void of the wisdom of the serpent, carry no weight, and even expose
themselves and their cause to the contempt of the world. O that the followers
of the Lamb would lay this to heart!
(4) What weighty inducements to suffer unflinchingly for the Gospel's sake
are here provided! Such as do so are no worse off than their Master, and may
rest assuredof His sympathy and support, in a furnace which in His own case
was heatedseven times. And what though their life should be takenfrom them
for Jesus'sake? The powerof their enemies ceasesthere;whereas He whose
wrath they incur by selling their conscienceto save life is able to castboth soul
and body into hell-fire. (See the notes at Mark 9:43-48.)God's suffering
children are unspeakablydear to Him; their every trial in His service is full
before Him; and their courage in confessing the name of Jesus will be
rewardedby the confessionoftheir name amidst the solemnities and the
splendours of the greatday: whereas a faithless denial of Christ here will be
followedby the indignant and open denial of such by the Judge from His great
white throne.
(5) When Jesus here demands of His followers a love beyond all that is found
in the tenderestrelations of life, and pronounces all who withhold this to be
unworthy of Him, He makes a claim which, on the part of any mere creature,
would be wickedand intolerable, and in Him who honoured the Fatheras no
other on earth ever did, is not to be imagined, if He had not been "the Fellow
of the Lord of Hosts."
(6) It is an abuse of the duty of disinterestedness in religion to condemn all
reference to our own future safetyand blessednessas a motive of action. For
what have we here, as the conclusionof this lofty Directory, but an
encouragementto entertain His servants, and welcome His people, and do
offices of kindness, howeversmall, to the humblest of His disciples, by the
emphatic assurance that not the lowestof such offices shallgo unrewarded?
And shall not Christians be stimulated to lay themselves thus out for Him to
whom they owe their all?

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(42) One of these little ones.—The termwas familiarly used of the scholars of
a Rabbi, and in this sense our Lord, as the great Master, sending forth His
disciples, now employs it. He would not disregardeven the cup of cold water
given to the humblest disciple as such and for the sake of Christ. Takenby
themselves, the words do not go beyond this but the language ofMatthew
25:40 justifies their extension to every act of kindness done to any man in the
name of that humanity which He shares with those whom He is not ashamed
to call His brethren (Hebrews 2:11).
Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge
lose his reward.
one
8:5,6; 18:3-6,10,14;25:40; Zechariah13:7; Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2; 1
Corinthians 8:10-13
a cup
Mark 9:41; 12:42,43;14:7,8;2 Corinthians 8:12
he shall
Proverbs 24:14; Luke 6:35; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; Philippians 4:15-19;
Hebrews 6:10

The Bible Study New Testament

And remember this! No act of kindness is too small to be rewarded, if the
motives are right. Six things are mentioned in following Christ: (1) Confessing
(Matthew 10:32-33);(2) Combat (Matthew 10:34-37);(3) Taking his cross
(Matthew 10:38); (4) Self-sacrifice(Matthew 10:39);(5) Assistance (Matthew
10:40-42);(6) Risking life (Matthew 10:39). This is the life of a soldier.
E.M. Zerr's Commentary on SelectedBooksofthe New Testament
These "little ones" are the same disciples referred to in earlierverses of the
chapter. Kindness of ever so little a charactershownto them is the same as
doing so to Jesus and will be rewardedin due time. This is the same lesson
that is taught in Matthew 25:40.
END OF STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Biblical Commentary
(Bible study)
Matthew 10:40-42
EXEGESIS:
40“He who receives (Greek:dechomenos—receives)youreceives me, and he
who receives me receives him who sent me. 41He who receives a prophet in
the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. He who receives a
righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s
reward. 42Whoevergives one of these little ones just a cup of cold waterto
drink in the name of a disciple, most certainly I tell you he will in no way lose
his reward.”
MATTHEW 10. THE CONTEXT

To appreciate fully our brief three-verse Gospellesson, we must know the
context. In this chapter, Jesus summons the twelve disciples and gives them
healing powers and authority over unclean spirits (10:1-5). He then gives them
their marching orders (10:5-15). He warns that they will face persecution
(10:16-25). He tells them not to fearthe person who can kill the body, but
rather to fear Godwho has powerover body and soul (10:26-28). He assures
them of God’s love (10:29-31). He promises to acknowledgebefore the Father
anyone who acknowledges Jesus before people (10:32-33), and warns that he
has not come to bring peace, but a sword (10:34-39).
Therefore, whenJesus promises rewards to those who welcome/receive a
prophet or a righteous person, the context is high-risk—a spiritual war-zone.
The prophet and righteous person are taking risks for Christ, and those who
help them assume similar risks. In addition to providing food, clothing,
shelter, and money, they are demonstrating personalsupport for Christ and
his church—and are serving as encouragersofthose who stand on the front
lines in the war againstSatanand his minions.
MATTHEW 10:40-42. HE WHO RECEIVES ME
For the past two Sundays, we have heard Jesus commissionthe disciples. He
told them, “Don’ttake any gold, nor silver, nor brass in your money belts.
Take no bag for your journey, neither two coats, norshoes, nor staff: for the
laborer is worthy of his food.” (10:9-10). He spoke ofthe dangers they would
face, including persecution(10:16-20), rejectionby their own families (10:21),
and “those who kill the body” (10:28). Jesus’disciples cannotexpect comfort
or safety as they go about carrying out their commission.
“He who receives youreceives me, and he who receives me receives him who
sent me” (v. 40). Now Jesus tells the disciples that he will reward those who
receive them—thereby revealing a part of his plan for provisioning ministry.
He establishes a four-way partnership betweenGod, Jesus, disciple, and host:
• God initiated the partnership by sending Jesus.
• Jesus then sends the disciples.

• The disciples take the third step by going.
• Those who welcome the disciples take the final step by providing support.
Jesus says that welcoming (receiving)the Son is the equivalent of welcoming
the Son—andwelcoming the prophet earns the host a prophet’s reward. This
is the Jewishconceptofshaliah, which regards the king’s emissaryas if he
were the king. The principle is still practicedtoday. Governments consideran
affront to an ambassadoras an affront to the nation. On a more personal
level, parents consider a gift to a child as a gift to the parent.
“He who receives a prophet…; He who receives a righteous man…; Whoever
gives one of these little ones just a cup of cold water” (vv. 41-42). Prophets—
righteous persons—little ones:The movement is from high to low:
• Prophets were revered as spokespersons forGod. Apostles would be of
similar status, and this missionary discourse is addressedto apostles (10:1-5.
See also Acts 11:27; 13:1-3; 1 Corinthians 12:28). Who is a prophet today?
The term would apply to anyone calledby God to speak God’s message.The
promise is that the personwho welcomes a prophet receives a prophet’s
reward.
• Righteous persons are those who obey God. Perhaps the term in this context
means Jesus’disciples—muchas we use the phrase “goodChristians” today.
The personwho welcomes a righteous person receives a righteous person’s
reward—presumably less than the prophet’s reward—there may be a
downward movement here too—but a significantreward.
• Little ones can have various meanings—children(see 18:5)—the poor—
those who are vulnerable. However, “in the name of a disciple,” equates “little
ones” with ordinary disciples. This premise is strengthened when we look at
Jesus’discourse onthe judgment of the nations (25:31-46). There Jesus gives
blessings to those who provided assistance to those who were hungry, thirsty,
a stranger, naked, sick, and in prison. Then he explained, “Mostcertainly I
tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the leastof these my brothers, you
did it to me” (25:40). “My brothers” in that contextclearly means Jesus’
spiritual brothers and sisters—his disciples. Also, in 18:6, Jesus speaksof

“these little ones who believe in me,” further strengthening the equation of
“little ones” and Jesus’disciples.
A cup of cold wateris the smallestof gifts—a gift that almostanyone can give.
“Jesus does notwant our lack of affluence to be an excuse for thinking we
cannot do much to help the Christian enterprise” (Bruner, 402). But a cup of
cold wateris precious to a personwho is really thirsty—in some instances, the
gift of life itself. While we would prefer, in the game of life, to be the
quarterback—the hero—Jesus’heartleans towardthe water-boyor water-
girl. Providing a cup of wateris a valid vocation. God rewards even the
smallestcontribution. Jesus does not specifythe nature of the reward for
those who help little ones, but only assures us of its certainty.
In Luke 10:16 Jesus says, “Whoeverlistens to you listens to me, and whoever
rejects you rejects me. Whoeverrejects me rejects him who sentme”–
suggesting that what we have here is more than an issue of hospitality.
“He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet” (v. 41). What does it
mean to welcome (receive)a prophet?
• It can mean providing necessarysupport, such as food, clothing and
shelter—ormoney to allow the prophet to purchase those things. This would
be especiallysignificantin a situation where Christians are being persecuted.
• It can also mean accepting the truth of the prophetic message (Holwerda,
61).
Two Old Testamentstories are instructive. In both, the host provided for the
basic needs of a prophet. Eachreceiveda gift of life:
• In the first story, the widow of Zarephath, who expected to die of hunger,
honored Elijah’s request for a morsel of bread after Elijah invoked God’s
promise that her food supply would not fail. As a consequence, her “jar of
meal shall not empty, neither shall the jar of oil fail”. Later, when her son
died, Elijah restoredhim to life (1 Kings 17:8-24).
• In the secondstory, a Shunammite couple provided food and a comfortable
room for Elisha because he was a holy man of God. As a reward, Elisha

promised the childless couple a child. The child was born and grew up, but
then died—and Elisha restoredhim to life (2 Kings 4:8-37).
“He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s
reward. He who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will
receive a righteous man’s reward” (v. 41). Jesus uses “inthe name of” to
make the application specific. “‘In the name of’ is a Semitic expression
meaning ‘because one is'” (Boring, 263). The welcome is extended because the
welcomedpersonis a prophet—or a righteous person—ora disciple. Jesus is
not commending generalhospitality here, but hospitality to disciples. He uses
a similar phrase in 25:40 when rewarding the righteous for feeding the
hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, etc. “Mostcertainly I tell you, inasmuch as
you did it to one of the leastof these my brothers, you did it to me.” Note the
phrase, “my brothers”. No doubt Christ will reward us for kindness to any
vulnerable person, but the emphasis in these passagesis hospitality to
disciples.
There are costs associatedwith receiving prophets, righteous persons, and
little ones:
• One costis financial. It is no small matter to attend to the needs of other
people. It is expensive to feed them or to provide money for their living
expenses.
• Another costis personal. To invite someone to live in our home is stressful.
Mostof our homes have just enough room for our families. Fitting additional
people may involve sleepersofas, sleeping bags, andturning the living room
into a bedroom. Guests invade our personalspace and limit our privacy. For
those of us who are set in our ways, suchchanges are difficult.
• Another costmay be danger to oneselfand one’s family. Jesus warnedthe
disciples that they could expect opposition—persecution. Hostfamilies can
find themselves caughtin the crossfire.
We tend to imagine that greatChristians will receive greatmansions in the
kingdom, while the restof us will receive lessermansions. The idea is
questionable, because salvationis a gift rather than something earned.

However, our Gospellessonimplies that there might be differing rewards for
prophets, righteous persons, and little ones—anddiffering rewards for those
who receive them.
There is goodnews for us in these words of Jesus:
• First, Jesus assuresus that those of us who have not seenJesus in his human
Incarnation are at no disadvantage. Those who receivedhim while he walked
this earth’s pathways will certainly be rewarded for their service to him, but
we are eligible for the same rewards if we receive his prophets, righteous
persons, and little ones today.
• Second, Jesus assuresus that modestcircumstances do not limit potential
rewards. The person of ordinary means and the person of greatmeans are
both promised a prophet’s reward for receiving a prophet. The personof
ordinary means canreceive the prophet only modestly, while the person of
greatmeans canreceive the prophet in grand style—but both the ordinary
and the wealthy person are promised the same rewardfor their hospitality.
• Third, we are not required to be a prophet to receive a prophet’s reward,
but have only to receive a prophet. We are not required to be a greatsaint to
receive a greatsaint’s reward, but have only to show hospitality to such a
saint. The smallestgift to the littlest disciple brings its reward. Justas God
knows and cares about every hair of our heads, so also God knows every
generous actin behalf of the faithful. Such gifts are counted as gifts to Jesus—
and gifts to Jesus are counted as gifts to the Father. Jesus therefore establishes
a direct line of blessing from the littlest disciple to God.
• Fourth, those of us who are engagedin the Lord’s work are assuredthat
those who help us are promised a reward. That is true whether the Lord’s
servants receiving support are clergyor layperson—preacheror janitor. Both
are providing essentialministry service. God has ordained that our receiving
will become a blessing to the giver.
And so we come to the conclusionof the Sermon on Mission(9:35 – 10:42).
SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONSare from the World English Bible (WEB), a
public domain (no copyright) modern Englishtranslation of the Holy Bible.

The World English Bible is basedon the American Standard Version (ASV)
of the Bible, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek
Majority Text New Testament. The ASV, which is also in the public domain
due to expired copyrights, was a very goodtranslation, but included many
archaic words (hast, shineth, etc.), which the WEB has updated.
Copyright 2009, RichardNiellDonovan
Commentary on Matthew 10:40-42
ElisabethJohnson | 1 Comment
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Our text comes atthe end of Matthew 10, the secondmajor sectionofJesus'
teaching after the Sermon on the Mount.
The chapters in between(8-9) narrate various episodes in Jesus'ministry of
teaching, healing, casting out demons, and raising the dead. At the end of

chapter 9, Jesus looksatthe crowds and has compassiononthem because they
are "harassedand helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (9:36). So he tells
his disciples, "The harvestis plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask
the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (9:37-38).
Jesus evidently intends his disciples to be the answerto their own prayer, for
at the beginning of chapter10, he is sending them out, giving them "authority
over unclean spirits, to castthem out, and to cure every disease andevery
sickness" (10:1). Jesus instructs the twelve to "go only to the lost sheepof the
house of Israel" and to "proclaim the goodnews, 'The kingdom of heavenhas
come near.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, castout demons"
(10:5-8).
The disciples are to actas envoys of Jesus, extending his ministry, proclaiming
the same goodnews and performing the same works of healing that he is
doing. Jesus'further instructions make clear that the disciples are also to
share in his poverty and homelessness, taking with them no money or extra
clothing, and depending solelyon the hospitality of others for shelter and
sustenance (10:8b-13).
They will not be welcomedeverywhere (10:14-15), andthey can expectto
experience the same hostility Jesus often does, for he is sending them out "like
sheepinto the midst of wolves" (10:16). They canexpect to encounter
persecutionand trials (10:17-23), for "a disciple is not above the teacher, nor
a slave above the master" (10:24-25). Theyneed also be prepared for painful
division within families, and to be willing to put Jesus'missionabove family
loyalties (10:34-38). Forall of this risk and suffering, Jesus promises, "those
who lose their life for my sake will find it" (10:39).
Welcome Rewards
Matthew, of course, is not only recalling Jesus'instructions to his first
disciples;he is also speaking to his owncommunity of disciples a few
generations later. There is still need to send out laborers into the harvest, to
send missionaries out beyond the community into a perilous world. And those
sent will still need to depend on the hospitality of others. Jesus says of those

Jesus was a promiser

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