He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. - Matthew 10:41
As shared in Part 1, this is probably one of the most abused Scripture verses in the charismatic world. It has been used to justify the need to honour ($$$ or inflate the ego) the prophet or the man of God for a believer's own sake (so that the believer gets the reward - such as increased in anointing, operation of gifts, etc.). This subtly places the man of God on the pedestal and undermines a believer's identity.
We need to look at the context of this passage, especially in the light of the New Covenant that we are in.
In the Jewish culture of those days, Jewish families considered it a great privilege to be able to host a priest, a teacher, or a rabbi in their home. 'In the name of a prophet' simply means 'because he is a prophet'.
By providing hospitality to the servants aka prophets of God, one could hope for some degree of blessings from God. This is not to say that hosting a prophet will earn a person the reward due to the prophet. Instead, it will earn the gratitude of the prophet, and the prophet will bestow a reward in the form of blessing. In the Old Testament, a prophet represented God to men because men under the Law didn't have access to God. An example will be 2 Kings 4:8-37 where the woman was blessed because she honoured Elisha.
In the New Testament, Christ came as the Prophet of God (Matt 13:57; Luke 7:16; Acts 3:22). He came to preach the Gospel of the kingdom (Matt 9:35). His life on earth represented God to men as a Prophet, bringing God's message of Good News. Only His death on the Cross represented men to God as a Priest. Those who received Him as God's Messenger received the blessings of God which included healing, providence, peace, etc.
At the closing chapter of Matthew 9, Jesus spoke about sending out the workers because the harvest is plentiful. And in Matthew 10, Jesus sent out His disciples to preach the Gospel of the kingdom ------ the disciples represented God's messengers (aka prophets of God) to the people in Israel. Those who received them as God's prophets also received the Good News they brought ------- healing, deliverance, and raising of their dead (Matt 10:8). Not only that, they also received Shalom peace (Matt 10:13).
However, those who failed to receive them would receive nothing but judgment (Matt 10:13-15).
In the context of this, let's read the passage below.
“He who receives you RECEIVES ME, and he who receives Me RECEIVES HIM WHO SENT ME. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall RECEIVE A PROPHET'S REWARD. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall RECEIVE A RIGHTEOUS MAN'S REWARD. And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.” - Matt 10:40-42
Receiving a person is the same as receiving the message he carries (Matt 10:14). Thus, the whole context is very clear. Whoever receives the disciple's message (the Gospel of the kingdom) receives Jesus, which in turn, receives God the Father. In the light of this, Jesus simply reiterated what He meant with the following verses after the first verse in Matt 10:40.
Whoever receives God's prophet (aka messenger of the Good News) receives the effects of the Gospel that he preaches ----- healing, deliverance, raising of their dead, salvation of the spirit, etc. This is the REWARD for believing and receiving. God's reward (Hebrews 11:6) is simply the manifestation of His grace and goodness (which includes healing, providence, peace, etc.)
Whoever receives a righteous man (aka made right because of the Gospel of the kingdom) receives the reward ------ the effects of the Gospel too. Because the one who has been made right is able to bring the message of Righteousness (Rom 1:16-17).
And whoever receives the seemingly 'little ones' in the name of a disciple (because they are disciples of Christ) also receives the reward, because they are receiving Jesus Himself (cross-references: Matt 25:40; Matt 18:3-5; Mark 9:37; Mark 9:41). To receive Jesus is to have everything including anointing, gifts, etc. (Rom 8:32) So you don't need to 'suck' it from other men.
Note: It is possible to have other rewards from God (Hebrews 6:9-10), though it is not clear whether it is in this life or after. But I tend to believe that it is referring to the latter.
For Jesus to put the 'little ones' in the same light as 'a prophet' in Matt 10:40-42 unveils one thing: It's about the consistent message of the KINGDOM, which has nothing to do with the ministry office of a prophet, evangelist, apostle, pastor and teacher.
In the New Covenant, every believer is a 'prophet' of God in being the messenger of the Kingdom. It is about honouring every single believer and receiving his message so that the kingdom of God is at hand (Matt 10:7), which accompanies with all the blessings (Eph 1:3). For God desires to bless every mankind on earth and give them the kingdom (Luke 12:32).
I am zealous for the believer's identity. Anything that compromises on identity is NOT the New Covenant. Every bible interpretation must not contradict the full counsel of God's Word in the light of the New Covenant. The explicit must interpret the implicit. It's time to stop abusing Matt 10:41. Stop exalting the man of God. Instead, exalt the God of man. Christ IN you is the Hope of glory.
Honor a prophet or a man of God to get his reward? Yes... but it's not for a special few. Instead, do it for every believer because every believer is a prophet of God and a man of God in the New Covenant. Enough said. Jesus! #identity
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