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Rewards

40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.[a] 41 Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever[b] receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones[c] in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth,[d] he will never lose his reward.”

11 When[e] Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their towns.[f]

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 10:40 sn The one who sent me refers to God. Reception of the messengers (and by implication, the message they bring) is equivalent to reception of both Jesus and God the Father himself.
  2. Matthew 10:41 tn Grk “And whoever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
  3. Matthew 10:42 sn Mention of these little ones in the context seems slightly odd since Jesus is addressing disciples, and this seems to refer to disciples. Probably it is another reference to the itinerant messengers mentioned previously (v. 40). Even a minimal act of kindness shown to one of these (a cup of cold water) will not go unacknowledged and unrewarded.
  4. Matthew 10:42 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
  5. Matthew 11:1 tn Grk “And it happened when.” The introductory phrase καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto, “it happened that”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  6. Matthew 11:1 sn The antecedent of “their” in their towns is not entirely clear. In Matt 4:23 “their synagogues” apparently refers to the people of Galilee, and in 9:35 to the synagogues of the towns Jesus is visiting. Here, however, the most likely antecedent is Jesus’ disciples mentioned at the beginning of this verse.