March 31, 2020 - Let’s take a look at Matthew 10:40-42 today. I feel it necessary to quote all three verses here even though this will take away from my word limit. The verses read, “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” The primary audience to the Matthew text was a Jewish audience, which explains the many references to Old Testament verses.
Also, the words we read in the verses above are aimed primarily for the Apostles. We aren’t to just jump in and place ourselves in the text. We are to interpret the text recognizing that we are not the primary readers and we are not the only receivers of these verses. That ought to lift some weight from us seeking to find this reward talked about. Hold on! What is this reward? We have heard of the reward already. The Gospel. The righteous person is one who rest upon the righteousness of Christ and the message they have is nothing but him crucified.
To those who show us kindness and are curious about what the Gospel is, let us be ready to speak about the reward given to us, that through Christ we are forgiven.
Wynter is an Elder at Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church. Find out more at MariposaChurch.org or email him at wynter@mariposachurch.org. Visit Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church on Facebook.
Pastor’s Corner is a column from Pastor Wynter Sturtevant III of the Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church.
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