Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 10:42
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold [water] only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
42. one of these little ones ] The reference may be to the disciples. But there appears to be a gradation in the lowest step of which are “ these little ones.” Possibly some children standing near were then addressed, or, perhaps, some converts less instructed than the Apostles had gathered round. “The little ones” then would mean the young disciples, who are babes in Christ. The lowest in 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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mat 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 Saviour points out this by three examples.
2. The duty derives its importance from Gods omnipresence and omniscience. The cup of cold water comes 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 reward by Christ shows how every simple act done with reference to Himself is made to react upon ourselves in a way we should not anticipate apart from revelation.
3. Things done out of Christ, having no connection with 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, showed a rare instance of love and charity. In the depth of winter, a beggar, clothed in rags, asked an alms of him for the love of God. Silver and gold he had none. His soldiers cloak was all he 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 blessed Lord upon His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right; hand and His left. And as Martin looked more steadfastly on 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 regard 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 and weakness amid the circumstances of peril to which they are exposed in their progress through the world.
3. In their influence for good or 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 objects of their devoted care.
1. They shall have their reward in the lovely and appropriate fruits with which the objects of their compassionate regard shall be adorned.
2. In the beneficial influence they shall thus originate and perpetuate.
3. In the approbation of their Saviour and their God. (H. Madgin.)
A good passport
Some few years ago, three small children-a boy and two girls, aged respectively ten, seven, and four-arrived in St. Louis, having travelled thither all the way from Kulin in Germany, without any escort or protection beyond a New Testament and 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 forwarded a sum of money sufficient to pay the passage of the 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 reached their destination at all, had not their aunt, with a womans 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 accost her during the voyage, and especially to call their attention to the first leaf of the book. Upon that leaf the wise and good woman 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 followed by 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 reached their parents in perfect health and safety.
Christs appreciation of little services
1. Because they often have great results. A cup of cold water is mentioned here; we can hardly 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 great in its results. It may allay the fever, and drive away the coming madness of the man who is consumed by thirst-there may be life in a cup of cold water. The fainting traveller in the desert, where the greedy sun has licked all the water up, would die but for the cup of cold water which a provident pilgrim brings to him. Many a castaway on 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 saved life.
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, acquired its character of moral worth from its being given in the name of a disciple-given for Christs 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 countrys 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
1. Slight services are often all we have it in our power to render. What can I do for Christ?
2. Slight services are sufficient to show love for the Saviour.
3. Slight services, after all, may be invaluable services-trivial-cup of cold water.
4. Slight services shall be 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 MacCheynes narrative of their mission to the Jews in Palestine (Edinburgh, 1839), an incident 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 cases like this, where the individual, unasked, seeks out objects on whom to show kindness. The least desire to bless shall not lose its reward. We all know how precious a gift a cup of cold water may be, and what self-denial it may involve, from the well-known story 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 of water which some one had humanely brought him to assuage his 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 resist the pleading eyes of his fellow-sufferer, Sidney handed the glass to him, exclaiming, Thy necessity is greater than mine. It is well-known that in Western Australia 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, describes the feeling of distress, approaching to despair, experienced by a mother and her child who had missed their way in 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 assuage their thirst; and their astonishment and delight, when, in that remote region, they saw, suddenly emerging from the trees, a woman and a girl each carrying a bucket. Perhaps, says Mrs. Millett, my friend mentally compared the incident to that of all angels visit, when the strangers showed her a spring at no great distance, whither they were already on their way to fetch water, having already walked two miles from their own home. We ourselves remember with pleasure a hot summer evening many years ago, when, tired with a long walk in the neighbourhood of Heidelberg, we asked the mistress of a picturesque German cottage for a glass of water. Readily was it brought, and the peasant-woman, on our thanking her, replied in a tone of true courtesy, Masser haben 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.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 42. A cup of cold water] , 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 necessarily understood; the ellipsis of the same substantive is frequent, both in the Greek and Latin writers. See Wakefield.
Little ones] My apparently mean and generally despised disciples.
But a cup of water in the eastern countries was not a matter of small worth. In India, the Hindoos go sometimes a great way to fetch it, and then boil it that it may do the less hurt to travellers when they are hot; and, after that, they stand from morning to night in some great road, where there is neither pit nor rivulet, and offer it, in honour of their god, to be drunk by all passengers. This necessary work 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 food to 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 smallest actions, and gives a worth to them which they cannot possess without it. Under a just and merciful God every sin is either punished or pardoned, and every good action rewarded. The most indigent may exercise the works of mercy and charity; seeing even a cup of cold water, given in the name of Jesus, shall not 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 power and inclination to be charitable, and then rewards the work which, it may be truly said, God himself 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
42. And whosoever shall give todrink unto one of these little onesBeautiful epithet!Originally taken from Zec 13:7.The reference is to their lowliness in spirit, their littleness inthe eyes of an undiscerning world, while high in Heaven’s esteem.
a cup of cold wateronlymeaning, the smallest service.
in the name of a discipleor,as it is in Mark (Mr 9:41),because ye are Christ’s: from love to Me, and to him from hisconnection with Me.
verily I say unto you, heshall in no wise lose his rewardThere is here a descendingclimax”a prophet,” “a righteous man,” “alittle one”; signifying that however low we come down in ourservices to those that are Christ’s, all that is done for His sake,and that bears the stamp of love to His blessed name, shall bedivinely appreciated and owned and rewarded.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones,…. Our Lord gradually descends from prophets to righteous men, and from righteous men, to those of the lowest form and class among them; who have the least measure 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 least of saints, in their own esteem and account: whosoever takes notice but of “one” of these, receives him into his house, and gives him
a cup of cold water only, is regarded, a phrase used to express the least favour, or benefit whatever.
“So says t Maimonides, one that calls to his friend to dine with him, and he refuses, and swears, or vows, that he shall not enter into his house, nor will he give him to drink, “a drop of cold water”, c.”
Moreover, this is said to prevent any objection, on account of 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 whosoever takes notice of, and shows favour to the meanest of 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 person is 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 what is done to the least of his brethren, as done to himself. The Jews say many things in praise of hospitality, to , “a disciple of a wise man”; and observe u, that he that hospitably entertains such an one in his house, and causes him to eat and drink, and partake of the goods of his house, there is reason to believe, he shall be much more blessed than the house of Obed Edom was for the ark’s sake, which neither ate nor drank with him; and which may be compared with this passage.
t Hilchot Nedarim, c. 8. sect. 10. u T. Bab, Beracot, fol. 63. 2. & 64. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
1) “And whosoever shall give to drink,” (kai hos ean potise) “And whoever gives to drink,” to quench or satisfy the thirst, to relieve an immediate physical need, Mat 25:45; Zec 13:7.
2) “Unto one of these little ones,” (hena ton mikron touton) “To one of these little ones,” either in age or position of service, Mat 18:5-6; Mat 18:10; Heb 5:13; Mat 25:40; 1Co 3:11; Because they “are Christ’s,” Mr 9:41.
3) “A cup of cold water only,” (poterion psuchrou monon) “Only a cup of cold water,” so small a matter, yet so vital to ones continued life and health. Small things, well timed and well done to meet a need, out of right motives, have great value.
4) “In the name of a disciple,” (eis onoma mathetou) “In (the) name of a disciple,” or for the sake of the Lord, in caring for one of His disciple servants, Mr 9:41.
5) Verily I say unto you,” (amen lego humin) “I tell you all (that) certainly,” or surely, without fail, Pr 1:24:14; Luk 6:35.
6) “He shall in no wise lose his reward.” (ou me apolese ton misthon autou) “He will under no circumstance lose his reward;” That one shall not go without reward from the Lord, one day, Heb 6:10; Php_4:18-19; 2Jn 1:8; Joh 4:10; as the workman is paid when work is done, so the saved is paid at the end of harvest day, when Jesus returns in the air, Rev 22:12.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(42) One of these little ones.The term was 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 disregard even the cup of cold water given to the humblest disciple as such and for the sake of Christ. Taken by themselves, the words do not go beyond this but the language of Mat. 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 (Heb. 2:11).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Mat 10:42 . ] a single one of these ( ) little ones . According to the whole context, which has been depicting the despised and painful circumstances of the disciples, and is now addressing to them the necessary encouragement, it is to be regarded as intentional and significant that Jesus employs the term (not ), an expression which (in answer to Wetstein) is not usual among Rabbinical writers to convey the idea of disciples. Otherwise Mat 18:6 .
] only , connected with what precedes.
] the reward awaiting him , in the kingdom of the Messiah; Mat 5:12 . Grotius says correctly: “Docemur hic, facta ex animo, non animum ex factis apud Deum aestimari.”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
REFLECTIONS
Let all the followers of the Lord Jesus, and especially his Ministers, behold in the commission here given by him to his Apostles, the love of his heart, and the interest he takes in all that concerns them. And let not our view of the unfaithfulness of hire. lings in any age of the Church, give the smallest distress to true Pastors. Jesus chose a 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 knoweth them that are his. In the end, an everlasting separation will 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 smallest injury 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, looks on, knows all, sanctifies all, and blesseth all to his people’s good! And Jesus speaks as in this chapter, to drive away all 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.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise 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 set by in the world, or dearly respected of 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 seal up his love to poor Christ. Salvian saith, that Christ is mendicorum moximus, the greatest beggar in 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 good foundation against the time to come; yea, you shall lay hold on eternal life,1Ti 6:191Ti 6:19 . Of Midas it is fabled, that whatever he touched he turned into gold. Sure it is that whatsoever the 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 keep holiday, as it were, in hell, in respect of such.
Verily, I say unto you, he shall in no wise, &c. ] By this deep asseveration our 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 Joseph his father’s house; but God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shown toward his name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister, Heb 6:10 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
42. ] To whom this applies is not very clear. Hardly (De Wette) to the despised and meanly-esteemed for Christ’s sake. I should rather imagine some children may have been present; for of such does our Lord generally use this term, see ch. Mat 18:2-6 . Though perhaps the expression may be meant of lower and less advanced converts, thus keeping up the gradation from . This however hardly seems likely: for how could a disciple be in a downward gradation from ?
I may observe that Meyer denies the existence of the Rabbinical meaning of disciples commonly attributed to , little ones. In the passage from Bereschith Rabba quoted by Wetstein to support it, the word, he maintains, from the context, means parvuli, children , not disciples .
. . ] His (i.e. the doer’s) reward: not, ‘the reward of one of these little ones ,’ as before . ., . : the article here makes the difference: and the expression is reflective.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 10:42 . he last word, and the most beautiful; spoken with deep pathos as an aside; about the disciples rather than to them, though heard by them. “Whosoever shall do the smallest service, were it but to give a drink to one of these little ones ( , cf. Mat 25:40 ) in the name of a disciple, I declare solemnly even he shall without fail have his appropriate reward.” : expressive word for water, indicating the quality valued by the thirsty; literally a cup of the cool , suggesting by contrast the 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 can wander for hours without coming on a brook or an accessible cistern, you say ‘thank you’ for a drink of fresh water with very different feelings than we do at home” (Furrer, Wanderungen durch das Heilige Land , p. 118). Fritzsche remarks on the paucity of particles in Mat 10:34-42 as indicating the emotional condition of the speaker.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
these little ones: i.e. the Twelve. Compare Mat 18:6.
of = full of or containing. Genitive of the contents. App-17.
in no wise. See App-105.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
42. ] To whom this applies is not very clear. Hardly (De Wette) to the despised and meanly-esteemed for Christs sake. I should rather imagine some children may have been present; for of such does our Lord generally use this term, see ch. Mat 18:2-6. Though perhaps the expression may be meant of lower and less advanced converts, thus keeping up the gradation from . This however hardly seems likely: for how could a disciple be in a downward gradation from ?
I may observe that Meyer denies the existence of the Rabbinical meaning of disciples commonly attributed to , little ones. In the passage from Bereschith Rabba quoted by Wetstein to support it, the word, he maintains, from the context, means parvuli, children, not disciples.
. .] His (i.e. the doers) reward: not, the reward of one of these little ones, as before . ., . :-the article here makes the difference: and the expression is reflective.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 10:42. , little ones) (see ch. Mat 11:11, and Zec 13:7). A sweet epithet for disciples (cf. Mat 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.-, 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]- , shall not lose) A consolation which, arising from former good deeds, cheers the disciple even in the midst of subsequent dangers.[505]-, 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 greater reward.[506]
[504] i.e. to receive any one into the house as a guest-this is an act of hospitality, whereas to give a cup of cold water to a wayfarer is merely an act of kindness.-(I. B.)
[505] O the boundless riches of GOD, who both has it in His power and delights to pay in full such great rewards.-V. g.
[506] Bengel, J. A. (1860). Vol. 1: Gnomon of the New Testament (M. E. Bengel & J. C. F. Steudel, Ed.) (J. Bandinel & A. R. Fausset, Trans.) (185-250). Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
The Ministry of Small Things
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.Mat 10:42.
In ordinary circumstances there is scarcely any act that can have less about it of self-denial and self-sacrifice than the gift to any one of a cup of cold water. The water is so abundant, and the gift of it involves so little cost or care, that it is bestowed without thought of obligation, rendered and received without 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 smallest gifts. 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 broadest relief before our eye. The gift may be great in 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 special cognizance and honour. More than all thisfor here, withdrawing our minds from all vain and selfish motives, striking a death-blow at all self-seeking Pharisaism and hypocrisy, measuring mens acts by the high standard of genuine love to Himself, as represented in the person of a discipleour Lord leads us particularly to note that all acts are nobleare worthy of honour and rewardonly as the motives of the actor are unselfish and loving, and spring out of regard to Christ Himself and respect to His name and glory. Thus, if we were to place in one scale of the balance what men should reckon the noblest deed 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 bestowed upon a disciple for His sake, that insignificant act or gift, thus freighted with love to Him, would immeasurably outweigh the other. Not only so, but if we take the Saviours estimate, He reckons the one as valueless, while He tells that the other shall not lack its reward.
I
Little Things
1. Lifes most perfect gifts, lifes most perfect mercies, are little things. A cup of cold water. We have sometimes become singularly blind. We set before ourselves as lifes most perfect prizes, the summing up of life, the essence of its 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 possess them, and they leave us hungry and haggard as ever. But it is common things, single things, that quench thirst; not spiced wine, but the cup of cold water. Health, work, genuine friendship, the caresses of little children, the love that set its hand in yours one beautiful morning five-and-twenty years ago, which has become deeper, richer, sweeter, as your head has grown grey. Gods 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 lifes most precious wealth, lifes most perfect giftthe cup of cold water.
I saw a rich mans Bible a little while ago, and on the inside cover there was gummed a little message of goodwill 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 discover how many obscure people ministered to the great Apostles refreshment. The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain. I was refreshed by the coming of Fortunatus and Achaius. These were all subordinate people; their names are linked with no great exploits; but they gave cups of cold water to a mighty Apostle, and kept his spirit strong.1 [Note: J. H. Jowett, in The Examiner, April 27, 1905.]
2. Our real salvation, the things which refresh and put heart into us, are the simplicities of the gospelthe cup of cold water. Charles Kingsley was a scientist, but he was a poet also in every fibre of his soul; and it is only a scientist who is a poet that can expound his own science. Charles Kingsley showed how the great volcanoes have been Gods most glorious workers. Every harvest in the fruitful plains of Europe is due to the beneficent work of the volcanoes ages ago; every grain of the rich soil was melted out of the solid granite. It is a romantic story, a perfect fairy tale, an enchantment, if you know how to read it, if you have the imagination to picture the whole process to yourself. But the embarrassed farmer 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 harvest is going to be. So the great mysteries of theologythey ought 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 stonesa highly flavoured and elaborately cooked feast, but we cannot eat it. You have laid out the table grandly. Like Ahasuerus at his banquet, you have set out vessels of gold and poured royal wine into them; but I am thirsty, and the fever is in my blood still; I crave for a cup of cold water. God is love; God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son; Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved; Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out; Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; Where I am, there shall ye be also; I go to prepare a place for youthat is the cup of cold water; I drink deep of it; it quenches my thirst; I am young again; despair is gone; I am master of 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 occupied in turn by the contending forces. It was covered with the dead and the dying; and all through the afternoon of a weary day the cry was heard, Water, water! A Southern soldier begged of his captain to be allowed to answer those 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 hear those cries for water: let me go! He set out with a bucket of water and a tin cup; for awhile the bullets sang around him, but he seemed to 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 soldier in 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 heaven to bring the cup of cold water to dying men. Ah, that was the greatest kindness that ever was known. It was the most sublime heroism too. But the firing did not cease when He came to us with the water from the well beside the gate at Bethlehem; His mercy toward us cost Him 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 seemingly be 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 water can be so easily obtained. If, however, we go to the desert, as the weary traveller passes along it under the burning rays of an Eastern sun, how precious to him is the cup of cold water to allay his thirst! There have been seasons of famine when a loaf of bread was of more value than gold, and when he who brought it was the messenger of life to those who were starving with hunger and staring death in the face. It may seem a 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 act may have been light and comfort to him in the hour of despondency and distress. The widow on our northern Highland coast who 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 seem to do a very slight thing when every evening thereafter at 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 reckon it, was the safety of many of the island fishermen in nights of storm. Could we bring before our eye all the results of the acts that in themselves seem but 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 smallest thing 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 great things in the cause of the Lord. There are few that have great things, as these words are generally understood, to do in the way either of service or of sacrifice for Christ. All men cannot be missionaries, or devote the whole of their time to direct work in the vineyard of the Lord. All are not blessed with temporal abundance. Most Christian men are occupied in 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 can give 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 greatest of his poems Wordsworth speaks of
that best portion of a good mans life,
His little, nameless, unremembered acts
Of kindness and of love.
And that is surely what every good man feels. If ever we have performed Heavens 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 sheep of the Good Shepherd, 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 preached no sermon. We sat in the house of loneliness, where men go softly, as though they feared a haunting spectre, and simply spoke of the many mansions in the Fathers home. We watched for 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 encouragement to one who had a heavy burden to carry. And our acts were cups of cold water to dry and parched lips, and carried Gods great hope and encouragement to hearts that were lonely and sad.
Mrs. Deane, who had often been a guest at Bishopscourt, writes: When I first went out to Capetown in 1898, a friend gave me an introduction to the Archbishop and Mrs. West Jones, 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 greatest happiness in my life at the Cape. Whatever the Archbishop did, he put his whole heart into it at the time, and this, I think, was largely the secret of his great charm. 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, whichever it might be. I think that the Archbishop will be remembered much by his faithfulness in little thingsall those small details which go to make life pleasant. He liked to recollect and mark birthdays and other anniversaries, to give wedding presents, and to do all sorts of little, charming, unexpected acts of friendliness. He never omitted to answer a letter, either personally or by deputy, and I believe that he really enjoyed being asked to do kindnesses, if he had not already discovered his 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 Father in God: The Episcopate of W. West Jones, 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 Deaths 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 of the 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 Gods grace fructify through thee to all.
The least flower, with a brimming cup, may stand,
And share its dewdrop with another near.1 [Note: E. B. Browning.]
3. The greatest things are poor, if the little things are not donethose minor courtesies which do so much to oil the wheels, to soften the jars, and to heal the heartaches of the world.
The most miserable homes I have ever known have often been those that ought to have been the happiest; I envied them before I got to know the whole story. The house was a palace; the head of the household had worked hard, had made money; he could command every luxury, and it was his one pride that everything that money could command was at the disposal of every member of his home-circle; art had done its best, culture had added its sweetest ministries; everything thereeverything but the delicate courtesies, the ingenious devices of love, which are lifes most perfect graces.2 [Note: J. M. Jones, The Cup of Cold Water, 11.]
In Oscar Wildes tragic book, De Profundis, the author tells us how unspeakably he was helped in his shame, when a friend paid him the common courtesy of lifting his hat in his presence! But when these simplicities of life are consecrated they become sublimities, and they work the Lords will with amazing fruitfulness. I think what is needed, above many things in our time, is the sanctification of conventionalities. Some mens Good morning 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 measured by its motive. The cup of cold water must be given in the name of a disciple, or, as St. Mark puts it, because ye are Christs. There is nothing uncommon in the act of giving a cup of cold water to the thirsty one. But when we give the cup of cold water to the little ones upon whose brow we read the name of Christ, who died for them, then the action is raised to 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 of Christ. 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 senses were not sure and certain. They had a childs immaturity of mind, and a great thought overpowered them. They had a childs uncertainty of limb, and were easily made to stumble. They were little ones in the sphere of advantage. None of the great ones of the earth were among them. None of them occupied rank, or possessed wealth, or were 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 Eastern story of a king who built a great temple at his own cost, no other one being allowed to do even the smallest part of the work. The kings name was put upon the temple as the builder of it. But, strange to say, when the dedication day came it was seen that a poor widows name was there in place of the kings. The king was angry and gave command that the woman bearing the name on the scroll should be found. They discovered her at last among the very poor and brought her before the king. He demanded of her what she had done toward the building of the temple. She said, Nothing. When pressed to remember anything she had done, she said that one day when she saw the oxen drawing the great stones past her cottage, exhausted in the heat and very weary, she had in pity given them some wisps of hay. And this simple kindness to dumb animals, prompted by a hearts compassion, weighed more in Gods sight than all the kings 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 Russell Lowell, 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 search of the Holy Grail. Before his departure, he sleeps, and in 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 unscarred mail, and saw a leper crouching by his gate, who begged with his hand and moaned as he sat. A loathing came over the knight, for this man, foul and bent, seemed a blot on the summer morn. In scorn he tossed him a bit of gold. Years seemed to 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 away from his own door.
As he sits down in the snow outside the gates, musing of sunnier climes, he hears once more the lepers voice, For Christs sweet sake, I beg an alms. The knight turns to the sound and sees again the 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 worlds buffets and scorns,
And to thy life were not denied
The wounds in the hands and feet and side:
Mild Marys Son, acknowledge me;
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 eat and drink. Then, lo! a wondrous transformation took place.
The leper no longer crouched at his side,
But stood before him glorified,
Shining and tall and fair and straight
As the pillar that stood by the Beautiful Gate,
Himself the Gate whereby men can
Enter the temple of God in Man.
And the voice that was softer than 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 water His blood that died on the tree;
The Holy Supper is kept, indeed,
In whatso we share with anothers 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 Lowell portray the right motive in its recognition. When Sir Launfal in scorn tossed the bit of gold to the leper, the Holy Grail was far away from the seeker; but when he shared his 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. Real goodness can never be confined to great acts 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 lesser ministries 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 great piece of sacrifice or self-renunciation, but it shines with a persistent light in the exquisite self-forgetfulness of a life that desires only to do the will of Jesus. David consecrating great wealth to 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 water only to one who is hot after lifes fierce battleall these manifest one and the selfsame goodness, which is the hearts love and loyalty to God flowing through all our deeds and consecrating them all.
When Edward Payson was 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 would perish 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 good book to one who will prize it as the thirsty do waterin such simple ways will streams be made to flow through lifes 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 good by promising them heaven, and that he who is actuated by such a motive is selfish. Now that fantastic and overstrained objection may be very simply answered by two considerations: self-regard is not selfishness, and Christianity does not propose the future reward as 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 only for the sake of what 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 great Christian motive, which is love to Jesus Christ, by the thought of the recompense of reward. 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 reception of a prophet, or of a righteous man, or of one of these little ones, which is 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, or the disciple for what he is, and because he is that, and not because of the reward, receiving him with sympathy and solace and help.
1. What is the reward of heaven? Eternal life, people say. Yes! Blessedness. Yes! But where does the life come from, and where does the blessedness come from? They are both derived, they come from God in Christ; and in the deepest sense, and in the only true sense, God is 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 great reward. It is the possession of God that makes all the heaven of heaven, the immortal life which His children receive, and the blessedness with which they are enraptured. We are heirs of immortality, we are heirs of life, we are heirs of blessedness, because, and in the measure in which, we become heirs of God.
You forgot to mention where heaven is, said the good lady 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 afternoon some little cup of cold water in the name of Him who went about doing good, you will find the answer to 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 capacity for receiving God is determined by character. The gift is one, the reward is one, and yet the reward is infinitely various. It is the same light which glows in all the stars, but star differeth 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 of divers magnitudes, though each be full to the brim.
3. The reward is both present and future.
(1) There is present compensation for 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 engaged in and prosecuted for His sake, and every gift conscientiously made and bestowed for the advancement of His glory, expands the heart, enlarges the sympathies, and deepens the sources of its 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 hearts true pleasure is increased in the proportion that it is opened by the expanding power of true Christian love through acts of Christian kindness done for the Saviours sake. The deed reacts in blessing on the doer. Every lesson of Christian truth which a Sabbath-school teacher imparts makes more precious to him the water of 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 present reward.
Expositors of sacred Scripture have spoken diversely concerning these rewards. For some say that all of them refer to the future bliss: as Ambrose, on Luke. But Augustine says that they pertain to the present life. Whereas Chrysostom says 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 consider that 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 green foliage; but in another fashion when the first formation of the fruit begins to appear. And thus the merits spoken of in the Beatitudes are of the nature of preparations or qualifications for blessedness, whether perfect or 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 present life. For as soon as a man begins to make progress in the acts appropriate to the virtues and (spiritual) gifts, there may be good hope 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 Secund, 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 deal with you according to your sins, nor reward you according to your iniquities; and the darkest features of the recompense of your evil will all be taken away by 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 bestowment of Gods love. And then, built upon that foundation on which alone men can build their hopes, their thoughts, their characters, their lives, however feeble may be our efforts, however narrow may be our sphere,though we be neither prophets nor sons of prophets, and though our righteousness may be all stained and imperfect, yet, to our own amazement and to Gods 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 reward given to every man whose work abides that trial by fire.
My day has all gonetwas a woman who spoke,
As she turned her face to the sunset glow
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 set of sun?
Humbly and quietly all the long day
Had her sweet service for others been done;
Yet for the labours of heart and of hand
What could she show at set of sun?
Ah, she forgot that our Father in heaven
Ever is watching the work that we do,
And records He keeps of all we forget,
Then judges our work with judgment thats true;
For an angel writes down in a volume of gold
The beautiful deeds that all do below.
Though nothing she had at set of the sun,
The angel above had something to show.
The Ministry of Small Things
Literature
Austin (G. B.), The Beauty of Goodness, 81.
Binney (T.), Money, 220.
Broughton (L. G.), Christianity and the Commonplace, 41.
Burrell (D. J.), The Unaccountable Man, 214.
Carter (T. T.), Meditations on the Public Life of Our Lord, i. 256.
Jeffrey (G.), The Believers Privilege, 73.
Jones (J. M.), The Cup of Cold Water, 3.
Maclaren (A.), A Years Ministry, ii. 331.
Maclaren (A.), Expositions: St. Matthew ix.xvii., 110.
Parker (J.), The Cavendish Pulpit, i., No. 10.
Smellie (A.), In the Hour of Silence, 201.
Wiseman (N.), Childrens Sermons, 136.
Christian World Pulpit, lxxx. 122 (J. C. Owen).
Examiner, April 27, 1905 (J. H. Jowett).
Homiletic Review, New Ser., xx. 526 (G. M. Meacham).
Fuente: The Great Texts of the Bible
one: Mat 8:5, Mat 8:6, Mat 18:3-6, Mat 18:10, Mat 18:14, Mat 25:40, Zec 13:7, Mar 9:42, Luk 17:2, 1Co 8:10-13
a cup: Mar 9:41, Mar 12:42, Mar 12:43, Mar 14:7, Mar 14:8, 2Co 8:12
he shall: Pro 24:14, Luk 6:35, 2Co 9:6-15, Phi 4:15-19, Heb 6:10
Reciprocal: Gen 50:17 – servants Exo 1:20 – God Jos 6:17 – because Rth 2:9 – go Rth 2:12 – recompense 2Sa 6:12 – because 2Sa 9:1 – show him 1Ki 2:26 – hast been 1Ki 17:11 – as she was going 1Ki 18:13 – I hid an hundred 2Ki 4:10 – Let us 2Ch 15:7 – your work Neh 5:19 – according to Job 33:26 – he will Psa 18:24 – the Lord recompensed me Pro 3:10 – General Pro 12:14 – and Pro 19:17 – lendeth Ecc 11:1 – for Mat 5:12 – for great Mat 5:18 – verily Mat 6:1 – otherwise Mat 6:4 – reward Mat 16:27 – and then Luk 6:38 – and it Luk 14:14 – for thou Joh 4:7 – Give Act 28:2 – showed 1Co 3:8 – and every 2Co 8:4 – the ministering 2Co 8:10 – expedient Eph 6:8 – whatsoever 1Ti 6:19 – Laying 2Ti 1:16 – Lord Heb 10:35 – great Heb 11:6 – a rewarder
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
0:42
These “little ones” are the same disciples referred to in earlier verses of the chapter. Kindness of ever so little a character shown to them is the same as doing so to Jesus and will be rewarded in due time. This is the same lesson that is taught in Mat 25:40.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 10:42. One of these little ones. Either the disciples, or children, who were present. The former is preferable. An allusion to their weakness in themselves as they went out on their mission.
A cup of cold water only. The smallest kindness.
In the name of a disciple, because he is a disciple, out of love to Christ His master.
Verily I say unto you. A solemn declaration that 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 Gods. In His sight it may be more worthy than the great benefactions which the world applauds.Thus those who went out to persecution, to cast a sword into the world, to be hated of all, and holding loosely to their lives for Christs sake, bestowed blessings by their very presence, and He who numbered the hairs of their head, treasured up every act and look of kindness given them for their Masters sake.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 42
These little ones; these my disciples, men of humble station, not great in the estimation of the world. Any act of kindness towards them, as disciples, however small the benefit, shows a spirit of love to Christ, and shall not lose its reward.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
10:42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these {r} little ones a cup of cold [water] only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
(r) Who in the sight of the world are vile and abject.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The "little ones" in view of the context probably refer to the persecuted disciples who remain faithful to the Lord. Anyone who assists one of them by giving him or her even a cup of refreshing cold water will receive a reward from God. That person can even give the cup of cold water in the name of a follower of 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 last section is 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 great need today for faithful disciples, believers who will learn from Christ and live for Him." [Note: Wiersbe, 1:40.]
This Mission Discourse (ch. 10) is instruction for Jesus’ disciples in view of their ministry to call people to prepare for the kingdom. Jesus gave the 12 Apostles specific direction about where they should go and to whom they should minister. However, He broadened His instruction in view of mounting opposition to give guidance to disciples who would succeed the Twelve. Their ministry was essentially the same as that of the apostles. Jesus did not reveal here that Israel’s rejection of Him would result in a long gap between His first and second advents. That gap is irrelevant to the instruction and its meaning. Christian disciples today need to do essentially what the Twelve were to do but to a different audience and region (Mat 28:19-20). Jesus explained those changes after His firm rejection by the Jews.