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William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 10:40-42

10:40-42 He who receives you, receives me; and he who receives me, receives him that sent me. He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones a drink of cold water because he is a disciple--this is the truth I tell you--he will not lose his reward. When Jesus said this, he was using a way of speaking which... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 10:42

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,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 10:42

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 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... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 10:1-42

The "commanding" of the twelve. This was a grand historic occasion indeed. The honoured but ever-comparatively feeble and now dimmed, dying, or dead schools of the prophets are to be succeeded by a scion of Christianity that marks at one and the same time its noblest and most amazing human institution, and Heaven's most condescending gift and human trust. Now begins "the great company of preachers" of the New Testament. They began with twelve;. they very soon grew to seventy; and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 10:24-42

General rules for all the Lord's disciples. I. THE CONFLICT . 1 . They must be patient , looking unto Jesus. He is our Example, our Master, our Lord. He is in all things above us immeasurably and beyond comparison—in his Divine power and majesty, in his transcendent holiness, in his perfect love. "He was despised and rejected of men." His people must expect the like. We are his disciples, his servants. The great aim of our life should be to be like him; to draw nearer and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 10:34-42

The mission of the gospel. These verses conclude the charge which Christ gave to his disciples when he commissioned them as evangelists. Having instructed them how they were to behave ( Matthew 10:5-15 ), warned them of the hostility they should encounter ( Matthew 10:16-23 ), and encouraged them to be fearless ( Matthew 10:24-33 ), he now enlightens them concerning the mission of their message. I. IT WAS DESTINED TO DISTURB THE OLD FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIETY . 1... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 10:40-42

Final encouragement. The evangelist takes the main idea of these verses from our Lord's words to the seventy ( Luke 10:16 ), but moulds it in the form of his later saying, Matthew 18:5 . He further adds (verse 42) other words also spoken later. In these verses the discourse returns to the immediate occasion, the mission of the disciples. Christ shows his personal interest in their work; his messengers' cause is his. He says, "I reckon treatment of you as treatment of me; ay, and he that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 10:40-42

Receiving Christ. 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 good reception to the apostles. Earlier he said that if any rejected the messengers of Christ they were to shake off the very dust of their feet as a testimony against the inhospitable people; and now he concludes his address by cheering words on the other side, generously recognizing a friendly reception... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 10:42

Parallel passage: Mark 9:41 , where it will be observed that the following verse is parallel to Matthew 18:6 and Luke 17:2 (cf. supra , verse 40). One of these little ones … a disciple . It is evident, from a comparison of verse 41, that the two titles refer to one and the same person. Christ, using his own term, calls his followers "little ones;" using the term of others, he calls them "disciples." Little ones. Partly a word of personal endearment (cf. Matthew 25:40 );... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 10:40-42

He that receiveth you ... - In all these three illustrations Christ meant to teach substantially the same thing - that he that would entertain kindly or treat with hospitality himself, his disciples, a prophet, or a righteous man, would show that he approved their character, and should not fail of proper reward. To receive in the “name” of a prophet is to receive “as” a prophet; to do proper honour to his character, and to evince attachment to the cause in which he was engaged.Matthew... read more

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