Matthew 10:40-42

This passage occurs as a RCL "Pentecost"/"Ordinary"/"Proper" Season, Year A, most recently June 2023. 

Summary:  We are familiar with the Great Commission of Matthew:  Go therefore...  This week we hear the Least Commission:  We are sent to do small things to the least of these.

Key Words
αποστειλαντα ("send" aorist participle of αποστελλω 10:40)  Perhaps you might be familiar with the phrase or concept:  "The sending of the Trinity."  This idea develops out of verses like this one:  The Father sends the Son; who sends the Spirit; who, along with Jesus, sends the disciples.  This motif is most recognizable in John (John 3:16 for Father sending son; John 14:26 and 15:26 for the sending of the Spirit; John 20:21 for Jesus sending the disciples.).  Luke also has Jesus indicating that he was sent:  "Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me" (10:16)
a)  Trinitarian thinking is deeper in Matthew (and the other Gospels) than we often give credit. 
b)  The idea within the Trinity is a procession of sending is not simply a later construct.
c)  Even in Matthew's Gospel Jesus equates action done to him as action done to God. 

This ties also back to Matthew 10:5 and the sending of the disciples by Jesus.
δεχομενος ("welcome" present participle of δεχομαι; 10:40).  This word can also mean accept (See Matt 18:5).  Instead of accepting Jesus, you need to accept your pastor, who stands in line of the apostles :-)

μισθος ("wages" or "reward" 10:41,42)  I am not sure what to make of it, but Matthew uses this word way more than the other Gospels.  Perhaps Matthew aims at the working class, who would be well aware of the reality of wages and rewards?  For the most part Matthew is telling others that they already have their reward or that they will not get theirs!  In this case though, Matthew quotes Jesus offering a promise:  If you welcome a prophet, you get your reward; if you give a small cup of water, you also gain your reward.  The question remains, what is the reward?

προφητης ("prophet" 10:41)  Worth noting:  For Matthew, the notion of prophecy is very important; the word appears 34 times.  By comparison, in Mark the word only appears 5 times!  Luke 28; John 14.  (While OT connections are important for Matthew, Luke doesn't leave them out)

μικρων ("least of these" from μικρος 10:42).  This phrase is often understood to mean "children."  This is because in Matthew 18 Jesus explicitly connects the phrase little ones with the word for children.  Also, Jesus says, "Who welcomes children, welcomes me" in all three synoptics.  So, it is probably a fair translation to say, "children" here.  However, I think that Matthew 25 and "Do unto the least of these" are helpful to keep in mind as we examine this passage.  Jesus is always concerned about the least in society, of which children are an example.  I'd rather leave the translation as the "least of these" instead of "children" to leave open this ambiguity.  As a side note, some manuscripts use the word "least" that is found in Matthew 25 (ελαχιστος).

Grammar Review:  ου μη
In Greek the strongest denial of a possibility is ου μη.  It probably best means "It ain't never ever gonna happen."  Whenever you see this, you can know the speaker is completely and totally sure about something.  In this case, we will never lose our reward when we give a cup of cold water to the least of these.

Matthew 10:24-39

This passage occurs in year A of the Revised Common Lectionary, during "ordinary" or "proper" or weeks after Pentecost" time.  Most recently, June 21, 2020.

Summary thoughts:  I sense that Jesus is challenging his disciples about fear and anxiety.  As disciples we will fear and get anxious about the wrong things: Our physical comfort (even health!) and our reputation.  Jesus is calling us to fear the proper thing: God. I am still working through this passage, but I think it can speak to us today as disciples in a time of great fear and anxiety.

Lastly, I don't think that verse 34 needs to be in this pericope!

Some words that drew me into further study:

βεελζεβουλ ("Beelezboul" or "Beelezbub"10:25)  Literally Lord of the "flies." This is the name of a Philistine god.  In the Old Testament, he is referenced when an Israelite king grows sick:  

• "Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and he became ill; and he sent messengers and said to them, 'Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this illness.'" 2 Kings 1:2  (Elijah promptly condemns this king for inquiring of another god).

So why flies?  Flies are attracted to that which is sick and dying, so flies would come and pester humans who were sick.  Turns out that people would perform rituals for flies to ward them off.  The god who could take away the flies would be the god who would have brought about healing. 

It also may be a play on words that allowed the Israelites to insult another god -- calling him the lord of the Flies.

See:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myiagros and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beelzebub

Perhaps just as important for understanding this passage is reminding ourselves that others will claims Jesus is working through Beelzeboul (12:24; 12:27).  Jesus is warning his disciples here of insults they will receive for following him.

αποκαλυφθησεται (from αποκαλυπτω, meaning "reveal", 10:26)  In everyday language, apocalypse means the end.  But it literally just means the "revealing."  When I reflected on this passage in 2020, I offered, perhaps we are living through the apocalypse now in that so much of what is problematic in our culture has been revealed.

των αποκτεννοντων ('the ones who kill', 10.27)  This is a substantive participle (in the genitive).  It literally means the ones who kill.  This is rather fascinating.  Jesus is likely referring to individuals who will persecute his followers.  But in 2020, we could hear it as an admonishment NOT to fear the corona virus, but fear the things that take away our humanity (racism!)

γεεννα (Gehenna, 10:28)  Gehenna; not hell as we often think of it.  It was a burning trash dump.  Simply, it does not mean a location, underground, in which people are tortured in the afterlife.  However, Jesus likely uses it symbolically in this and other cases in the Gospel of Matthew to denote some area/place/space of punishment.

• "Literally valley of Hinnom, a ravine south of Jerusalem where fires were kept burning to consume the dead bodies of animals, criminals, and refuse; figuratively in the Gospels and James for hell, a fiery place of eternal punishment for the ungodly dead (MT 5.22)"  Friberg Lexicon, accessed through Bible Works
• It was the location, in all likelihood, of childhood sacrifices (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gehenna) 

υηεις (10.31)  When Jesus says that "you" are worth more than sparrows, it is a you plural -- you all are worth more, not just you as an individual!

πατηρ (means father, throughout this passage)  I find it interesting that Matthew positions these sayings about the heavenly father 's provision (vs 29) against our love of our earthly fathers (vs 37).  As I considered Jesus' teaching (and ministry), I sense that Jesus is trying to create fictive families.  By a fictive family, I mean a group of people who are not (closely) biologically related who function like a family in terms of caring for each other.  Friends!  As humans, we are capable of creating enormous fictive families (tribes, political parties and national states).  Yet repeatedly we show a bad capacity to hurt and exclude those not in our particular fictive family.  This is most distressing.  Jesus intends to create one fictive family of the entire human family, helping us see that we are united in him.

Note for future years -- I was reading this passage (after Sunday) and I realized that Jesus says he did not come to "βαλω" peace.  I want to look into that.  That is an interesting choice of verbs there...