Matthew 10:40-42

Rewards

10:40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. ¹  10:41 Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever ²  receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 10:42 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth, ³  he will never lose his reward.”

Matthew 25:40

25:40 And the king will answer them, ⁴  ‘I tell you the truth, ⁵  just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters ⁶  of mine, you did it for me.’

Matthew 25:45

25:45 Then he will answer them, ⁷  ‘I tell you the truth, ⁸  just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’

Mark 9:41

9:41 For I tell you the truth, ⁹  whoever gives you a cup of water because ¹⁰  you bear Christ’s ¹¹  name will never lose his reward.

Luke 9:48

9:48 and said to them, “Whoever welcomes ¹²  this child ¹³  in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, for the one who is least among you all is the one who is great.” ¹⁴ 

Luke 17:1-2

Sin, Forgiveness, Faith, and Service

17:1 Jesus ¹⁵  said to his disciples, “Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe ¹⁶  to the one through whom they come! 17:2 It would be better for him to have a millstone ¹⁷  tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea ¹⁸  than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. ¹⁹ 

[10:40]  ¹ sn The one who sent me refers to God.

[10:41]  ² tn Grk “And whoever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[10:42]  ³ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[25:40]  ⁴ tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[25:40]  ⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[25:40]  ⁶ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). In this context Jesus is ultimately speaking of his “followers” (whether men or women, adults or children), but the familial connotation of “brothers and sisters” is also important to retain here.

[25:45]  ⁷ tn Grk “answer them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[25:45]  ⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[9:41]  ⁹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[9:41]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “in [the] name that of Christ you are.”

[9:41]  ¹¹ tn Or “bear the Messiah’s”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[9:48]  ¹² tn This verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality (L&N 34.53).

[9:48]  ¹³ sn Children were very insignificant in ancient culture, so this child would be the perfect object lesson to counter the disciples’ selfish ambitions.

[9:48]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “among you all, this one is great.” The absence of a comparative term here makes the point that comparison should not be done.

[17:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[17:1]  ¹⁶ sn See Luke 6:24-26.

[17:2]  ¹⁷ tn This term refers to the heavy upper stone of a grinding mill (L&N 7.70; BDAG 660 s.v. μυλικός).

[17:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “if a millstone were tied…and he were thrown.” The conditional construction in Greek has been translated by English infinitives: “to have… and be thrown.”

[17:2]  ¹⁹ tn Or “to stumble.” This verb, σκανδαλίσῃ (skandalish), has the same root as the noun σκάνδαλον (skandalon) in 17:1, translated “stumbling blocks”; this wordplay is difficult to reproduce in English. It is possible that the primary cause of offense here would be leading disciples (“little ones”) astray in a similar fashion.