These are the final words of instruction to disciples being sent out on mission, and not surprisingly Jesus’ last words strike a positive note. The dire warnings of future rejections, of dissension within families, the specter of carrying one’s own cross: all the negatives are left behind. Now Jesus holds up the prospect of being “received” or “welcomed” as they go out on their missionary journey, and the “rewards” that may arise from that welcome.

The rabbinic principle Jesus articulates in v.40 is that of the “saliah,” recorded in the Mishna, Berakot 5:5: “the representative of a person is like himself.” Hardly just a Jewish mandate, reliance on messengers to get important information passed efficiently between governments, armies, and merchants made the bearers of these messages an ess…