Picture the scene portrayed in Chapter 10 of Matthew’s Gospel.

Jesus has been traveling from town to town, telling people about the Kingdom of God and curing their illnesses. But the crowds are large and their needs are many. They are, he says, like sheep without a shepherd, harassed and helpless, lacking guidance and protection.

And so Jesus calls out a dozen of his followers to help. But he doesn’t just send them off to work. He prepares them.

• He tells them that they will receive his power and authority for their work. That means that they too will be preaching the gospel, healing the sick, casting out demons and raising the dead.
• He tells them they are to travel light, accepting whatever hospitality is offered along the way and moving on when the people refuse to hear.
• He tells them that their work will be difficult. Religious leaders will oppose them. Crowds will haul them before kings and courts as a threat to the state. Even members of their own families will turn on them.

Yet, Jesus also says that along the way there will be people who will welcome them, people who will open their home and offer hospitality. And those folks, Jesus says, will be blessed. In fact, even those who offer the absolute minimum of hospitality—a cup of cold water to a thirsty disciple, that’s what "little one" means here—will be rewarded.

That assurance had to mean a lot to the disciples. It still has appeal today. To think that anyone who welcomes a disciple of Jesus Christ, anyone who extends hospitality to one of Christ’s own, will be blessed is a great comfort. It seems almost a guarantee of being blessed.

Yet as much as I would like to believe that is true, two images make such a blanket statement hard to imagine.

The first came several years ago. The Rev. Jesse Jackson was on one of his many international trips. This one was to secure the release of two men held in the Middle East. The place was Libya. And there, welcoming the Rev. Jackson, offering the finest of hospitality to this Christian minister, was Colonel Mohammar Qaddafi.

The second image is more recent. In fact, it comes from only a few months ago. Former President Jimmy Carter, a man of great faith, a devout and very public follower of Jesus Christ, stands next to Fidel Castro. Castro is welcoming him, extending to him all of the hospitality that Cuba has to offer.

Jesus said those who welcome his disciples welcome Jesus and the God who sent him. Jesus said that those who welcome such followers would be rewarded. Does that mean that Qaddafi and Castro will be as blessed as those they welcomed? Will God reward them for the hospitality they extended to these Christians?

Maybe. But I would suggest that maybe something is missing in this passage of Scripture from Matthew’s Gospel. When we read this passage, the key word is "welcome." Four times in the first sentence it is used. And it is a wonderful word. It is filled with a sense of warmth and hospitality.

But it is also misleading. For nearly 400 years, scholars have been using the world "receive" rather than "welcome." "Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the One who sent me." They used "receive" rather than welcome, and they did so for good reason. The word is not a mere "Howdy, come on in" term. It had a very specific meaning. It was used to describe the formal and respectful acceptance of a king’s ambassador. It meant to "receive" the king’s representative and to yield to his authority.

The reality is that Jesus wasn’t promising to bless those who "welcomed" his followers. He was promising to bless those who "received" them, those who acknowledged them as Christ’s ambassadors, yielded to the message they proclaimed, and shared in the work they were called to do.

It was not hospitality for which Jesus promises blessing. It was discipleship—people willing to acknowledge and serve him as Lord.

We see that in his ministry. Many people "welcomed" Jesus.

• Peter and his mother-in-law welcomed him into their home.
• A leader of the synagogue whose daughter had died brought him into his home.
• The whole town of Gadarenes came out to meet him when he healed the demoniacs.
• The people of his hometown invited him to teach in their synagogue.
• Then there was Lazarus, Mary and Martha, with whom he often stayed.
• Of course, Zaccheus who climbed out of the tree to welcome Jesus into his home.
• There were even a couple of disheartened disciples who asked him to stay with him when they reached Emmaus.

Lots of people welcomed Jesus. Yet those who were blessed were not just those who welcomed him for the sake of offering hospitality. Those who were blessed "received" him. They acknowledge him as the one who had come from God and yielded their lives to him.

The same is true of those who welcomed the disciples. Two examples.

Cornelius was a Gentile and a centurion or soldier. He was also a devout man who feared God and gave generously to those in need. After a vision, he invited the apostle Peter to come to his home. When Peter arrived, he welcomed him. But more importantly, he received him and the word from God Peter had been empowered to proclaim. And Cornelius and his whole household became followers of the faith, disciples of Christ.

Then there was Lydia. She was a woman of some means--a seller of purple cloth in the city of Philippi. When the Apostle Paul went there, he and his colleagues went out by the river where people would gather for prayers. They were welcomed by the people there. But Lydia didn’t just welcome him, she received him for what he was, an ambassador of Christ. And because she did, her life was transformed.

Just as Jesus said, those who received the disciples received him and the One who sent him.

I don’t know why Bible translators switched from "receive" to "welcome" in this passage. Maybe it was to make it more appealing or easier to swallow. As philosopher Alistair MacIntrye has noted, we live in a day in which people are encouraged to welcome every idea, every religion, every point of view, and every religious teacher. We live in a day in which everything is supposed to be accepted as "equal" and "interesting." Maybe they were seeking to make the real demand of this passage easier.

But while many may want to "welcome" Christ and his teachings in this way, the blessing Christ promises is for those who "receive" Christ, who are changed, transformed, by yielding to him as no less than the One whom God has sent to save the world.