The Fruit

At a glance

The chapter heading text (KJV)

“He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me… And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”

Matthew 10:40–42 KJV

Summary

This short closing chapter of Part III shifts attention from the messengers themselves to those who receive them, and Bonhoeffer treats ‘he that receiveth you receiveth me’ as confirming everything argued earlier about the messenger's dependence on Christ: because the messenger carries nothing of their own — no independent authority, no self-generated message — receiving them well is, in a very real sense, receiving the one who sent them, and through him, the Father.

He reads the specific mention of receiving a prophet ‘in the name of a prophet’ and a righteous man ‘in the name of a righteous man’ as protecting ordinary hospitality from being reduced to indifferent politeness: what matters is recognising and honouring what the messenger actually represents, not merely being generically kind to a stranger who happens to be passing through.

The promise about a cup of cold water given to ‘one of these little ones’ receives particular weight in Bonhoeffer's reading, since it extends the same reward to the smallest, least dramatic act of service imaginable — grace this generous cannot be earned by grand gestures any more than costly grace, back in chapter 1, could be purchased cheaply; but it is also not hoarded for spectacular acts only. Even the humblest kindness shown to Christ's messenger is caught up in what Christ himself is doing.

Bonhoeffer closes Part III on this note deliberately: after chapters describing suffering, hostility and total dependence, the section ends not on the messenger's achievement but on grace extended, once more, to those who receive them — returning the whole discussion of mission to the same ground on which the entire book began, and preparing for Part IV's turn to the gathered life of the church that receives such messengers and is built up by them.

Key points

• ‘He that receiveth you receiveth me’ confirms the messenger's total dependence on Christ — they carry no independent authority of their own.
• Receiving a prophet or righteous person ‘in that name’ means recognising what they represent, not merely offering generic politeness to a stranger.
• A cup of cold water given to ‘one of these little ones’ receives the same reward language as receiving Christ himself — grace reaches the smallest act of service.
• This grace is neither earned by grand gestures nor reserved for spectacular ones — it echoes costly grace's refusal to be purchased cheaply while still being genuinely available to ordinary kindness.
• Part III ends on grace received, not on the messenger's achievement, setting up Part IV's turn to the gathered church.

Related Scripture

• Hebrews 13:2
• Matthew 25:40
• Galatians 6:6
• 3 John 1:5–8

For reflection and discussion

1. Who has ‘received’ you — or a messenger of the gospel — with real recognition of what was being offered, rather than mere generic politeness?
2. Where do you have an opportunity for a small, undramatic act of service — a ‘cup of cold water’ — that this chapter suggests matters more than it might seem to?
3. How does it change your view of hospitality or generosity to think of it as, in some sense, an act done to Christ himself?