Receiving a prophet's reward

Jesus was giving instructions to His twelve disciples before He sends them out to preach the gospel, heal the sick and cast out demons (Matt 10).  Towards the end of His instructions, He gave them this exhortation, "Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward." (v 40-41 NIV).

As disciples of Christ, they represented Him in ministering to the people.  Hence the notion that we are the extended hands of the Lord.  People who accorded welcome to the disciples are in fact welcoming the Lord, and also God the Father Himself.  This is kind of like the transitive property we learn in mathematics: if A implies B, and B implies C, then A implies C.  The corollary to the statement by Jesus would be those who reject the disciples would also be rejecting Christ and the Father.  But that is not what I want to focus on today.  I want to focus on the second statement made by our Lord, that is, those who welcome a prophet or a righteous person would receive a prophet or a righteous person's reward.

When people in a community warmly accepts and welcomes a prophet (by this I am ruling out fly-by-night prophets), they would be able to receive much from his ministry through the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  On the other hand, if there's unbelief or an indifferent atttude towards the man of God, there would be little or no benefit to the community.  Jesus made it clear to His disciples that the people who took care of their needs would be more than adequately compensated.  The nature of these rewards may vary from person to person, but one thing for sure, it comes from the hand of God through the prophet or righteous man. 

A case in point is seen in Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian who rescued the prophet Jeremiah from the cistern after interceding the king on his behalf (Jer 38:1-13).  Had he not done so, Jeremiah would have died in the cistern.  Because of this and his trust in God, Ebed-melech received the word from God that his life would be spared when Jerusalem is overtaken by the Babylonians (Jer 39:15-18).  What an encouraging word! That's the reward he received for taking care of Jeremiah.  As you read the two chapters of Jeremiah mentioned, you would notice that the king of Judah and the princes rejected Jeremiah's words and as such faced the consequences of their disobedience. 

What's the implication for our lives?  If we discern a genuine man of God coming, we should warmly welcome him.  When our faith level rises, we can expect miracles (of salvation, healing and deliverance) to take place in our midst through the ministry of that man of God.  If you go on a mission trip to some third world countries, you would find it easy to see miracles taking place because the hearts of the people are hungry and they display simplicity of faith in you (a representative of Christ).  Inasmuch as we don't want false prophets to minister to us, we are to ensure that we who minister in a different culture are righteous in Go's eyes.   Then and then only can the reward of a righteous person be transmitted to the community we are ministering to. May God help us to be His righteous representatives!