Matthew 10:41
He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
To receive a prophet because he is a prophet is to share in a prophet's reward, and to receive a righteous person because he is righteous is to share in a righteous person's reward, and this receiving includes welcoming and supporting them. Kindness and help shown in Christ's name to His servants are recognized and rewarded by God, including hospitality to His faithful servants and kindness to His lowliest followers. That promise remains sure today, because God's power and faithfulness have not changed.
The promise extends to kindness and help given to God's servants and to those in need, for opportunities to welcome strangers or to relieve hunger are blessings in disguise, and those who use them receive God's blessing and joy. The widow of Zarephath sharing her food with Elijah, met with the preservation of her life and her son's, shows that helping those in greater need during hardship brings great blessing.
Hospitality to Christ's workers, even at personal cost, is service done for Christ in the person of His servants, its expenses are accounted for, and those who make the visit beneficial are recorded in heaven as worthy of special blessings. Freely receiving and entertaining God's servants brings the sweetest blessings, while demanding pay for entertaining them loses those blessings. Receiving a servant of Christ into the home and providing for him fulfills the gospel requirement and duty of hospitality. Families who adopt God's workers meet this requirement, workers are entitled to their care, their tables, and the privileges of the home, and hosts who cheerfully inconvenience themselves to care for and wait on them do it for Christ's sake as service to God and His cause and receive a reward.
The obligation is mutual, for to the degree hosts have favored guests for Christ's sake God holds the guests debtor to those friends, and those who receive such care are accountable to God for how they respond. Guests must not accept hospitality as due them while caring only for themselves, neglecting domestic duties, seeking their own interest and convenience, and burdening others, for God will not do their neglected duty or meet the claims others have upon them through selfish neglect. There must be no lack of hospitality among God's people, for a narrow spirit that withholds hospitality, especially among believers living at large centers, forfeits blessing and turns souls away from the truth.