Reflection on Mt 10:41
“He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward.”
Who is a prophet today? A prophet is someone who proclaims God’s truths, stands by them, and suffers for them. Not everyone who prophesies is a prophet. Even a child can prophesy when they speak a statement inspired by the Spirit of God, whether to encourage, instruct or rebuke. In his letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle urges us to earnestly strive for the gift of prophecy. Prophecy is not fortune-telling. The biblical term ‘to prophesy’ means proclaiming God’s word in God’s power in a way that touches the human heart and is relevant to the situation.
Even today, however, there are false prophets, and there are many of them. In theological faculties, they are liberal theologians who deny the divinity of Christ, His real and historical resurrection, and even the divine inspiration of Holy Scripture. In effect, they do not believe in any miracle recorded in the Bible. They do not openly admit this, however, and so it seems as though they are articulating the truth quite eloquently. However, by using ambiguous terms, they distort it to such an extent that they effectively destroy it.
False prophets deviate from the essence and, due to the vast amount of information they have absorbed, stifle the truth and quench the Spirit of God. They proclaim heresies and half-truths in a way that appeals to people, thereby robbing them of what is most precious: saving faith! In contrast, true prophets emphasize saving faith because without it, no one will be saved.
As for the reward, as Jesus says, whoever receives a prophet – that is, whoever accepts the true teaching he proclaims, as well as the Spirit of God which the prophet possesses – will receive the same reward in eternity as the prophet himself. Moreover, prophets are persecuted, slandered and reviled here on earth, and to publicly declare one’s support for them means to bear some of the slander, ridicule and persecution to which the prophet is subjected. However, this persecution and ridicule are not directed at the prophet himself, but at the truth he proclaims. Consequently, a person thus endures ridicule for the sake of Christ.
Moses said, ‘If only all the Lord’s people were prophets!’ Every Christian experiences the lot of a prophet to some extent, provided they are faithful to Christ. This may even include a young person, provided they stand firm in the truth. Persecution, ridicule, threats and slander are all part of the prophet’s lot.
Let us pray that we may receive the gift of prophecy and be firmly grounded in the truth and in Christ. May we become true prophets for our time and for the people we meet. Whoever accepts us is, in essence, accepting Christ, to whom we bear witness and whom we follow.
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