In the previous sections, we first saw Jesus as the divine visitor, rejected by some and accepted by others. Then, we considered him as the host, after the pattern of Abraham and centered on the eucharist/Passover meal. In these next two discussions, we will observe the parallels as Jesus’ disciples (and other early Christians) become both the visitor and the host.
We must, however, begin prior to the so-called ‘great commission’ and the physical departure of Jesus. In Luke 10, as Jesus seems to be preparing for his journey to Jerusalem, he sends out his followers:
Now after [describing the unwavering commitment required of his followers], the lord [Jesus] appointed seventy, sending them in pairs ahead of him to every city and place where he himself was going to come. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few…I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves: do not carry a purse, bag, or shoes; greet no one on the way.'[1]
Although not explicit in this passage, from elsewhere[2] their instructions were probably something along the lines of demanding repentance and proclaiming forgiveness as the messiah had come. But the conditions of their mission should give us pause: bringing nothing? Complete reliance on the hospitality of others? Do not delay by taking breaks with fellow travelers on the road? These perhaps reflect Jesus’ own wanderings in which he too was entirely reliant on the hospitality and graciousness of those he encountered. Jesus continues:
‘Whatever house you enter, say “Peace and well-being be to this house”. If a child of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you for the laborer is worthy of his wages. […] Whatever city you enter and are received, eat what is set before you, heal the sick, and declare the arrival of the kingdom of god.
‘But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say: “Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you, so know that the kingdom of god is arriving.” It will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.’
Once again, we see the contrasting ways in which the servants of god might be received: the way of Abraham by showing hospitality or the way of Sodom and Gomorrah and destruction. The former confers blessings as Luke treats hospitality as a proxy for whether or not an audience has accepted Jesus message (Simon the Pharisee vs. Zacchaeus), and here we see it extended to Jesus’ followers:
The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me; and the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me [god].
And so the disciples are given the same message prior to Jesus’ physical departure, being commanded to act as Jesus’ emissaries and representatives. Then, as now, treatment of a political emissary was considered to reflect treatment to the entire kingdom (and its rulers). If you wanted to show displeasure with respect to the actions of some foreign government, you might expel or be inhospitable to any emissaries from that land. To show superiority to a foreign nation, you might serve its emissaries inferior food or wine, or force them to wait days for an audience. Similarly, Jesus’ followers were commissioned as Jesus’ (and, by extension, god’s) emissaries to the world.
‘Repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in the messiah’s name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.'[3]
And:
‘You shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samara, and even to the remotest part of the earth.'[4]
Galerius’ palace, Thessaloniki; image by author
The book of Acts traces the followers of Jesus’ obedience to these commands. We will return to Acts’ first hero, Peter, next time, but we will focus on Paul for now. Paul receives mixed receptions at the various cities he visits, although his initial interactions are at least met with curiosity. One may think of Berea who ‘were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received [Paul’s] word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so'[5] or Philippi where Lydia becomes Paul’s first recorded convert in Europe,[6] although in both cases Paul and his companions were chased out of the city by angry mobs – though, as evidenced by the Pauline letters, the churches he started (or supported) remained.
Two interesting examples bring us back to the divine visitations to Abraham, Lot, and even the Hellenistic examples we met earlier. Paul and Barnabas entered the city of Lystra in Asia Minor and, having healed a man of his lameness, the two are thought to be gods: Zeus and Hermes had arrived in their midst. They would respond better than Tyana: an entire city of Baucis and Philemons preparing a sacrifice. Paul and Barnabas convince the Lystrans that they are not divine and proclaim the arrival of god’s kingdom, though this eventuates in Paul’s barely surviving an attempt to stone him. In a way, the Lystrans were correct in observing divine hosts: the representatives of Jesus (and by extension, god) had arrived in their cities.
An interesting parallel (and contrast) can be found in Paul’s washing ashore on the island of Malta. Here, the ‘barbarians showed us extraordinary kindness…they kindled a fire and received us all.'[7] Just like with the civilized cities of Asia Minor and Greece, the ‘uncultured’ of Malta provide similar hospitality. Upon associating magical powers with Paul, they, like the Lystrans, suspect that divinity has arrived on their shores. The departure, however, is quite different: rather than being run out of town, Paul receives visitors from across the island in need of healing – undoubtedly sharing a different sort of healing with the ‘barbarians’ – before being sent off in style:
It happened that the father of Publius [a leading man on Malta] was lying in bed afflicted with fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, praying and laying hands on the man, healed him. After this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and getting cured. They also honored us with many honors. When we finally set sail, they supplied us with all we needed.[8]
Statue of Saint Paul on St. Paul Tal-Pitkali Road, Dingli, Malta; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statue_of_Saint_Paul_(1850)_in_Dingli,_Malta.jpg; BoneA / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
Paul and his companions often had to flee from the cultured, Hellenistic cities, but in Malta, among barbarians, he is shown proper hospitality: food, drink, and having his needs for his continued journey satisfied. This takes us back to Jesus’ words in Luke 10:
‘If a child of peace is in the house, your peace will rest on him…Whatever city you enter and are received, eat what is set before you, heal the sick, and declare the arrival of the kingdom of god…The one who listens to you listens to me [and does not reject god].’
Like most early congregations, the developing Christian community in Malta following Paul’s departure fades into obscurity – Publius seems to have become a leading figure – but their activities around hospitality replicated widespread Christian practice, and continued even as Paul’s ship disappeared over the horizon. Next time, we will study the continued role of hospitality in the life of the Christian community, with special interest in Peter.
- This and following from Luke 10 (based on NASB)
- E.g., Luke 24 (which we will visit with shortly) and our previous discussions
- Luke 24.46-7
- Acts 1.8
- Acts 17.11
- Acts 16.12f
- Acts 28
- Acts 28.8-10