Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels

Hebrews 13

Let love of the brethren continue. ² Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. ³ Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body. ⁴ Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. ⁵ Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” ⁶ so that we confidently say,

⁷ Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

As I reflected on this brief passage from Hebrews 13 in today's  chronological reading in the One Year Bible, I was impressed in particular by verses 2 and 3. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. ³ Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body. Angels are a topic which will bring all sorts of opinions and doctrines forward. The Bible does mention angels several times as interacting with people, particularly as messengers. Angels are also mentioned as heavenly warriors, doing battle with demons and satan's powers of darkness. Throughout history there have been many accounts where seemingly angels may have been responsible for intervening on behalf of people in trouble or distress. I don't want to get caught up in a doctrinal discussion of angels and their relationship to us here on earth. Since they do exist the warning or exhortation from the writer of Hebrews does bear some credence for us.

What I was impressed with though in these 2 verses comes from something Jesus says in Matthew 25:31-46.

³¹ “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; ³³ and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ³⁶ naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ³⁸ And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ³⁹ When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; ⁴² for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ ⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

I believe it is much easier to dismiss the homeless beggar or the one in prison,whether behind bars or imprisoned by addiction,  mental, physical or emotional bondage, if we concern ourselves only that that lowly person might be an angel than is we are to consider that according to Jesus it is as if it were Him. There are a few things from this passage in Matthew that we need to understand and clarify. Jesus is speaking here of the end times. This judgment of the nations will take place when Jesus returns to establish His eternal dominion on earth. The word nations that is used here though is the Greek word ethnos, from which we get the English word ethnic. So this judgment is not a judgment of nations or kingdoms collectively but rather of individuals of every race, tribe or tongue. While this is spoken of as an end time judgment, we need to remember as the writer of Hebrews reminds us in oue text,  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

The second part of this is how then can these people in these dire and despicable circumstances be Jesus? We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves, to love them with true God given love which comes without judgment or prejudice. In Christ then we view these people with compassion not with judgment. Beyond that commandment to love our neighbor as ourself we need to consider this. When a person accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior they become, like us, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. We know from our own lives that not all of our shortcomings change immediately when we are saved. Certainly all of our circumstances, the consequences of our previous decisions, don't change immediately. So when we disregard, shun or judge that person we may well be judging our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who resides in them. Jesus says this in Matthew 7: “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. ² For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

FORGIVE ME LORD!