Hospitality – All-present in the New Testament

Hospitality plays a very important role in the New Testament. Here are some thoughts on this:

• If you want to serve believers (in the following passage as an overseer, but we can extend the circle), hospitality is a crucial criterion: “A bishop must be … hospitable” (1 Tim. 3:2). Why is this so? We cannot get to know each other deeply and intensely through two minutes of dialogue each week after the meeting to care for each other – this is best done through contact in the homes. There can be no successful shepherding without open doors.
• Hospitality should not be forsaken (Heb. 13:2) – for in the hustle and bustle of daily life, we often lose sight of our brothers and sisters.
• Hospitality should be done without murmuring (1 Pet, 4:9) – It is a sacrificial service that we do not want to do out of compulsion, but out of joy.
• When we welcome believers, the Lord counts it as if we had welcomed Him personally (Mt. 25:35-40). This promises a reward!
• Aquila and Priscilla welcomed the great apostle into their home (Acts 18:2; this promises a “share” in His reward, see Mt. 10:41); then they took in Apollos, a believer who still needed training. Later they even offered their home for meetings (1 Cor. 16:19).
• When Lydia had just been converted, she immediately took in the apostle Paul and his companions (Acts 16:15). Hospitality here is a sign or proof of new life.
• The Lord Jesus and His disciples (13 adult men in total!) spent many days and nights with Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. In Luke 10:38 it seems that Martha spontaneously agreed to receive this impressive number of men. Hospitality may cost something, but the Lord never leaves anything unrewarded.
• Immediately after his conversion, Levi made his house available to the Lord in order to reach out to his still unbelieving colleagues (Lk. 5:29). This is one of the most effective ways to reach people.
• We should not only invite our known small groups, i.e. the brothers and sisters with whom we are most comfortable. For example, the Lord once said that we should especially invite those from whom we cannot expect an invitation in return (Lk. 14:13). It can also be useful to make a list of all the brothers and sisters in our local assembly and invite them one by one at regular intervals.
• Here is a very encouraging example from Church history: “Robert Chapman once moved into a slum in Barnstaple (England) to reach out to the outcasts. It was a scene of drunkenness, intemperance, disease, and poverty –with rats in the alleys and dilapidated hovels. Yet he ministered constantly to these people, and they were always welcome when they visited his home. Hospitality became an important part of his ministry. Chapman bought a house opposite his own and asked the Lord to send guests as he wished. He asked for nothing and no one was asked when he wanted to leave. Guests were asked to leave their shoes and boots at the door each evening. The next morning, they were polished. This was Mr Chapman’s way of washing his guests’ feet. This bachelor’s hospitality taught his guests about a life of faith and service to the brethren.”

“Be given to hospitality.” (Romans 12:13)