Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me.
In this saying Jesus reveals the deepest union of apostolic ministry with the will of God, showing that receiving those whom He has sent is identical to receiving Him, Christ, and receiving Christ is to receive God the Father. In this way Jesus affirms that the ministers of the Gospel act not in their own name, but with divine authority, and that receiving or rejecting them has not only a human, but also a divine dimension. This saying emphasizes the responsibility of receiving, reminding us that a person’s attitude toward those sent by the Lord in fact reveals his attitude toward God.