² Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Not your grandmother’s Sunday afternoon dinner with the visiting preacher, this command of hospitality! The word play is unmistakable. In verse one, we are told to “let love of the brethren continue,” and now here we are to show love to strangers. Most versions translate this word redundantly in their effort to convey the single Greek word correctly. In verse one, the Greek word is “philadelphia,” here the word is “philoxenia.” A compound word, it comes from the words that means “love or affection” and “stranger.” (We get our term xenophobia from this, which means “fear of strangers.”) The KJV renders the word “entertaining strangers.”

Thus, hospitality here does not refer to having friends over for a meal and a game of cards. It means taking in those who are outside of our circle of fellowship or acquaintance. Interestingly, Hebrews 11:13 refers to faithful ones in biblical history who “died in faith … having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.” It may very well be that the brotherly love that we must show to strangers, especially applies to those “brethren” who are persecuted for their faith. This fits in well with the next verse (vs. 3) about remembering those in prison. In our Christian lives, we encounter many other believers outside of our normal circles of fellowship, who are in need of loving help and support. It is to these that we need to open our homes and our lives.

The instruction to show hospitality to strangers is given no less than five times in the New Testament. In Romans 12:10-13 fully surrendered Christians are to show their “brotherly love” by “contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.” In 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:8 elders are to be characterized by hospitality toward strangers. This ministry is not the luxury of Christians living a life of abundance and ease, for Peter gives this same challenge to scattered and persecuted Christians (1 Peter 4:9)!

The fascinating part of this command is found in the potential results, the possibility that in showing love to strangers we may inadvertently provide lodging and care to angels! One cannot help but remember the story of Genesis 18 where Abraham and Sarah provide a meal for three angels who were about to destroy Sodom. Whether entertaining actual angels of God or seeing these as special human “messengers” or missionaries of God, love of strangers should be characteristic of us who believe in Christ as the perfect sacrifice for sin.

Lord, help me pass forward to others the love You have shown to me, to show hospitality to a stranger today, even a struggling fellow Christian.