I have always read Hebrews 13:2 a certain way. Hebrew 13:2 says: "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (ESV). That verse seems very straight forward. It seems to suggest that there are Christians who have entertained spiritual beings without recognizing it. I have heard pastors tell stories of Christians who stopped to help a fellow traveler with a flat tire. After these Christians finished the job and got back to their car, the car that received aid miraculously disappeared, vanishing much too quickly to have simply driven off. Was this a Hebrews 13:2 moment? Had someone helped an angel?
Stories like that always left me with a question. What was an angel doing driving a broken down jalopy in the first place? Did Gabriel get to Mary's house on the back of a worn out donkey? Today, it dawned on me that there might be a different explanation for this verse. The Greek word for angel is angellos. That word cannot only be translated angel but also messenger. It can refer to spiritual messengers (like angels) and human messengers (like Christians serving God). So maybe the author of Hebrews is saying that in entertaining strangers we have helped God's human flesh and blood messengers. The guy on the highway might not have been Gabriel. But he might have been a pastor in a hurry to get to a church to preach a sermon. Or the driver might of been a woman going to help the homeless. In entertaining strangers, we sometimes help brothers and sisters in Christ without even knowing it. And of course, Matthew 25 tells us that in helping other Christians, we help Jesus Himself. That is even better than helping an angel!
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