Mat 10:40 He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him that sent me.

"Receives" is dechomai, which means "to take," "to accept," "to receive," "to take upon oneself," and "to welcome." This is not the same take as used to describe "taking up the cross" just a few verses ago.

Personally, I like the last translation, the idea of welcoming, but much more important than the word used is the larger equation here.

Welcoming Christ's Followers = Welcoming Christ = Welcoming God.

Christ is attacked several times in the Gospels for equating himself with God, but here he extends that idea to his followers. This blurring of the lines is very important and very different than the OT view of God. In the Old Testament, God was separate, the ultimate "other." Christ redefined our view of God. God is not the other, he is "the father," not separate, but the source, the base of what we are and what the universe is.

When we are right with God, we act as God's emissary on earth. We are a conduit for God to others. When people connect to someone who is connected to God, they connect to God. Christ was the primary conduit, but the apostles continued the connection as do we all.