A call to welcome people
The word translated “entertain” in Hebrews 13:2 means showing hospitality, especially to travellers or people without a home among friends. In the first-century world, safe lodging was not easy to find. Christians were urged to make room at their tables and in their lives for fellow believers, visitors, and people in need.
This is not a command to be reckless. Hospitality can happen through a meal, a kind conversation, help with practical needs, or making someone feel seen at church. Romans 12:13 gives the same direction: believers are to share with those in need and pursue hospitality.
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Why mention angels?
Hebrews likely points back to Abraham and Lot. Abraham welcomed three visitors near the oaks of Mamre before he understood the full significance of their visit. Later, Genesis identifies two visitors who came to Lot in Sodom as angels (Genesis 18:2-5; Genesis 19:1-3).
Those stories show that God can work through unexpected visitors and ordinary acts of welcome. Abraham did not begin by testing whether his guests were angels. He simply offered water, rest, and food. The writer of Hebrews uses that memory to strengthen a habit of generous care.
And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
Not every stranger is an angel
Hebrews 13:2 does not teach that Christians should assume every unknown person is an angel in disguise. The verse says that some people have entertained angels “unawares”, meaning without knowing it. Its emphasis falls on hospitality, not on trying to identify supernatural visitors.
Scripture also calls for wisdom. Jesus told his followers to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16). You can be kind without inviting an unsafe person into your home, sharing private information, or putting children and vulnerable people at risk. Healthy boundaries do not cancel compassion.
Seeing Christ in the overlooked
Jesus spoke powerfully about feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the needy, and visiting the isolated. He said that care offered to his people mattered deeply to him (Matthew 25:35, 40). That gives ordinary kindness lasting weight.
So this verse invites a simple question: who might need welcome today? It may be a newcomer sitting alone, a neighbour facing hardship, a refugee family, or someone who feels out of place. Offer what you can with prayerful wisdom. God does not ask for performative generosity, but for a willing heart.
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: