Exploring the Meaning of Apodechomai in Greek

ἀποδέχομαι expresses the act of receiving, and it appears in narrative settings where people take in a person, a message, or an outcome. In the passages below it marks reception that ranges from public welcome to personal hospitality to formal acceptance.

Occurrences

Luke 8:40: “When Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him.”

Here the verb depicts a crowd’s reception of Jesus as he arrives. The scene is corporate (“the multitude”) and anticipatory (“they were all waiting for him”), so the receiving is not accidental; it is the fulfillment of expectation, expressed as a public welcome.

Luke 9:11: “But the multitudes, perceiving it, followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them of God’s Kingdom, and he cured those who needed healing.”

In this setting the direction of reception is reversed: Jesus is the one who receives the crowds. The welcoming stands at the head of a sequence—welcome, instruction (“spoke to them of God’s Kingdom”), and healing (“he cured those who needed healing”)—so the receiving functions as the opening gesture that makes the subsequent giving of words and restoration possible within the scene.

Acts 2:41: “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.”

The object received is “his word,” and the reception is qualified by attitude (“gladly”). The narrative ties this receiving directly to a public response (“were baptized”) and community growth (“There were added that day about three thousand souls”), presenting reception as the pivotal action that precedes incorporation and expansion.

Acts 18:27: “When he had determined to pass over into Achaia, the brothers encouraged him, and wrote to the disciples to receive him. When he had come, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace;”

Reception is here arranged in advance by written recommendation: “wrote to the disciples to receive him.” The receiving envisioned is communal hospitality toward a traveling believer, and the verse places it in a chain of support—encouragement, a letter, reception—leading to fruitful ministry (“he greatly helped those who had believed through grace”). The verb thus frames receiving as a concrete way a community participates in strengthening others.

Acts 21:17: “When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly.”

This is reception of persons (“us”) by fellow believers (“the brothers”), again with a stated disposition (“gladly”). The sentence is spare and immediate—arrival followed by welcome—so the receiving marks the transition from travel to fellowship and belonging, signaling that the newcomers are taken in with positive readiness.

Acts 24:3: “we accept it in all ways and in all places, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness.”

In this formal address, the verb is used in the register of public speech: “we accept it in all ways and in all places.” The reception is broadened by sweeping phrases (“in all ways and in all places”) and accompanied by a posture of gratitude (“with all thankfulness”), portraying receiving as an official, comprehensive acceptance expressed before a high-ranking hearer (“most excellent Felix”).

Acts 28:30: “Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented house and received all who were coming to him,”

The receiving here is sustained and habitual over time (“two whole years”) and occurs in a domestic setting (“his own rented house”). The object is expansive (“all who were coming to him”), emphasizing openness of access; the verb conveys a repeated practice of welcoming entrants, so that Paul’s fixed location becomes a place where others are taken in as they arrive.

Sense and Usage

Across these contexts, ἀποδέχομαι consistently marks an act of reception that is more than passive contact; it is a relational taking-in expressed as welcome, acceptance, or hospitality. The word can describe a crowd receiving an arriving figure (Luke 8:40), an authoritative figure receiving followers (Luke 9:11), hearers receiving spoken content (Acts 2:41), or communities receiving traveling believers (Acts 18:27; Acts 21:17). It can also be used in a formal setting where acceptance is voiced in comprehensive terms (Acts 24:3), and in a long-term pattern of receiving visitors in a household setting (Acts 28:30).

Several passages specify the manner of receiving. “Gladly” appears where persons are welcomed (Acts 21:17) and where a message is taken in (Acts 2:41), making reception an action that can be colored by joy and readiness. Luke 8:40 highlights expectation—“they were all waiting for him”—so the welcoming is the consummation of a posture already present in the group. Luke 9:11 shows receiving as the entry point into ministry: once the multitudes are welcomed, teaching and healing follow in the same breath, so receiving functions as the first act in a sequence of care.

The object of reception also varies in a way that clarifies the breadth of the verb’s use. In Acts 2:41, what is received is “his word,” and the narrative presents that reception as the hinge between hearing and decisive response (“were baptized”). In Acts 18:27 the object is a person (“receive him”), and the reception is arranged by the “brothers” through a letter; the welcoming becomes a communal endorsement expressed in action. Acts 28:30 uses an unrestricted object—“all who were coming to him”—which stresses availability rather than selectivity. In Acts 24:3, the object is left implicit in the phrasing “we accept it,” but the surrounding language expands the receiving into a broad posture “in all ways and in all places,” showing that the verb can serve as a conventional term for comprehensive acceptance in formal speech.

Seen together, these examples show ἀποδέχομαι operating at multiple social levels: the multitude and the household, the local community and the courtroom, the reception of persons and the reception of words. Yet in each, the verb signals a moment where a boundary is opened—someone arrives and is welcomed, a message is taken in, a visitor is admitted, or an outcome is formally accepted. The narratives repeatedly connect such receiving with what follows: crowds are taught and healed (Luke 9:11), new believers are baptized and added (Acts 2:41), a worker “greatly helped” others (Acts 18:27), fellowship is established upon arrival (Acts 21:17), gratitude is publicly expressed (Acts 24:3), and a steady stream of visitors is continually welcomed (Acts 28:30).

Imagery

The passages give ἀποδέχομαι a vivid social texture: a waiting crowd welcoming a returning teacher (Luke 8:40), a leader receiving followers and then speaking and healing (Luke 9:11), hearers taking in a word that reshapes communal life (Acts 2:41), a letter smoothing the way for a traveler to be welcomed (Acts 18:27), brothers greeting arrivals with gladness (Acts 21:17), a public voice declaring acceptance with thanks (Acts 24:3), and a rented house functioning as an open door over “two whole years” (Acts 28:30). In these scenes, receiving is portrayed as a concrete act that creates room—socially, relationally, and practically—for what comes next.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).