There are some very important things in these two verses. John had made this mistake before.
That is a message for our time. Don't over honour the messenger. Never applaud the preacher; never applaud the organist; never applaud anybody who carries out Christian service. Don’t over-revere the messenger. He is only a messenger. What counts is the message. Oh yes, you can thank him, if he makes extra effort, if he makes sacrifices; that’s courteous. If he goes out of his way to bring you the gospel, and the Lord saves you, you can thank him, yes. But don't overdo it. ‘See thou do it not’, says the angel. It applies to us to today. We do everything we do in humility and dependence upon God. Everything is glory to God; it’s his work.