Many religious people are familiar with the Great Commission in which Jesus told His apostles to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). Earlier, during His earthly ministry, He gave His apostles a more “limited” commission – to “go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6).
When Jesus gave this “limited” commission, He told His apostles, “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 10:7). However, even though their message would be confirmed with miracles (Matthew 10:8), not everyone would accept it. So Jesus gave them instructions regarding what they should do when this happened:
“Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet” (Matthew 10:14).
Jesus indicated the severity of the offense committed by those who refused to listen when He said that “it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city” (Matthew 10:15). This shows us just how serious it is for someone to reject the message of the gospel.
The same thing was done as the Great Commission was carried out as well. In Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:14), the Jews opposed Paul’s preaching out of jealousy when they saw that “the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord” (Acts 13:44-45). Their response led to Paul and Barnabas “[shaking] off the dust of their feet in protest against them” (Acts 13:51).
It is important to note that the Jews there were given the opportunity to reject the gospel for themselves. Paul and Barnabas said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46). They did not judge these Jews to be unworthy to hear the gospel; instead, the Jews in this place judged themselves unworthy by repudiating the gospel. So Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off of their feet against them and “went to Iconium” to find others who might listen to their teaching.
In our efforts to teach others today, we may have times when we need to shake the dust off our feet. This means we stop trying to teach someone (at least for a time) and move on to someone else. This is not always easy to do – especially if it involves family and friends – but it must be done if we want to reach others who could be receptive.
But when has the time come for us to shake the dust off our feet and move on? Let us consider some passages from the New Testament that can help us answer that question.
When They Refuse to Listen
The first step that one must take in order to obtain salvation is hearing. Paul wrote, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The gospel is “the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16). We are “called” by God “through [the] gospel” (2 Thessalonians 2:14). Therefore, if someone is unwilling to listen to the gospel, we can have no hope of saving them and should move on to try to find others who may be willing to listen.
When They Ignore What They Have Heard
Some people may listen to the gospel but do not want to accept what they have been taught so they ignore what they hear. This was the condition of the Jewish leaders who demanded of Jesus, “If You are the Christ, tell us plainly” (John 10:24). Yet Jesus had already done this: “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me” (John 10:25). Jesus provided ample evidence to convince them of who He was, yet they refused to accept it. As long as someone refuses to accept the word – or they choose that they no longer want to follow it – then it becomes “impossible” to lead them to “repentance” (Hebrews 6:6). The reason for this is because when they reject the word of God, we have nothing else to which we can appeal to convince them.
When Discussions Turn to Quarrels
There is nothing wrong with discussions and debates. These can be used to help determine the truth (Acts 15:1-2) and silence false teachers (Titus 1:9-11). As long as we are teaching and defending the truth and leading people to an understanding of the will of God, these can be very helpful. However, Paul also told Timothy to avoid “myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation” (1 Timothy 1:4). In other words, if the issue was not one in which divine truth could be established, then it was not worth spending endless hours arguing over it. Why? Paul explained later that such “foolish and ignorant speculations…produce quarrels” and we “must not be quarrelsome” because this does not bring people to the point of “repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:23-25). We are trying to help them “come to their senses” (2 Timothy 2:26), yet this will not happen if they become contentious.
When They Blaspheme and Speak Evil
In the example we noticed at the beginning, this was what led Paul to stop teaching the Jews in Antioch. They “began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming” (Acts 13:45). They had moved past the point of discussion or debate and were speaking against God. When Paul was in Ephesus and some began “speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus” (Acts 19:8-9). Instead of speaking against God (as the Jews in Antioch were doing), the ones in Ephesus were speaking against the church (“the Way”). One who has reached this state cannot be helped because they have become unreasonable in their opposition to God and the church.
When They Stir Up Persecution
When persecution arose in Antioch, Paul and Barnabas “shook off the dust of their feet” and left (Acts 13:50-51). This type of circumstance was also the point in which the disciples left Jerusalem and preached elsewhere (Acts 8:1, 4). Of course, we must be willing to face persecution. Peter wrote, “If anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name” (1 Peter 4:16). However, this is not about whether we are willing or unwilling to face persecution; instead, this is about going where others may be more receptive. If we can escape persecution and go elsewhere to find other people we may be able to teach, we should do it.
Conclusion
Some may wonder if shaking the dust off our feet and moving on means that we are potentially taking away someone’s chance to believe the gospel and become obedient to it. Yet Jesus taught His apostles to do this and they followed His instructions in this regard. We shake the dust off our feet and move on in order to allow others the opportunity to hear the gospel rather than wasting all of our time and energy with those who “repudiate it and judge [themselves] unworthy of eternal life” (Acts 13:46).
However, those who have previously refused to listen, have ignored what they heard, have only wanted to quarrel, have blasphemed God and spoken evil of His church, and have even persecuted those who tried to teach them, even these individuals may have a change of heart at some point. They might later be willing to listen, consider what is taught, and come to the point of faith. This is why I said at the beginning that we may have to move on for a time, especially when it involves those who are close to us. Once they show interest and a change of heart, we need to be willing to try again.
That being said, as long as the attitudes are present that we considered here, we will not be able to reach that person. That does not mean we give up our efforts to teach the truth. Rather, it means we move on to try to help others who will be more open to the message of the gospel.
