“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.”
Luke 9:1-6 NIV
Jesus’ mission about the kingdom was urgent. He needed to announce its arrival quickly, so He sent His disciples ahead of Him to prepare the people for its message. They were to do two things…announce and demonstrate the presence of God’s rule among His people.
Demonstration involved a great healing campaign, as the disciples went along, as evidence of the nature and power of the kingdom of God. God was not only telling but showing His people that He was right there among them, setting right in part what had gone wrong in the beginning.
Imagine the disciples’ joy when their touch healed people exactly as Jesus was doing! This was real! God was with them, breaking Satan’s power and releasing a tsunami wave of miracles through them.
However as always, not every Jew was impressed by the disciples’ activities, especially when it came to their association with Jesus. At the instigation of His enemies, some people were suspicious. Not everyone welcomed them with open arms. What would be the test?
Some would, by offering the disciples hospitality and all the perks, show their acceptance of their message. Others, by refusing them hospitality, would call down judgment upon themselves by their refusal to reciprocate. What were the disciples to do?
“Jesus told his disciples to shake the dust off their feet as a symbolic act to signify that a town or household had rejected God’s message, marking them as spiritually unclean and worthy of judgment, like Gentiles, indicating the disciples’ task was done there and they should move on, leaving the responsibility for rejection with the people, a practice rooted in Jewish tradition of avoiding Gentile contamination. It served as a testimony, a warning of divine judgment, and a directive to focus efforts where the message was received, not to waste time on stubborn rejection.” (Source: Google AI).
By shaking the dust off their feet, the disciples’ would be absolving themselves of all responsibility for the decision of those who rejected them and their message. They would be treating them as pagan Gentiles upon whom God’s judgement would fall for rejecting Him and His grace.
Jesus’ instruction was in line with His warning to His disciples in His discourse about life in God’s kingdom.
“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”
Matthew 7:6 NIV
Don’t waste your time on people who show by their words and attitude, that they have no interest in the things of God. They may even do you harm if you continue to interact with them.
The counsel was the same for errant church members.
“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”
Matthew 18:15-17 NIV
As harsh as this may sound, Jesus instructed church leaders to treat unrepentant members under their leadership in the same way. Cut off connection with them because they become a danger to unity in the body of Christ.
In the Old Covenant, the principle was harsh but clear for the simple reason that a bad apple in a box caused the rot to spread.
“Anyone who attacks their father or mother is to be put to death…“Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.”
Exodus 21:15, 17 NIV
Likewise, people who were guilty of sexual misconduct were to be executed. For example…
“ ‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.”
Leviticus 20:10 NIV
This way of reacting to resistance to the message may seem to cut across grace but, in actual fact, it is both protection and a statement. Sin spreads quickly in a community of vulnerable people. Therefore, people who can cause dissension must be excluded as quickly as possible. Don’t waste time on them because they have already disqualified themselves from God’s grace.
Does this sound harsh? God is not playing games. He takes seriously what people do and say. He gives opportunity to repent, even second chances, but He also responds to rejection by rejecting those who reject Him.
Jesus gave the same counsel to the seventy two He sent out to the wider community of Jews and Gentiles…
“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.””
Luke 10:16 NIV
We should heed this wise counsel to protect ourselves, our families, and fellowship from the poison that can quickly spread and cause untold harm in a group.
To be continued…