Shaking The Dust Off Your Feet

Shaking the dust off your feet

Luke 9:1 – 6

Rabbi Rev. Dr. Michael H Koplitz

Luke 9:1 Now He called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and the power to heal diseases. 2 And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. 3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics. 4 “And whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city. 5 “And as for all who do not receive you, when you leave that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 And as they were leaving, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

There are times when we read a narrative in the Bible, and we wonder what it really meant in Jesus’ day. There are some phrases and expressions that we do know what they mean, but do they really apply today? If they're in the Scripture, especially the gospel, then there has to be a reason that they are there. Many times, it’s difficult for people to find those answers because they don’t realize that the Bible is written in metaphors and similes.

In Luke’s gospel chapter 9 verses 1 to 6, we have the narrative about Jesus sending his 12 disciples out into the countryside to preach the gospel of hope and grace. He tells them to take nothing on the trip. That alone can be considered disturbing because it is definitely against the culture. Whenever you traveled from place to place, you always carried food and water. We have to remember that during Jesus’ time, there was no McDonald’s or Burger King that you could stop in and have a meal at. There probably would have been some places in the larger cities that you could get a meal, but if you’re in the countryside of the Galilee, there’s really not much out there.

This meant that the disciples that were going out into the countryside had to rely upon the hospitality of the people that they were talking to. Hospitality was a big thing in Jesus day, and it was expected of every household. Even if the person knocking at your door was a stranger, you still offered up some bread and water. Therefore, Jesus knew that his disciples were not going to starve. They relied on the hospitality culture of Galilee, Judea and Samaria would take care of that problem.

This story appears in several of the Gospels, and it is always bothered me because of the phrase “shake the dust off your feet.” The original meaning of this phrase is that if you go into a town, and they totally reject the message of the gospel, you are to leave the town and not be concerned about the people of the town. They might not be able to receive the loving grace from God that Jesus was bringing to them. In Jesus’ day, the people were rejecting the message that the disciples were bringing, they could find themselves in harm’s way. There is a history of self-proclaimed prophets that were in the holy land who were stoned because of the message they were bringing. Therefore, this is a bit of a safety concern that Jesus had for his disciples.

The issue that arises is that since God sent Jesus to save the world, how could he tell his disciples to walk away from those who didn’t want to hear the gospel? Those people would be left to their situation on judgment day. It doesn’t fit today’s view of Christianity, which is we should continually talk to people about the gospel even if they reject it. For myself, I heard the message for many years, and it wasn’t until I was 35 years old that I accepted it. Evangelists will tell you that a person has to hear the gospel at least nine times before it is accepted. Now let me also say there are exceptions to that rule and there are people who will accept the gospel in less than nine times. That’s just a general average.

So, what do I do about this shaking the dust off your feet statement. I cannot imagine that we're supposed to walk away from people who don’t want to hear the gospel message. This gave me a long pause for thought. Allow me to share with you what I think, today, that message means.

An interesting thought would be to apply the phrase shaking the dust off your feet as a different metaphor that still has its meaning in the original meaning. This metaphor today is saying that the shaking of the dust off your feet means that you’re going to try to evangelize a person or people differently. When your method of discussing Jesus as Lord and Savior is not working, then it’s time to try something different. One of the problems that many people have is they give the same argument about why it’s important to come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, which is rejected, yet they continue with the same arguments. Perhaps it’s time to wash the dust off your feet, which in this case means getting rid of your technique and trying another way.