Is There Any Dust On Our Feet?

When Jesus sent His twelve apostles out on the “limited commission” (so-called, because He limited their preaching to the Jews only), He told them, “And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” (Matthew 10:14-15).

This ‘dust-shaking’ was a symbolic gesture towards those who refused to hear the Lord’s message. It implied that the message-bearer had been to their door (and, consequently, had gotten his sandals dirty), and “it meant that all responsibility for their fate was to be left at their own door” (E.M. Zerr, Bible Commentary). Jesus said these words also to another group of seventy disciples whom He sent out: “But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you’” (Luke 10:10,11). Years later, as the gospel began to be spread beyond Judea’s borders, Paul and Barnabas “shook off the dust from their feet against” the unbelieving Jews in Antioch (Acts 13:51). We suppose that the early disciples had many sad occasions on which they employed this gesture.

Obviously, Jesus’ words presupposed that the ones given the charge of the gospel would have dirtied their feet by going to many a lost soul’s door. But, dear saint, do you realize that this responsibility has been handed down to us? (Jude 3) One wonders… If we were to have to leave the community of which we are presently a part, would there be much “dust on our feet” to wipe off? Would there be any at all?? Would we be able to say that, “Yes, we have been to see him,” and “Yes, we have been to talk to her about the Lord”? Would we?

Now is as good a time as any to give some serious thought about what we’re doing with the gospel. Maybe -- just maybe -- we ought to think about making a few more definite plans to reach the lost.

We’ll never know if people are unworthy of the gospel (and, therefore, worthy of a ‘dust-wiping’) until we try to reach them with the Word. From a Biblical vantage point, clean feet on a Christian are not a good sign.


--Mike Noble