Matthew 10:14, commentary and pictures

Christ gave this charge to the twelve on their first missionary tour to the lost sheep of the house of Israel before the message went to Samaritans, Gentiles, and all nations.
When a house or city would not receive the messengers nor hear their words, they were to depart from that house or city and shake its dust from their feet as a sign, warning, and testimony that the offered message had been rejected.
The act impresses the importance of the gospel and the seriousness of the decision, because the messengers bear the word of eternal life and the destiny of the hearers depends on receiving or rejecting it, leaving the rejecters accountable to God with a judgment in the day of judgment less tolerable than that of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Gospel workers are therefore to use judgment about where to give time and strength and not waste labor where no good results can follow, but are not to press their presence where it is unwanted or to be discouraged by rejection, and when persecuted or hindered in one place are to go to the next until all the cities are gone over.
The same instruction still governs Christian work in the present time and directs humble house-to-house labor, canvassing, and family witness to neighbors and unbelievers by small talents as well as great, trusting the divine Worker to convict hearts.

Words and Setting

Christ gave this charge to the twelve on their first missionary tour, when they were sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. That sending kept a set order, that testimony must first be borne to the Jews before work among Samaritans and Gentiles, so that the doors of entrance to the Jews would not be closed. Only after this first work to the Jewish nation were the disciples to go into all the world and teach all nations. The same direction also told what to do when persecution arises, that closing of one place does not close a whole field, but workers are to keep laboring elsewhere until all the cities are gone over before the Son of Man comes.

When those in a house or city would not receive the messengers nor hear their words, they were to depart from that house or city and go into new territory. In departing they were to shake or wipe the dust from their feet. That shaking was a sign that the people had refused to receive the messengers or listen to their words and had rejected the offered message. It stood as a testimony against them and a warning marking their refusal.

The same outward act was inverted in hostility when scribes and Pharisees shook dust from their feet against the healed man. They treated him with contempt for witnessing to Christ's power. They cast him out of the synagogue.

Rejection Brings Judgment

The shaking off of dust is a solemn warning that impresses upon those who will not welcome the messengers or hear their words how important the gospel is and how serious their decision is. The messengers bear the word of eternal life, and the destiny of the house or city depends on whether that offered message is received or rejected. To turn from it is not without consequence, but brings accountability in the judgment.

Such refusal leaves the house or city accountable to God for refusing the gospel, marked by the sign that the message has been rejected when the messengers depart. In the day of judgment the judgment upon that city will be more severe and less tolerable than that of Sodom and Gomorrah and the land of Sodom. The act therefore declares that the hearers have heard a message for which they must answer.

To refuse to heed such warnings is to refuse God, even when men excuse themselves by saying it is only man rebuking them. The excuse claims that the divine and the human are commingled in the reproof, that they will not be instructed but will do as they please. So the Jews and the priests and rulers treated Christ, calling Him merely human and possessed by a devil. The same warning against rejecting and becoming accountable applies also to those who slander, falsely accuse, or oppose God's servants.

Guidance for Gospel Workers

Gospel workers are to use judgment and discrimination about where to give time and instruction, and not waste precious strength and time where labor would be lost with no good results. Worthiness and reception mark where to abide and work, shown by being received and provided for by the house visited, and peace rests only where the call is received. When a house or city will not receive the messengers nor hear their words, they are to depart from that house or city and shake off its dust from their feet.

Messengers are not to press their presence where it is not wanted but are to leave for another place. If pride and idolatry prevent influence and the full doing of God's will, they may move to another town or city with less objectionable and less harmful surroundings. When persecution arises and people will not receive them nor hear their words, they are to depart from that house or city and go to the next place, and when persecuted there to go to the next, for the closing of one place does not close a whole field until all the cities are gone over before the Son of Man comes.

At Philippi the apostles followed this principle by complying with the magistrates' request to leave. Yet they did not depart hastily but first went to Lydia's house to meet the new converts. There they encouraged the believers and told what God had done.

When preaching was rejected and the apostles were expelled from the region, they applied this instruction by leaving and shaking the dust from their feet as a testimony against those who refused to receive them or hear their words. This expulsion came after influential people were turned against them by false reports. Their rejection did not mean they should be discouraged, and it left the people accountable to judgment.

The instruction given for the first missionary tour still governs Christian work in the present time and is even more necessary now. It directs house-to-house labor and canvassing and family-circle witness in love and simplicity to neighbors and friends, to unbelievers' homes, and to those in the highways, hedges, and byways who have not yet received full evidence of truth. Both small talents and great have their designed place, and the humble cottager in house-to-house labor can accomplish more than brilliant gifts. The work is to be done by songs of praise and humble, heartfelt prayer, by simple presentation of Bible truth and personal experience of Christ's love, trusting the divine Worker present to send conviction to hearts, and reaching souls that preaching from the pulpit would not reach. Strong and thoroughly converted workers, with many young men and women associated with them, are to be appointed to labor in the great centers in a humble manner and with great ingenuity, presenting the words of eternal life in a spirit of tenderness so that souls are reached, won, and converted.