{"id":7069629,"date":"2026-09-29T04:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T04:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/shake-the-dust-or-wipe-it-off\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T04:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T04:56:13","slug":"shake-the-dust-or-wipe-it-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7069629","title":{"rendered":"Shake the Dust\u2014Or Wipe It Off?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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I realized something today about the expression, \u201cShake the dust off your feet.\u201d It\u2019s what Jesus said to the Twelve, but not to the 72.<\/p>\n

In Matthew and Mark, Jesus says:<\/p>\n

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If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.<\/p>\n

Matthew 10:14 (NIV)<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cAnd if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark 6:11 (NIV)<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Even in Luke, Jesus said the same thing:<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luke 9:5 (NIV)<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But when Jesus sent out the 72, He said something else:<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, \u2018The kingdom of God has come near to you.\u2019 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, \u2018Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.<\/p>\n

Luke 10:8-11 (NIV)<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Moreover, Jesus differentiated between \u201cpersonal\u201d and \u201ccommunity\u201d evangelism.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen you enter a house, first say, \u2018Peace to this house.\u2019 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.<\/p>\n

Luke 10:5-7 (NIV)<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jesus says nothing about \u201cshaking the dust\u201d off in personal ministry; He only told the Twelve to shake the dust off \u201cas a testimony against\u201d that place. Still, the command to the 72 is much more damning if you consider the Greek.<\/p>\n

The NIV translation \u201closes\u201d something that other translations don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

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And the dust that has cleaved to us from your city, we wipe off against you, but know this, that the Kingdom of God has come near to you;<\/p>\n

Luke 10:11 (LSV)<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Literal Standard Version and others reveal that the dust \u201ccleaves\u201d to them and that they must \u201cwipe\u201d it off. In Greek, kollethenta (cleaves\/clings) is \u201cfrom kolla; to glue, i.e., to stick\u201d (Bible Hub<\/a>). This isn\u2019t your run-of-the-mill dust. It\u2019s something that attaches itself and won\u2019t let go\u2014Much like mud. I\u2019m not saying Jesus meant mud, but the imagery helps us understand the concept since we have to wipe off mud because it\u2019s much more resilient than dust.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, \u201cshaking the dust off\u201d invites images of someone \u201cwashing their hands of those who rejected the message and leaving them to their fate.\u201d But wiping dust (mud) off one\u2019s feet invokes different imagery.<\/p>\n

Those who brought the message were to also separate themselves from those who rejected it. Consider what Paul said about yokes:<\/p>\n

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\u201cCome out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.\u201d<\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 6:17 (NIV)<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s what I imagine when I think of wiping mud off of my feet\u2014not to mention other \u201csmellier\u201d and foul things we might step in that we want no part of. Still, I wonder if the application of the concept in Luke is less about relationship and more about separatism\u2014in spirit and in truth\u2014because Jesus\u2019 directive isn\u2019t aimed at personal evangelism.<\/p>\n

Consider for a moment those well-meaning street preachers on social media who grab their Bibles, cameras, and good intentions to preach in places opposed to God, like \u201cPride\u201d rallies. They are preaching to communities that want nothing to do with God, hoping (I guess) to pull a sheep or two from the jaws of death.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you, but all I ever see are videos and posts full of hatred and conflict. It makes me wonder if these preachers are doing more harm than good for the cause, especially when I consider how receptive that same community has been on a personal basis when they\u2019ve been \u201cseparated\u201d from the community. In such cases, there\u2019s no hostility, only a driving desire to know why Christians care so much.<\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s what Jesus was getting at in Luke when He sent out the 72. If we stand amongst a community of unbelievers hostile to the Gospel and engage them, how can onlookers differentiate between those who believe and those who don\u2019t? Of course, I\u2019m applying the separation concept to the modern world.<\/p>\n

In the context of Luke 10, we might say, \u201cThe Gospel sends us into the world, but being sent into the world doesn\u2019t mean becoming attached to everything we encounter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, I believe a modern application is as we\u2019ve seen: if we\u2019re standing in a hostile crowd, we don\u2019t look any different. After all, you can bring a message of peace. But when it\u2019s received with hostility, turning an otherwise \u201cpeaceful,\u201d if not ungodly, event into chaos, are you bringing peace that leads to Christ, or the Gospel\u2019s sword, which might as well be a big bomb that takes everyone out?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t really know, but it\u2019s something I\u2019ll be thinking about for a while as I consider these \u201cnew\u201d insights from Luke 10.<\/p>\n

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