Matthew 10:14 reads, “And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.” Many of the Jews in Bible times believed that the very dust of Palestine was holy when compared to the dust of other countries. They divided land within the boundary of Palestine into ten ascending degrees of sanctity. The Most Holy Place in the Temple was the most sacred, but everything ‘outside the land’ was considered darkness and death. If a little dust from another land touched anything in the land, the object was considered unclean and defiled. That object was to be shaken free from such dust and ritually cleaned, or completely destroyed.
The verse above is part of what Jesus told the twelve apostles as He was sending them out to the Israelites to preach about the coming kingdom. The apostles were told to stay in places that were open to their teaching. Once they had completed preaching to that city, they were to move on to another city. However, if a city or house refused to hear their preaching, they were to leave. As they were leaving they were to shake the dust off of their feet.
The apostles were to give this signal as a message that those refusing to listen could not miss. Those individuals would know that the apostles were telling them they were of no more value than unclean and defiled dust. The same type message is given by Jesus again in Matthew 18:17. This time it was regarding an Israelite who transgressed against another Israelite. If the offending person did not correct the situation when properly approached, that person was to be considered as a heathen.
In Acts 13:51, we read about Paul and Barnabas putting this principle into practice. They were in Antioch of Pisidia preaching. The Gentiles were receptive, but the Jews were stirred up by the religious leaders. These people incited the Jews to throw Paul and Barnabas out of the region. Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet.
I know you want to be of more value than defiled dust. Read and study your Bible. Then, obey it. Make sure you are holy, and if any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.
