But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. (Luke 10:10-12)
These are a tough few verses here! Jesus has given them the heads up that they won’t be received everywhere they go. We know that the world hated Jesus and if we’re coming in His name and sharing the same message, there are going to be those who aren’t receptive and will hate us. But more importantly than the heads up that we won’t be received by everyone, is the instruction on how to handle that. It’s more than just an outward handling, but how to handle that in your heart.
Jesus makes it clear that those who don’t receive the gospel message will be judged in their unbelief, even to the point of being more bearable for Sodom. Yikes! If you recall back to Genesis when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, He did so with fire and sulfur. They were completely destroyed, and yet the eternal judgment will be more bearable for them than those who don’t receive the gospel.
Why More Bearable?
When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, that brought a knowledge of good and evil, but with the Law given to the Israelites (around 400 years after Sodom was destroyed) came a knowledge of sin, which pointed us to God our Savior. Those who choose not to receive the gospel, the full revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ which became known with Jesus, but had been foreshadowed in the Law and prophets, have fully rejected their only source of salvation. Those in Sodom, having lived so many years earlier, didn’t have the full knowledge of the gospel and therefore it will be more bearable for them.
The Outward
Now on the outside, we see that Jesus instructed these seventy-two people to dust their feet off and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
How do you picture this in your head? Is the disciple frustrated, angry, justified, sad, crying? There were a plethora of feelings that could come with this action, but they all would stem from the condition of the disciple’s heart. If it is being done in a frustrated or angry manner, it would seem rather confrontational and hateful. If it’s done in a justified manner, it would seem rather prideful and judgmental. If they’re sad or crying, it would seem they have a broken heart over the people’s rejection.
The thing is, even though they were to shake the dust off their feet and declare that it was because they weren’t receptive, the message of the kingdom of God still stands.
The Inward
These instructions weren’t being given to condemn unreceptive people before the time of judgment. The disciples weren’t being told to judge them unto condemnation. He was telling them to boldly tell them that they are being left in the dust of their hard hearts, but that nonetheless, GOD wants them to know that His kingdom has come near. Notice how Jesus didn’t tell them to include that their judgment for not receiving was going to be worse than Sodom? That information was only for the disciples to keep in mind. Jesus wants us to keep a right perspective of people.
Our human response may be to see those who don’t receive as the enemy or somehow beneath us and may even stir a point of pride or consolation such as, “O well, they’re just going to hell then, serves them right for not receiving me and the message I shared”. But that is NOT the heart of God.
Our hearts should be broken for those who do not receive because we know where they’re going if they don’t ever repent. If we’re to be Christ like in this and have our hearts properly aligned with God’s, then we too should desire that none would perish but that ALL would come to repentance.
Precious Souls
Each and every time you share the gospel with someone, keep their soul in mind. You’re not looking to get them to agree with you or say a special prayer, you’re sharing Jesus with them who is able to save their soul and give them eternal life. And remember, God is not the only one who is seeking after them, so is the enemy. Satan would love to keep them wallowed or blinded in their sin, with a heart hard like stone and eventually ending up with him in the Lake of Fire for all eternity. But people are precious. Every. single. person is precious.
Charles Spurgeon was once quoted saying this, “Consider how precious a soul must be when both God and the devil are after it.”
We shouldn’t ever be picky or choosy about who we deem worth sharing the gospel with. We are called to make disciples of ALL nations, not the ones we think we should. Jesus deemed everyone worth dying for, so shouldn’t we deem them worth sharing His gospel with?
And we can’t get caught up in feeling rejected when people don’t receive the gospel message we share with them either. They aren’t rejecting you anyway, because it’s not about you, it’s about salvation in Jesus. But if we’re not preaching the gospel to our own hearts regularly, where we freshly remember the sin we were once in and the wonderous work Jesus did on the cross for us on our behalf, and the immense love He has for us and every single person ever created, we just may end up making our own feelings the focus instead of the soul saving work we were sent out to do. Rejection isn’t fun, but it’s a part of the Christian’s life when they walk out their faith in their calling. If during times of rejection, we can shift our focus from our feelings of rejection to sharing the broken heart God feels towards them, then we can stay the course in our mission and service to God.