Luke 10:11
Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off as a testimony against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.'
Even the dust
This phrase emphasizes the thoroughness of the disciples' rejection of a town that does not welcome them. In the cultural and historical context of the time, shaking off the dust from one's feet was a symbolic act performed by Jews when leaving a Gentile area, signifying a complete disassociation from the impurity of the Gentiles. Here, Jesus instructs His disciples to perform this act even in Jewish towns that reject the message of the Kingdom, highlighting the seriousness of rejecting the Gospel.

of your town
The reference to "your town" personalizes the message, indicating that the responsibility for accepting or rejecting the message of Christ lies with the community. In the ancient world, towns were often close-knit communities where news and teachings would spread quickly. The town's collective response to the disciples' message would determine their spiritual standing.

that clings to our feet
The imagery of dust clinging to feet suggests the pervasive nature of rejection and unbelief. In a spiritual sense, it represents the residue of disbelief that the disciples are instructed to leave behind. This act serves as a testimony against the town, symbolizing that the disciples have done their part in delivering the message, and any further responsibility lies with the townspeople.

we wipe off
The act of wiping off the dust is a deliberate and public demonstration of the disciples' disassociation from those who reject the Gospel. It is a prophetic gesture, indicating that the disciples have fulfilled their duty and are now free from any further obligation to that town. This act underscores the urgency and importance of accepting the message of salvation.

against you
This phrase indicates that the act of shaking off the dust is not just a personal decision but a testimony against the town. It serves as a warning of the consequences of rejecting the message of Christ. In the broader scriptural context, it reflects the theme of judgment and accountability that runs throughout the Bible, reminding believers of the importance of responding to God's call.

Yet be sure of this
This statement serves as a solemn reminder to the townspeople of the truth and certainty of the message being proclaimed. It emphasizes the authority of the disciples' mission and the reality of the Kingdom of God. The phrase calls for introspection and acknowledgment of the divine truth presented to them.

The kingdom of God
Central to Jesus' teaching, the "kingdom of God" refers to God's sovereign rule and reign, both in the present and future. It is a spiritual kingdom that Jesus inaugurated through His life, death, and resurrection. The proclamation of the kingdom is a call to repentance and faith, inviting individuals to enter into a relationship with God.

is near
The nearness of the kingdom signifies the urgency of the message. In the historical context, Jesus' ministry marked the breaking in of God's kingdom into human history. For the original audience, this was a call to immediate action and decision. For contemporary believers, it serves as a reminder of the ever-present reality of God's rule and the need to live in light of His coming kingdom.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus Christ
The central figure of the Gospel who sends out the seventy-two disciples to preach and heal.

2. The Seventy-Two Disciples
Followers of Jesus sent out in pairs to prepare the way for Him, tasked with preaching the kingdom of God.

3. The Towns
Various locations where the disciples were sent to proclaim the message of the kingdom.

4. The Kingdom of God
The central theme of Jesus' message, representing God's sovereign rule and the fulfillment of His promises.

5. The Act of Shaking Dust
A symbolic gesture indicating rejection and a warning of judgment for those who do not receive the message.
Teaching Points
The Urgency of the Message
The kingdom of God is near, and the urgency of the message requires immediate attention and response.

Responsibility of the Messenger
Like the disciples, believers today are called to faithfully deliver the message of the gospel, regardless of the response.

Symbolism of Shaking Dust
This act serves as a solemn warning and a reminder of the consequences of rejecting God's message.

God's Sovereignty and Judgment
The passage underscores God's sovereign rule and the reality of judgment for those who reject His kingdom.

Hope and Assurance
Despite rejection, the assurance remains that the kingdom of God is near, offering hope to those who believe.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the act of shaking dust off one's feet serve as a testimony against those who reject the gospel, and what does it symbolize in today's context?

2. In what ways can believers today demonstrate the urgency of the message that "the kingdom of God is near" in their daily lives?

3. How can the responsibility of the disciples in Luke 10:11 inspire us to be faithful messengers of the gospel, even in the face of rejection?

4. What are some practical ways to prepare ourselves to share the gospel message effectively, as the seventy-two disciples were sent out to do?

5. How does understanding God's sovereignty and the reality of judgment influence our approach to evangelism and our interactions with others?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 10:14
This passage parallels Luke 10:11, where Jesus instructs His disciples to shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against those who do not welcome them.

Acts 13:51
Paul and Barnabas shake the dust from their feet in protest against those who rejected their message, demonstrating the continuation of this practice in the early church.

Mark 6:11
Similar instructions are given to the twelve apostles, emphasizing the seriousness of rejecting the gospel message.

Ezekiel 33:4-5
The concept of being a watchman and the responsibility to warn others, highlighting the accountability of those who hear the message.
The Mission of the SeventyR.M. Edgar Luke 10:1-24
No Room for ExcuseG. Stevens.Luke 10:10-12
Opportunity WastedJ. Parsons.Luke 10:10-12
Symbolical ActionM. F. Sadler.Luke 10:10-12
The Grace of Salvation Coming Near UsD. A. Clark.Luke 10:10-12
People
Jesus, Martha, Mary
Places
Bethsaida, Capernaum, Chorazin, Jericho, Jerusalem, Road to Jerusalem, Sidon, Sodom, Tyre
Topics
Cleaved, Cleaves, Cleaveth, Clings, Close, Dust, Hangs, Kingdom, Nevertheless, Nigh, Notwithstanding, Protest, Reign, Shake, Sticks, Sure, Town, Wipe, Witness, Yet
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Luke 10:11

     5865   gestures

Luke 10:1-12

     2012   Christ, authority
     7953   mission, of church

Luke 10:10-11

     4050   dust

Luke 10:11-16

     9240   last judgment

Library
Definiteness of Purpose in Christian Work
TEXT: "Salute no man by the way."--Luke 10:4. Luke is the only one of the Evangelists giving us the account of the sending out of the seventy. The others tell us that Christ called certain men unto him and commissioned them to tell his story; but in this instance after Jesus had said, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head," he calls the seventy and sends them forth prepared to endure any sacrifice or suffer any affliction if only
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot

October 28 Evening
The Enemy.--LUKE 10:19. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.--Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

June 14 Evening
Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things.--LUKE 10:41. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap. Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not. Seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. Your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. Having food and raiment let us be therewith content . . . They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

January 9 Evening
One thing is needful.--LUKE 10:42. There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God.--O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land,
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

March 8. "Pray Ye Therefore" (Luke x. 2).
"Pray Ye therefore" (Luke x. 2). Prayer is the mighty engine that is to move the missionary work. "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth laborers into His harvest." We are asking God to touch the hearts of men every day by the Holy Ghost, so that they shall be compelled to go abroad and preach the Gospel. We are asking Him to wake them up at night with the solemn conviction that the heathen are perishing, and that their blood will be upon their souls, and God is answering
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Good Samaritan
LUKE x. 33, 34. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. No words, perhaps, ever spoken on earth, have had more effect than those of this parable. They are words of power and of spirit; living words, which have gone forth into the hearts and lives of men, and borne fruit in them of a hundred
Charles Kingsley—Discipline and Other Sermons

The Tables Turned: the Questioners Questioned
'But when the Pharisees had heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him, and saying, 36. Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38. This is the first and great commandment. 39. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ's Messengers: their Equipment and Work
'After these things, the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place whither He Himself would come. 2. Therefore said He unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labourers into His harvest. 3. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. 4. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes; and salute no man by the way. 5. And into whatsoever
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

Neighbours Far Off
'And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26. He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27. And he, answering, said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28. And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

Sanctification
SANCTIFICATION [1] St Luke x. 42.--"One thing is needful." I have read many writings both of heathen philosophers and inspired prophets, ancient and modern, and have sought earnestly to discover what is the best and highest quality whereby man may approach most nearly to union with God, and whereby he may most resemble the ideal of himself which existed in God, before God created men. And after having thoroughly searched these writings as far as my reason may penetrate, I find no higher quality than
Johannes Eckhart—Meister Eckhart's Sermons

On the Words of the Gospel, Luke x. 16, "He that Rejecteth You Rejecteth Me. "
1. What our Lord Jesus Crist at that time spake to His disciples was put in writing, and prepared for us to hear. And so we have heard His words. For what profit would it be to us if He were seen, and were not heard? And now it is no hurt, that He is not seen, and yet is heard. He saith then, "He that despiseth you, despiseth Me." [3300] If to the Apostles only He said, "He that despiseth you, despiseth Me;" do ye despise us. But if His word reach to us, and He hath called us, and set us in their
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

On the Words of the Gospel, Luke x. 2, "The Harvest Truly is Plenteous," Etc.
1. By the lesson of the Gospel which has just been read, we are reminded to search what that harvest is of which the Lord says, "The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few. Pray ye the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labourers into His harvest." [3262] Then to His twelve disciples, whom He also named Apostles, He added other seventy-two, and sent them all, as appears from His words, to the harvest then ready. What then was that harvest? For that harvest was not among these
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

On the Words of the Gospel, Luke x. 38, "And a Certain Woman Named Martha Received Him into Her House," Etc.
1. The words of our Lord Jesus Christ which have just been read out of the Gospel, give us to understand, that there is some one thing for which we must be making, when we toil amid the manifold engagements of this life. Now we make for this as being yet in pilgrimage, and not in our abiding place; as yet in the way, not yet in our country; as yet in longing, not yet in enjoyment. Yet let us make for it, and that without sloth and without intermission, that we may some time be able to reach it. 2.
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

Again, on the Words of the Gospel, Luke x. 38, Etc. , About Martha and Mary.
1. When the holy Gospel was being read, we heard that the Lord was received by a religious woman into her house, and her name was Martha. And while she was occupied in the care of serving, her sister Mary was sitting at the Lord's Feet, and hearing His Word. The one was busy, the other was still; one was giving out, the other was being filled. Yet Martha, all busy as she was in that occupation and toil of serving, appealed to the Lord, and complained of her sister, that she did not help her in her
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

On Dissipation
"This I speak -- that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction." 1 Cor. 7:35. 1. Almost in every part of our nation, more especially in the large and populous towns, we hear a general complaint among sensible persons, of the still increasing dissipation. It is observed to diffuse itself more and more, in the court, the city, and the country. From the continual mention which is made of this, and the continual declamations against it, one would naturally imagine that a word so commonly used
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

The one Thing Needful
The mere posture of sitting down and listening to the Saviour's word was nothing in itself: it was that which it indicated. It indicated, in Mary's case, a readiness to believe what the Saviour taught, to accept and to obey--nay to delight in, the precepts which fell from his lips. And this is the one thing needful--absolutely needful; for no rebel can enter the kingdom of heaven with the weapons of rebellion in his hands. We cannot know Christ while we resist Christ: we must be reconciled to his
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

The Good Samaritan
(Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity.) S. LUKE x. 30. "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves." The scene of the parable is a wild, lonely road between Jerusalem and Jericho. It is a road with an evil name for murder and robbery, and is called the red, or bloody way. The mishap of the traveller was common enough in our Lord's day, and is common enough now. But I would take the scene of this parable in a wider sense; I would ask you to look at it as the wayside of
H. J. Wilmot-Buxton—The Life of Duty, a Year's Plain Sermons, v. 2

Zeal.
13th Sunday after Trinity. S. Luke x., 23. "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" INTRODUCTION.--The Kingdom of Heaven, said our Lord, is like unto a treasure hid in a field. One day a man is turning over the stones which lie in a heap in a corner of the field, and he finds under them an iron chest, and this chest he believes to be full of gold. Then he carefully covers it up again with stones and earth, and goes off in the greatest excitement to the owner of the field, and offers him a price,
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent

Lorimer -- the Fall of Satan
George C. Lorimer was born at Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1838. He was brought up by his stepfather who was associated with the theater, and in this relation he received a dramatic education and had some experience on the stage. In 1855 he came to the United States, where he joined the Baptist Church and abandoned the theatrical profession. Later he studied for the Baptist ministry, being ordained in 1859. He died in 1904. His direct and dramatic, pulpit style brought him into great popularity in Boston,
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 8

Question on the Religious State
Are Contemplative Orders superior to Active Orders? Are Contemplative Orders superior to Active Orders? The Lord declared that Mary's was the best part, and she is the type of the contemplative life.[491] Religious Orders differ from one another primarily according to the ends they have in view, but secondarily according to the works they practise. And since one thing cannot be said to be superior to another save by reason of the differences between them, it will follow that the superiority of
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Christian Perfection
Definition of perfection: Unblemished, blameless, pure. We are commanded to be perfect. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."--Matt. 5:48. "For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection. Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you."--2 Cor. 13:9, 11. "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ,
J. W. Byers—Sanctification

The Christian's Fellow Man
Scripture references: Luke 10:29-37; Matthew 7:12; 5:16; Luke 12:13-15; 1 Corinthians 13; Matthew 7:3-5; 5:42-49; John 21:21, 22. MAN AND OTHER MEN The Question of Relationship.--One of the most important questions is that of the relation which a man shall hold to other men. 1. It is fundamental in every system of philosophy and religion. The answers, which are given, show their widespread practical bearing in the social, industrial and political spheres, as well as in the religious. 2. It is imperative
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

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