Article September 14, 1929 Issue

"Shake off the dust"

PHILIP LEROY WEEKS

"AND whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city." So spoke Jesus, in concluding his instructions to his disciples before they went forth at his command to preach the kingdom of heaven, and to "heal the sick." A similar command was given to the seventy who were later engaged in the same sacred work. So little was this admonition understood by his disciples, however, that it appears to have been practiced but seldom — there is apparently but one recorded instance of such action being carried out. Since every word of our Master has an inspired meaning, and since his efforts were always directed toward the destruction of evil and the bringing of good into daily experience, it is evident that a right comprehension of this instruction is highly desirable.

The thirteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles relates how Paul and Barnabas were expelled from Antioch in Pisidia, because the interest in their preaching and the resultant healing were so great that they aroused the opposition of error. It is recorded that, far from being disheartened in their work, they "shook off the dust of their feet ... and came unto Iconium." And the record adds that "the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost."

Could the above admonition possibly convey to the followers of Christ Jesus a command to curse those who oppose them, who refuse to accept spiritual healing or to allow it to be practiced, as has sometimes been erroneously believed? That Jesus' words should have such a meaning is impossible, since he loved all mankind so greatly that he prayed for his persecutors even while enduring the cross; and he commanded his disciples to bless their enemies.

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