Were We Instructed to Quit?
When do you suppose it is time to give up on someone who rejects the Gospel? Those of us who took the words of Jesus “seriously” when He told us to “Go and make Disciples,” have undoubtedly come across “Hearts of Stone” more than once. You know, those whom no matter what you say will fight you tooth and nail, countering everything you say with criticism and negativity! When is it time to give up on someone like that? Many people will refer to the following passage to justify this action:
Mark 6:11 (NKJV) 11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"
Is this passage instructing us to shun those not receptive to the Gospel Message, or those who argue against us? Are we, to at some point, give up on such people and simply move on? I will answer that question with another question… “Did God ever give up on you?” In my humble opinion, people are perhaps confusing “Backing Off, with Giving Up!” Think for a moment how you first responded to the Gospel Message. In my case, I fought it, argued against it, and debated it for over a year before I finally received Jesus as my Savior! Praise God all the people involved did not give up on me! Thank God, some of them knew when to back off and let the Holy Spirit do His work!
This is the point Brother Andrew is eluding to in his commentary… plan on rejection when sharing the Gospel! We are to wipe the dust of discouragement from our feet and move on, as discouragement is one of Satan’s most powerful weapons against us. This does not mean to shun or give up on those who are not receptive to you. Years ago, I shared a story about a man named Jeff whom I helped lead to the Lord. He came to the Lord I recently came across an interesting commentary related to another time Jesus sent disciples on an identical mission as the one mentioned in Mark 6… this time Jesus sent out 70 more disciples, two by two, with the same instructions! You can find this story in Luke10:1 thru 16. There is much more detail in this story which can help us to understand the meaning of both. The commentary focuses on the Verse 11 of Luke 10:
Luke 10:10-11 (NKJV) 10 But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.' Emphasis Mine
Again, this commentary zeros in on verse 11 which I have underlined. Here is the commentary:
Shaking the dust off our feet from places (or people) that do not receive us or the Gospel message is symbolic of not letting the rejection cling to us. We need to shake it off and continue sharing the Good News. Andrew Wommack’s Living Commentary
This sheds light on a possible deeper meaning of these stories! Many people who experience rejection when sharing the Gospel become easily discouraged, and many become hesitant to share their faith in the future as a result. Compare this to people engaged in Multi-level marketing; ironically, the successful ones engaged in this sales model are in fact the ones who have endured the most, rejection. The losers are the ones who quit early on! The Word of God prepares us by teaching us, “up front,” the majority of people will indeed reject the Gospel; consider the following:
Matthew 7:14 (NLT2) 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.
during a time of severe marital problems. When he accepted the Lord, I warned him not to expect things to get better right away. In fact, I told him things will more than likely get worse for a time. Of course, this was not an uplifting proclamation, but I went on to explain the reason. I told him that now that he was “Saved” Satan could never take that away from him, his Born Again Spirit is sealed (vacuum packed!) See Ephesians 1:14-15 However, Satan can, and will do anything to take away your joy, and your witness. He will do anything to “Shut you up” and prevent you from sharing the Gospel!
Take a moment to reflect… how does Satan “shut you up?” For some, they never get started sharing the Gospel, as they are full of fear! The question is, “What are they fearful of?” In most cases, people fear rejection, which comes in many forms these days; some people freak out if someone simply rolls their eyes in response to them! Some fear being “Canceled” on social media platforms. Whatever is hindering you from sharing the Gospel, you can rest assured it is not from God. This is not to say that God, through the Holy Spirit may, from time to time have you bite your tongue so to speak. The bible teaches that the Holy Spirit will give us the words when needed. He can also tell us to “be quiet or not now!” The bottom line is that we should never give up on anyone; we should always take advantage of every opportunity to share the Gospel. Our job is to plant seeds in people’s hearts, it may be someone else’s job to water, or to prune. Sometimes people just are not ready sometimes they are too distracted. So if you are rejected when sharing the Gospel, remember they are not rejecting you, Jesus went to the cross for all of us despite being rejected. When rejected, wipe the dust of discouragement from your feet and carry on, but always be ready to pick up where you left off. God never gave up on you!