When Should You “Shake the Dust” and Move On? (Acts 18)
Today we’re finally continuing with our Acts series! We spent December on a Christmas series, and January on politics. We left off on the “speed round”, covering one chapter at a time, and today we pick up again at Acts chapter 18. Grab your Bibles and buckle up…
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Q. When Should You “Shake the Dust” and Move On?
- We’re going to see this in action in the text today, but first we need to back up and see where it comes from in the Christian ethos
- Jesus' teaching to His disciples when He sent them out to preach:
- Luke 9:5 (NLT) 5 “And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.”
- This symbolic gesture was meant to demonstrate that the messengers had fulfilled their duty and were no longer responsible for the people's rejection.
- It was a sign of divine judgment, indicating that those who refused to listen were accountable for their own spiritual condition.
- Ouch. This seems harsh! But maybe you’ve been there:
- A family member who has rejected Jesus
- A co-worker you’ve tried to share with
- Someone with a stubborn, rebellious heart on hot topics
- Abortion
- Gender, sexuality
- Today we’re going to answer two questions:
- When should you move on?
- When should you stick around and invest?
The Tentmakers
Acts 18:1-3 (NLT) 1 Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They had left Italy when Claudius Caesar deported all Jews from Rome. 3 Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was.
- Acts 2 mentions there were Jews from Pontus on the day of Pentecost who were converted. Perhaps Aquila was one of them.
- Aquila was a tentmaker by profession. Probably had a lot of experience living in his product in his travels. Add them all up, he traveled over 4,500 miles. That’s crazy in that day.
- Romans 16:3-5 (NLT) 3 Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in the ministry of Christ Jesus. 4 In fact, they once risked their lives for me. I am thankful to them, and so are all the Gentile churches. 5 Also give my greetings to the church that meets in their home.
- What did he do in all those travels?
- Worked a regular job (he was a tentmaker)
- Shared gospel
- The Point: it was normative to make disciples in the early church
- Not just for the “professionals” like Paul (who btw wasn’t a professional!?)
- And not just MEN, either! Priscilla is mentioned first 4 out of 6 times
- women made disciples too!
So everyone needs to pay attention to this next part.
- Since we’re all supposed to be “sent out”, we all need to know when to move on
Shake the Dust
Acts 18:4-6 (NLT) 4 Each Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to convince the Jews and Greeks alike. 5 And after Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6 But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, “Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.”
- This clearly comes from Jesus’ teachings, as we said at the top
- But here’s the crazy thing: it has Jewish roots
- Jews would shake the dust off their feet when leaving Gentile territories before entering the Holy Land to avoid bringing "unclean" contamination back with them. It symbolized a separation from those perceived as outside the covenant of God.
- But Jesus took this Jewish idea and flipped it on its head!
- His disciples were sharing the Good News with Jews
- So he was telling them: if the Jews rejected his message…
- treat them like Gentiles!?
- Put this in the context of what we’re learning in Acts
- A new community of God is being formed
- Jews + Gentiles – unthinkable!
- Even more unthinkable: More Gentile than Jewish!
- Not because God is against Jews, but because Jews are rejecting God
- So Paul takes a Jewish thing: shake dust from Gentile territories
- And flips it on it head: shake dust from Jewish territories… and go to Gentiles!
- It answers our question: When Should You “Shake the Dust” and Move On?
- When the person has a stubborn heart, unwilling to listen
- God won’t force his truth on anyone, neither should we
- This is so difficult when it’s someone we love
- This is why Jesus always said, “he who has ears to hear, let him hear…”
- Those are the people Jesus invested in. We see it in a guy named Apollos…
The Apollos Factor
Finish the sermon by skipping to end of the chapter and looking at Apollos
- This is an example of a guy who’s ready to be invested in
- It’s because of a quality he has that we’re just going to call “The Apollos Factor”
- See if you can spot it
Acts 18:24-26 (NLT) 24 Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. 25 He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s baptism. 26 When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately.
- Had incredible gifting
- eloquent speaker
- knew the Scriptures well
- taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy
- Who wouldn’t want those giftings!? Some call it the “IT” factor.
- But it’s not the Apollos factor that made him worthy of investment
- The Apollos Factor: he had a teachable heart (ears to hear)
- For all of his gifting, he missed something important
- “he knew only about John’s baptism”
- Not exactly sure what this means. Maybe didn’t understand that believer’s baptism is different.
- P and A called out the deficiency, and he listened.
- No shaking dust, no moving on, instead two things:
- they took him aside (didn’t throw rotten tomatoes during his sermon)
- explained the way of God even more accurately
- The point: Apollo had the heart attitude to receive instruction
- That makes a person worth investing in
- What about YOU?
Close
We need to finish with one more observation about shaking the dust and “moving on”
- It symbolizes ownership and accountability
- I took ownership and did my part, shared the truth
- You are now accountable for rejecting it
- It sounds so final, so harsh
- Doesn’t sound like the Jesus I know
So check this out…
Acts 18:19-21 (NLT) 19 They stopped first at the port of Ephesus, where Paul left the others behind. While he was there, he went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews. 20 They asked him to stay longer, but he declined. 21 As he left, however, he said, “I will come back later, God willing.”
- This is the guy who shook the dust from his clothes and said, “From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” (v6)
- 13 verses later he’s back in the synagogue, sharing with Jews again.
- This reflects the heart of God for people. He wants everyone to hear. He keeps giving people chances.
- Truth is, we never fully “move on,” even with…
- A family member who has rejected Jesus
- A co-worker you’ve tried to share with
- Someone with a stubborn, rebellious heart on hot topics
- God can always change a heart
- That’s why we don’t burn bridges, even after we’ve said all that we can.
Paul said it later like this:
2 Corinthians 5:20 (NLT) 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
