© 2024 Philip M Spence
Jesus knew about being both received and rejected as a sent one. And as a sender, Jesus knew that His sent ones would encounter both of these things too. When He sent out His twelve Apostles, and the seventy disciples, He spoke to them about how to deal with being received and rejected.
To the twelve Apostles, Jesus said that when they are received into a home they should remain there, be a blessing to that home, and then move on from there after manifesting and establishing the Kingdom (Luke 9:4-5).
Jesus instructed the seventy disciples that if they were received into a household, they were to impart His peace there. They were to do life with those people, introduce them to the Kingdom, and bring wholeness to the household. He said that if they were rejected, His peace would return to them as they moved on (Luke 10:5-11).
Jesus told them that if a household did not receive them, they were to shake the dust off their feet. He said that this would be a testimony against those who rejected them (Matthew 10:11-15, Mark 6:10-11). What Jesus said to those that He sent about being rejected is largely misunderstood today because it was a cultural custom.
When Jews went to the territories inhabited by gentile peoples to do business, diplomacy, or other activities, they considered themselves to be in an unclean environment. When they returned from their sojourn and crossed the border back into their promised land, they would shake the dust off their feet.
This symbolised that they were not bringing anything foreign back into the land of God’s people. They would not pollute God’s land with dirt from an unclean place. It was also a statement that while there might be some necessary interaction with gentiles, there could never be communion with them.
Jesus taught His sent ones about being received and rejected by a city. This is a bigger deal than a household. He said that if a city received them, they were to do life with the people of that city, heal the sicknesses of their society, and introduce them to the Kingdom of Heaven (Luke 10:5-11).
If a city rejected them, their response was to be public. They were to wipe the dust off their feet so that none of the ‘baggage’ from that city would go with them to the next city. They were to remind that city that the Kingdom of God had come to them, but they had rejected it.
To be received means that those to whom we are sent receive the King and His Kingdom. To be rejected means that those to whom we are sent have rejected the King and His Kingdom (Matthew 10:40).
Jesus pronounced woes on those who rejected the ones that He sent (Matthew 10:14-15, Mark 6:11, Luke 10:10-12). And He proclaimed life to those who received His sent ones (Matthew 10:11-13, Luke 10:5-9).
The above is an excerpt from the book Receive: Accessing the Fullness of Heaven. To order or download your copy, go to Amazon.com or click the button below:
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Phil Spence is an author, speaker, mentor and musician. He leads Enlarj, a relational apostolic network influencing more than 20 nations. He oversees School of the Kingdom in many of these nations. Phil is internationally recognised as an apostle. Phil may be contacted via phil@enlarj.com
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