And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts— but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics. Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 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!” So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. (Mark 6:7-13 NKJV)

You’ve been there I’m sure – in that situation where you’re trying to share a bit of truth about Jesus and the person or people you are talking to just don’t want to hear it. Maybe they are polite about it, “You know, I just would rather not talk about this. Thank you.” Or maybe they’re rude, “You’re an idiot! You believe that stuff!?!” Or maybe, they are defensive, “Don’t you know you’re not suppose to judge. ‘Remove the plank from your own eye,’ dude.”

No matter how they are acting, your response should be the same: shake it off. That is was Jesus is telling His disciples, and us, to do. Shake it off. Jesus knows that there will be people who want nothing to do with Him. He wants us to be aware of this fact in advance and He wants us to be prepared with a response.

If you are like me, when you encounter these people, you just want to keep pressing. You know that once they just listen, once they understand, once they just get it, they will be rejoicing like you do. But lets face it, we also know from experience that when we push it, we ultimately push them farther away.

You and I, we are not the Holy Spirit. We cannot make the hearts of others soft. We cannot remove the scales from others’ eyes. We cannot open their ears. Only the Holy Spirit can.

So when we encounter those who do not want to accept the Good News, we need to obey, shake it off and move on. And like the disciples, when we do this, we will find those who are ready to receive the wonderful news of Jesus Christ.

Lord, I thank You that You do not expect me to make others hear, understand, or believe.  Thank You for forewarning me that there will be people unwilling to receive Your good news.  And thank You, God, for directing me to shake it off and to move on.  Please do not let me become discouraged when others rejected You.  Instead please give me eyes to see other people who are ready to receive You and Your good news.  In Your name I pray.  Amen.

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I hope my thoughts help you understand how this scripture can be applied to our modern lives, but don’t just take my word for it.  Dive into The Bible yourself, pray, and ask the Lord to reveal His truth to you.

Have a question or a thought?  Please feel free to leave a comment.