10 Jan

Mark Chapter 6

By Pastor Chris

Shake the Dust

“Come on kid, shake it off.”  Can you remember some coach/parent/teacher saying that to you when you had really messed up?

Sometimes the Bible is challenging.  There are customs we are not familiar with as well as symbols and metaphors that are completely lost on us.  In Mark Chapter 6 we hear Jesus instructing The Twelve on how they are to behave when they go out and share His teaching.  The last instruction they are given is that when they leave a city whose people are unresponsive to His message; the disciple was to “shake the dust from [their] feet, as a warning to them.” (CEV Mark 6:11) The Israelites knew and understood the context of this gesture.  They believed the land [dust] from the surrounding countries was not worthy to enter into Israel and had the custom of shaking the dust from shoes, clothes and even produce before entering their homeland!  In this case, the shaking of dust from their shoes was an act symbolizing their separation from Gentile nations.  However, the idea of shaking the dust goes back further than this tradition.  When describing the coming Messiah Isaiah 52 says:

Awake, awake, Zion,
clothe yourself with strength!
Put on your garments of splendor,
Jerusalem, the holy city.
Shake off your dust;
rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,
Daughter Zion, now a captive.

The Israelites were instructed by God through Isaiah to shake the dust from their past disobedience and welcome the Redeemer into their lives.  They, as a nation, were captive to their own sin and clung to the hope of a Messiah to free them.  Shaking the dust was a symbol of one who had turned away from disobedience, embraced the Messiah and been restored to God.  Those that hear the good news of Jesus respond by rising up to shake the dust of past habits, sin and guilt from their lives.  For the disciples this symbolic act stood as both a warning and a sign of hope to those who remained captive to their habits, sin and guilt.

So, come on kid, shake it off … shake the dust.  Shake the sin.  Shake the hurts.  Shake the guilt.  Shake the disappointment.  Shake it from your life and rise up to live free in Christ as an example to everyone around you.

Is there dust you need to shake off so that you can convey the message of hope and warning to the lost around you?

To read Mark Chapter 6, click here.