"And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them."
This quote relates that Jesus sent out His apostles to teach their fellow Jews about the coming of the Messiah. They were instructed to take nothing with them other than the message Jesus had given them and their faith in God.
Today there are many, so-called, Christians who insist that the children of God are to continually browbeat the lost with the gospel of Christ, whether or not they want to hear it. That approach is very clearly rejected in the instructions Jesus gave to His apostles in today's lesson; "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.""
This instruction clearly tells us that we are to preach ONLY to those who choose to listen. We are to leave those who reject God's saving grace to the horrible wrath of that very same God.~
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