And whoever does not receive you, nor listen to your word, when you go out from that house or that city, shake off the dust from your feet.
In this saying Jesus sets the attitude toward the rejection of the Gospel, showing that the apostles are responsible to proclaim the word, but not for people’s choice. “Shaking off the dust from the feet” is a symbolic act that testifies that the rejection was conscious and that the responsibility remains on the hearer. This message protects the servant from discouragement and requires moving forward without being bound to the rejection, while at the same time warning the hearer that rejecting the grace God offers has consequences.