“Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”
My Notes
What Does Luke 10:11 Mean?
"Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you." The seventy disciples are instructed by Jesus: when a city rejects you, wipe its dust off your feet and deliver this message — the kingdom of God came near, and you missed it. The dust-wiping is the symbolic rejection. But the declaration is more devastating: the kingdom was here. At your door. Within reach. And you didn't take it.
The phrase "be ye sure of this" (plēn touto ginōskete — nevertheless, know this) makes the declaration emphatic: whatever you think about us, know one thing for certain. The kingdom of God came to your city. And now it's leaving.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What knocking from God's kingdom have you not answered — and what did you miss?
- 2.How does 'come nigh' (close enough to touch) describe the proximity of what the city rejected?
- 3.What does greater opportunity (the kingdom at your door) creating greater accountability teach about spiritual privilege?
- 4.Where is the kingdom currently 'nigh' to you that you might be letting pass?
Devotional
The kingdom of God came to your door. And you didn't answer. The dust we wipe off isn't about us. It's about what you missed.
The seventy wipe the dust. The symbolic act says: we're done here. Your rejection is noted. We're leaving and taking nothing of yours with us — not even your dirt. The clean break is total. But the statement that accompanies the dust-wiping is far more serious than the gesture.
Be ye sure of this: the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. Know this with certainty: what just happened in your city wasn't a traveling preacher passing through. It was the kingdom of God arriving at your address. The king's advance team knocked on your door. The royal procession paused at your gate. And you sent them away.
The declaration transforms the rejection from social inconvenience to cosmic tragedy. The disciples who got rejected feel personally insulted. But the real damage isn't to the disciples. It's to the city. They didn't just miss a good sermon. They missed the kingdom. The thing every prophet anticipated. The thing every righteous person longed for. The thing the entire Old Testament pointed toward. It came nigh. It was there. And the city said: no thanks.
The phrase 'come nigh' means proximity — close enough to touch. The kingdom didn't fly over the city. It didn't send a message from a distance. It came nigh — close, present, accessible, within arm's reach. And the city chose the dust over the kingdom.
Jesus follows this with the Sodom comparison (v. 12): it shall be more tolerable for Sodom than for that city. Because Sodom never had the kingdom knock on its door. These cities did. And greater opportunity creates greater accountability. The city that rejects what came nigh faces worse consequences than the city that never heard the knock.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us,.... The Syriac version adds, "to our feet"; and so in Beza's most…
Even the very dust of your city - See on Mat 10:14, Mat 10:15 (note).
We have here the sending forth of seventy disciples, two and two, into divers parts of the country, to preach the…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture