"And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to them." (Mark 6:11)
What does Jesus’ instruction in Sunday’s Gospel mean? Scott Hahn, the renowned biblical scholar, states in his commentary that Jews of that period would shake off the dust from their feet when they crossed from pagan to Jewish territory. So Jesus is telling his apostles to correct those who reject them by a symbolic gesture: shaking the dust from their feet as they leave an unbelieving place signifies that its Jewish inhabitants are equivalent to Gentiles.
