“But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, ‘Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.’”
Acts 18:6 (NLT)
Paul came to Corinth and did what he always did. He went first to the synagogue, to the people who knew the Scriptures, shared his background, and worshiped like he had grown up worshiping. He offered them the good news of Jesus, the gift of salvation and eternal life through relationship with Him. Paul made the message clear. It was close. It was available.
But the Jews opposed Paul and insulted him. So Paul shook the dust from his clothes and told them their blood was on their own heads. Paul had done what God called him to do. He had preached the truth, offered the gift of salvation, and made the invitation plain. Their rejection did not mean Paul failed. It meant the Jews were choosing to leave the gift of God sitting on their shelf, unwrapped.
What moves me is that Paul did not permanently give up on his people. When he said he would go to the Gentiles, he was not saying he would never preach to Jews again. He was saying he would not keep forcing the message when it was being rejected in that place. Paul did everything he could to save some, but he also knew when to keep moving. He did not quit preaching because one group opposed him, and he did not ignore the people who were different from him.
Maybe we need that same endurance today. The people near us, like us, related to us, or familiar to us may reject the good news, but they still need Jesus. And the people completely different from us need Jesus too. So don’t grow weary in doing good. Don’t assume you’re supposed to quit preaching and sharing the good news because the first group rejected it. Both those who are like us and those who are completely different from us still need Jesus. Keep sharing, keep loving, keep ministering, and keep going. Don’t give up.