You should shake the dust and move on when someone has clearly and repeatedly rejected the truth with a hardened heart. In Acts 18, Paul did exactly that when the synagogue in Corinth opposed and insulted him. But the chapter also shows that moving on is never giving up. Paul invested deeply in teachable people like Apollos, and only a few verses later he was back reasoning with Jews in another synagogue. We share the truth faithfully, and we leave the door open.
Setting the Scene in Acts 18:1-28
Paul came to Corinth after a mixed response in Athens, where some mocked his message about the resurrection and a few believed (Acts 17:1-34). Corinth was a very different city. It sat on a narrow strip of land between two seas, with ports on each side, which made it one of the busiest commercial centers in the Roman world. It had been rebuilt as a Roman colony by Julius Caesar and had a reputation for wealth, sexual immorality, and religious variety. Paul’s later letters to this church show how much that culture followed believers into the church.
The phrase “shake the dust” comes from Jesus himself. When he sent out his disciples, he told them that if a town refused to welcome them, they should shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against it (Luke 9:5). Devout Jews sometimes shook off the dust of Gentile lands when returning to Israel. Jesus flipped the practice: people who rejected the Messiah were treating themselves as outsiders.
Tentmakers on Mission
In Corinth, Paul found a ministry partnership that would last for years.
Acts 18:1-3 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.
The Roman historian Suetonius records that Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome because of disturbances stirred up by someone named “Chrestus.” Many scholars think this is a garbled reference to Christ, and that arguments about Jesus in Rome’s synagogues led to the expulsion, usually dated around AD 49. Aquila and Priscilla may have already been believers when they arrived in Corinth.
The word translated “tentmakers” may also mean leatherworkers. Paul supported himself with this trade so he wouldn’t be a burden on new churches (1 Corinthians 9:12). Aquila and Priscilla also worked a regular job and made disciples wherever they lived, in Rome, Corinth, and Ephesus. Paul later thanked them for risking their lives for him and greeted the church that met in their home (Romans 16:3-5). Notice that Priscilla is usually named first, which may suggest she was especially prominent in ministry. Making disciples wasn’t just for apostles or professionals. It was normal for ordinary believers, men and women alike.
Shaking Out His Clothes
Paul reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath. Then his team arrived from Macedonia, and he devoted himself fully to preaching.
Acts 18:5-6 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
Shaking out his clothes was a dramatic gesture that said, “I’ve done my part.” Paul’s words echo God’s charge to the prophet Ezekiel as a watchman (Ezekiel 33:1-9). A watchman who warned the people was innocent, and those who ignored the warning were responsible for their own fate. Paul had faithfully warned, so he was free to move on.
But look where he moved. He went right next door, to the house of a God-fearing Gentile named Titius Justus. Even more surprising, Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed with his entire household, and many Corinthians believed and were baptized. Shaking the dust didn’t end Paul’s ministry. It redirected it toward people who were ready to listen.
I Have Many People in This City
Paul may have been discouraged or afraid, so the Lord spoke to him in a vision.
Acts 18:9-11 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
God knew people in Corinth who would believe, even before Paul met them. Paul stayed a year and a half. When the Jews later brought Paul before Gallio, the Roman proconsul of Achaia, Gallio refused to get involved in what he saw as an argument about Jewish words and names. This detail is a gift to historians. An inscription discovered at Delphi mentions Gallio as proconsul, allowing scholars to date Paul’s stay in Corinth to around AD 50–52. It’s one of the most important anchors for the timeline of Paul’s life (see What Is the Chronological Order of the New Testament?).
Back in the Synagogue
After leaving Corinth, Paul sailed with Priscilla and Aquila to Ephesus. And here is a surprising detail.
Acts 18:19-21 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.
This is the same man who said, “From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” Just thirteen verses later, he was back in a synagogue reasoning with Jews. When they asked him to stay, he promised to return if it was God’s will, and he did (Acts 19:8). Shaking the dust off in one place didn’t mean writing off an entire people. Paul never stopped longing for his fellow Jews to know their Messiah (Romans 9:1-3). Paul then traveled back to Jerusalem and Antioch before setting out on his third missionary journey.
The Apollos Factor
The chapter closes with a gifted newcomer in Ephesus.
Acts 18:24-26 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
Apollos came from Alexandria in Egypt, a great center of learning with a large Jewish community. He was eloquent, knew the Scriptures well, and taught about Jesus accurately and passionately. But he knew only the baptism of John. Scholars debate exactly what that means, but he seems to have understood John’s call to repentance without fully grasping Christian baptism and the gift of the Spirit. We’ll see a similar group in the next chapter (Acts 19:1-7).
Priscilla and Aquila didn’t criticize him publicly. They invited him home and explained the way of God more accurately. And Apollos listened. That’s the Apollos factor: not his talent, but his teachable heart. Because he received correction, he went on to Achaia and became a powerful help to the believers there, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.
What This Means for Us
Every believer is sent, so every believer needs wisdom about when to keep pressing and when to step back. Maybe you’re thinking of a family member, a coworker, or a friend who has heard the truth many times and pushes back every time. God won’t force his truth on anyone, and neither should we. There may come a point where you’ve said what you can say and need to invest your energy in people with ears to hear.
But we never burn bridges. Paul shook the dust off and then returned to the synagogue. God keeps giving people chances, and he can change any heart. So even when you step back, keep praying, keep loving, and keep the door open.
2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
As ambassadors, our job is to deliver the message faithfully. Changing hearts is God’s job.
The Takeaway
When should you shake the dust and move on? When someone has stubbornly rejected the truth after you’ve faithfully shared it. Then invest in teachable people like Apollos, who receive correction and grow. But moving on is never giving up. Like Paul returning to the synagogue, keep praying and keep the door open, because God can change any heart.
