Shake the dust from your feet!

1. I've seen a couple of critics raise a biblical objection to John Chau's ill-fated missionary encounter: he disobeyed the command to shake the dust from your feet when you are unwelcome (Mt 10:14; Mk 6:11; Lk 9:5; 10:11; Acts 13:51). That's an issue we have to seriously consider.

2. This is not a direct command to Christian missionaries, but to the Twelve. The doesn't rule out a general application, but some commands to the Twelve are unrepeatable. Moreover, even where commands have a general application, they are only applicable in analogous situations. 

3. The command to the Twelve has a specific context. It's an extension of the public ministry of Christ in Palestine. The Twelve are to go around Palestinian villages, proclaiming the Gospel to Jews.

In the Synoptic Gospels, as well as Acts, the command has explicit reference to Jews. That doesn't mean it can't have a broader application, but the application must be analogous.

These are people steeped in the OT. So they already have that frame of reference. In addition, they either know Jesus by reputation or from firsthand observation, as an exorcist and wonder-worker. So his authority as a messenger is corroborated by his supernatural feats. In addition, the Twelve are empowered to perform miracles (exorcism, supernatural healing).

That's the audience. The audience already has multiple lines for evidence for the Gospel. Their knowledge of the OT. Their knowledge of Jesus as an exorcist and wonder-worker. Their knowledge of the Twelve, as exorcists and healers. 

If, despite all that, they oppose the missionaries, then that's when the missionaries should shake the dust from their feet.

Clearly the Sentinelese tribe has nothing like that background information. They don't have a biblical frame of reference. They never witnessed missionaries performing miracles. They're a blank slate in that regard. Assuming they're religious, it's paganism. 

4. Acts 13:50-51 is an extreme case. Paul and Barnabas didn't merely encounter resistance. They were forcible expelled from the district. It wasn't physically possible for them to evangelize the Jews and gentiles in that area. They were run out of town by the civil authorities.

5. Did the Sentinelese tribe en masse oppose Chau? Did the women and children oppose his overtures? Presumably the tribe is governed by a chieftain or oligarchy of male elders. I doubt their xenophobic policy was put up for a vote. 

6. There are situations in which evangelism may be futile, and given limited resources, it's best to reallocate those resources to a more promising mission field. But throughout church history, missionaries routinely encounter initial, fierce resistance.