10:14 shake off the dust. Once the saving gospel has been clearly presented, so the hearers truly understand, and is rejected by them, then the witnessing believer should not argue further for a conversion. There are multitudes of others still waiting to hear, and he should go on to present the gospel to them. The Holy Spirit must convict those he leaves.

10:15 more tolerable. This statement clearly sets forth the principle of degrees of punishment in hell, corresponding to that of degrees of reward in heaven. Sodom and Gomorrah were incredibly wicked, and are destined to suffer “the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 7), but the somewhat less wicked cities of Israel are more culpable because they rejected much greater divine light, and so are destined for even greater judgment. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).