Mat 8:21-22

[alon]

Mat 8:21-22 Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." And Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."

But Yeshua could not be telling him not to burry his own father! After all, doesn't it say in Deu 5:16 "Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you"? So how could leaving your fathers funeral be honoring him?

To understand what Yeshua was telling this man, we first need to understand what the man was asking; and that means we have to understand the Jewish customs of the times. When someone died, they were placed in a casket or tomb and left until all the flesh had rotted from their bones. This took over a year to be accomplished. Then the cleaned bones were taken and buried in an ossuary- a small box made for the purpose. This was refered to as the "Second Burial." So what this man was asking was for Yeshua to wait for over a year for him to bury his father. Yeshuas time here was short, so this would have been unacceptable. Even so, had this been a godly request, Yeshua might have granted him the time. However this was a pagan tradition adopted by the Jews, and Yeshua hated all things of pagan origin. So He was actually saying "I will not give you a year off to observe a pagan tradition!"

This is one passage that has bothered many Christians, and one that may be thrown at us by non-believers to show how heartless Yeshua was. So it is an important passage to understand properly.

Dan C

[jimmie]

Maks since to me.

[Elizabeth]

The phrase "leave the dead to bury their own dead" makes a lot more concrete sense in light of this insight. The people who observe such pagan traditions at the cost of are spiritually dead. Maybe he was referring to the man's other family members in the first instance of the word "dead". Also, he was offering the man a chance to live. Not heartless at all.

[Miykhael]

ב’’ה

Here is something interesting we read in (מְלָכִים א) M'lakhim Alef 1 Kings 19:19-21 So he left and found Elisha the son of Shafat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he himself was behind the twelfth. Eliyahu went over to him and threw his cloak on him. He left the oxen, ran after Eliyahu and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother good-bye; then I will follow you.” He answered, “Go; but return, because of what I did to you.” Elisha stopped following him. Then he took the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them, cooked their meat over the wooden yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people to eat. Then he got up, went after Eliyahu and became his servant.

[alon]

Dec 21, 2014 11:21:45 GMT -8 Miykhael said:

ב’’ה

Here is something interesting we read in (מְלָכִים א) M'lakhim Alef 1 Kings 19:19-21 So he left and found Elisha the son of Shafat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he himself was behind the twelfth. Eliyahu went over to him and threw his cloak on him. He left the oxen, ran after Eliyahu and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother good-bye; then I will follow you.” He answered, “Go; but return, because of what I did to you.” Elisha stopped following him. Then he took the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them, cooked their meat over the wooden yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people to eat. Then he got up, went after Eliyahu and became his servant.

A good contrast. Elisha only asked to say goodbye, a thing which honored his family, and was granted leave to do so.

Dan C

[Elizabeth]

Do we know what the man decided? Is it expanded upon anywhere? He is called "another of His disciples" in verse 21 .....maybe he did follow him?

[alon]

Apparently yes, he did follow Yeshua. Otherwise he would not have been deemed worthy to be a disciple, as you said.

Dan C

[Elizabeth]

I just wanted confirmation.

[garrett]

Agreed. Context is everything when it comes to understanding what the scriptures are saying.