- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on Dec 18, 2014 23:24:03 GMT -8
Luke 9:59-60 To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 60 And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
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
edit: see also Mat 8:21-22
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
edit: see also Mat 8:21-22
