Let the dead bury their own dead

[TonyChanYT]

Luke 9:

59 He [Jesus] said to another man [M1], “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Wasn't Jesus a bit harsh?

No, according to Smith's Bible Commentary:

And Jesus said to him, Let the dead bury their dead: but you go and preach the kingdom of God (Luke 9:60 ).
You say, "Wow, how cold and insensitive Jesus must have been. Wouldn't even allow this fellow to go and attend his father's funeral. Why anybody lets you off work to attend your dad's funeral." But that phrase, "Allow me first to bury my father," is an interesting phrase of procrastination. It doesn't mean that your father is dead. It is a phrase that they still use to the present day, that says, I want to stick around home for a while. I want to wait till my father dies, and then I'll come. And it didn't mean that his father was dead and was ready to be buried, because they always buried people within two hours after they were dead. So when he says, "Allow me first to bury my father," he is saying, "Maybe down the road a ways, I've got a few things I want to do first, and down the road a ways maybe I'll do it. Me first."

Likewise, Barclay's Daily Study Bible:

Jesus' words to the second man sound harsh, but they need not be so. In all probability the man's father was not dead, and not even nearly dead. His saying most likely meant, "I will follow you after my father has died." An English official in the East tells of a very brilliant young Arab who was offered a scholarship to Oxford or Cambridge. His answer was, "I will take it after I have buried my father." At the time his father was not much more than forty years of age.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible expressed a similar sentiment. This interpretation of Luke 9:60 is consistent with Moses' commanded in Exodus 20:

12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

The man [M1] dishonored his father.

 

[Randy Kluth]

Luke 9:


Wasn't Jesus a bit harsh?

No, according to Smith's Bible Commentary:


Likewise, Barclay's Daily Study Bible:


Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible expressed a similar sentiment. This interpretation of Luke 9:60 is consistent with Moses' commanded in Exodus 20:


The man [M1] dishonored his father.

A good question. I was on Usenet a good number of years ago, and a Christian, who was of Jewish extraction, ultimately gave up his Christianity after rethinking this verse. He thought Jesus was irreverent towards families in saying this.

I agree with you. This was a form of procrastination. Even more, it was a failure to put Jesus 1st, just as under the Law God came first. Abraham put God ahead of his own son, knowing that God alone had given him his son, Isaac.

We must certainly pass the test of putting God's will ahead of our own will. In doing so we will save our souls. Good subject!

 

[Nancy]

Thank you for the clarification Tony, that was something that always made me wonder "why"? I ended up thinking that perhaps Jesus was saying that his father, and those who would bury him (the dead) would not accept Him so, their essentially "soul/spirit dead". Jesus knew who would embrace Him as Lord and Savior.
Thank you!

 

[ScottA]

Luke 9:


Wasn't Jesus a bit harsh?

No, according to Smith's Bible Commentary:


Likewise, Barclay's Daily Study Bible:


Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible expressed a similar sentiment. This interpretation of Luke 9:60 is consistent with Moses' commanded in Exodus 20:


The man [M1] dishonored his father.

Even today many say similar things as did the man to whom Jesus spoke. The man said he would follow Jesus wherever He went, but then made an exception regarding his father. Many even today say things like, "I want to be with Jesus and with God, but I don't want to die."

But the point of the passage, is that there should be no exceptions, no hesitation, but rather a full commitment and the reception and understanding that what is ahead is greater than what is left behind.