Let the Dead Bury the Dead

[See_KING_Truth]

Luke 9:59-60

King James Version (KJV)


59And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father."
60Jesus said unto him, "Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God."


What does this mean to you?

I have heard that this man's answer was an old way of saying "Let me look after the family business and other affairs until my father dies"

Also, Jesus' reply of "Let the dead bury their dead: but you go and preach of the kingdom of God" was His way of saying "Let those who aren't called by Me attend to your family's business."

Was this man just procrastinating on answering his calling (follow Me) by using that response?

Do you agree with this? What are your thoughts?

 

[HearOhIsreal]

I believe the man was making an excuse so he doesn't have to follow Jesus as many people do today. The man was dead to Him because he chose not to follow Him which is why He says, "let the dead bury the dead". As for us, we should go and preach the kingdom of God.

That's how I look at it.

 

[Israel]

2 Samuel 12:13-23

13And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

14Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.

15And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

16David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.

17And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.

18And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?

19But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.

20Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.

21Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.

22And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?

23But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

The body upon death is no longer that person. Who he knew as his father according to the flesh died.

 

[mpaper345]

59And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
60Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
61And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
62And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God(Luke 9:59-62).


It seems like the point Jesus was making is in verse 62,any man having started following Jesus,gets side tracked with something other than laboring for the kingdom of God,is not fit for the kingdom of God.


Which means laboring for the kingdom of God is our main concern,and like Jesus when He was 12 years old,His parents did not know where He was,for Jesus was apart from them for 3 days,teaching in the temple,and when they found Him,they said they sought after Him with sorrowing,but Jesus said do you not know that I must be about My Father's business,which Jesus is pointing out that laboring for the kingdom of God was His main concern.


When the man asked Jesus if he could go back and bury his father,that is what he meant to bury his father who had died,which Jesus said let the dead bury the dead showing that the father died,like the one who wanted to go and say goodbye to his family,but Jesus said get a move on with laboring for the kingdom of God.


Any man having put his hand to the plough,looking back,is not fit for the kingdom of God,which means any man having started laboring for the kingdom of God,gets side tracked with other affairs,is not fit for the kingdom of God.


Laboring for the kingdom of God is our main concern.


Also it is not that Jesus did not care about the man's father getting a proper burial by loved ones,but there are people to take care of that,and the man should let his family take care of it,and go preach the Gospel of Christ.


Jesus is saying let the people that do not live for Me bury your father,which is why He said let the dead bury the dead,meaning they can take care of the burial those who do not live for Me,while you who live for Me can be concerned with laboring for the kingdom of God.


Jesus is saying there is people in your family to take care of that matter of burying your father,and you take care of the matter of laboring for the kingdom of God,your spiritual family,that overrides the concerns of your physical family.


Like Jesus was preaching a sermon one day,and a man spoke up and said Master,speak to My brother,that he divide the inheritance with me,and Jesus said,Man who made Me a judge or a divider over you.


Which Jesus was saying that His concern was laboring for the kingdom of God,and there are people in the land that handle these matters,and go to them about it,like the man that wanted to bury his father first,his concern should be laboring for the kingdom of God,and there are people in his family that can bury his father.


Let the world attend to the affairs of the world,for our concern is laboring for the kingdom of God,and if we put other concerns ahead of the kingdom of God,we are not fit for the kingdom of God.


That is the point Jesus was making.


I do not think the man was procrastinating of laboring for the kingdom of God,at least not in the sense that he did not want to labor,for it seems like he wanted to labor for the kingdom,but he wanted Jesus to allow him to bury his father first then he would labor for the kingdom of God.


Like the man who said Lord let me say goodbye to my family first,then I will follow you,which the man that wanted to bury his father is in the same scenario,that they both wanted to do something first concerning their family,then they would follow Jesus,which is they were giving their physical family priority above the kingdom of God at that point,when the kingdom of God has priority.


You say Jesus is your Lord,then get busy laboring for the kingdom of God,and let your family handle the physical family matters.

 

[See_KING_Truth]

Well said.

 

[symontk]

I am trying out my explanation for this

Jesus had brought back 2 persons from dead (Widows son and Lazarus). In this case, this follower didn't either want to bring his relative from dead or didn't inform about the death to Jesus in the past (in case the leave application was for secondary burial according to Jewish customs). Its clear that the follower doesn't believe the Jesus as one should

I didn't see this explanation any where, isn't my explanation valid?

 

[posthuman]

compare this with the calling of Elisha:

So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him.
And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?”
And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.
(1 Kings 19:19-21)

it is commonly explained that the man Jesus spoke with had a father that was still living, and that he wanted to nurse him in his old age before he followed after Him, which could have been a number of months or years - however Elisha only wanted to say goodbye.
it is also explained that Elisha wanted to say goodbye to the living, and the man in the book of Luke in fact wanted to take care of the corpse of the recently departed, fulfilling ceremony - so that Elisha's request was fitting, being after the living, and the man in the gospel account looked only to the dead.
Christ also said in another place that God is the God of the living, not of the dead, and it is sometimes argued that this man showed a lack of faith because his mind was on the body, which was dead, not understanding that the spirit lives.

whatever explanation you accept, see how much more pressing is the call of our Lord than even the call to follow so great a prophet as Elijah! when the Lord beckons, what excuse can we give to put Him off?

 

[Mark51]

The explanation is in the fact that a person can be physically alive but spiritually dead. This was pointed out by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians: “Furthermore, it is you God made alive though you were dead in your trespasses and sins.” And to the Romans he said they should present themselves “to God as those alive from the dead.” (Ephesians 2:1; Romans 6:13) A transformation came over those people when they became Christians. Formerly they disregarded the laws of God and were indifferent to his service. They were spiritually dead. From that dead state of inactivity they were made spiritually alive. Compare Romans 7:2-6. Evidence of their aliveness was the good fruit they brought forth to the glory of God in the form of a growing number of Christians. Compare Ezekiel 37:1-141 Timothy 5:6.

There are many persons in Christendom who firmly believe they are spiritually alive because they regularly read the Bible and attend church. But where is the activity that should be evidence of their aliveness? In what way are they using the knowledge they gain from Bible reading? Sitting in a church once a week does not considered as Christian activity. It will not bring forth the same good fruit that was produced by the first-century Christians?

The early Christians were productive of Christian fruits because they preached the things they had learned. Preaching the truths of the Scriptures is essential for spiritual aliveness. It is a Scriptural requirement-Romans 10:10; Psalms 145:10-12.

Public declaration of the good news of God’s kingdom, of His purposes and of the many enlightening truths of his Word is the activity a Christian must engage in. Christ set the example by engaging in that activity himself. He expected his followers to do the same. In fact, they were commanded to “follow his steps closely.”-1　Pet. 2:21.

We all need to do an honest self examination of ourselves to determine if we are in danger of being spiritually dead-likened to Jesus‘ illustration at Luke 9:60. It should be given careful thought by all who claim to be Christian. Merely stating that you believe in God and Christ and merely being a church attender does not mean you are spiritually alive. Neither does it mean you are a Christian. There must be action that gives proof of your faith. The Bible writer James said: “But do you care to know, O empty man, that faith apart from works is inactive? Indeed, as the body without breath is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”-James. 2:20, 26.

 

[sassylady]

There was a custom at that time where a year after somebody died the bones were taken from the tomb and put in a box and buried. It was a pagan custom. Jesus was speaking against that custom; the man wanted to bury his father's bones. It was not important because it was pagan.

 

[KJV1611]

Luke 9:59-60

King James Version (KJV)


59And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father."
60Jesus said unto him, "Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God."


What does this mean to you?

I have heard that this man's answer was an old way of saying "Let me look after the family business and other affairs until my father dies"

Also, Jesus' reply of "Let the dead bury their dead: but you go and preach of the kingdom of God" was His way of saying "Let those who aren't called by Me attend to your family's business."

Was this man just procrastinating on answering his calling (follow Me) by using that response?

Do you agree with this? What are your thoughts?

Jesus was the most loving and compassionate person to ever live. Jesus would not ask anyone to be so cold and uncaring as to not go to his own fathers funeral.

Jesus always spoke in parables. This is a parable. There are 2 types of fathers, a natural father and a spiritual father. Before we are saved, our spiritual father is the devil. Before we can be adopted by the Heavenly Father, our first spiritual father has to die. And we are not supposed to grieve his death... we move on to real life in Christ. I hope this makes sense.

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

 

[john832]

Let the (Spiritual) dead bury their dead. He was calling the man to an apostleship and the man had an excuse for not immediately following. Christ simply told him to let those who were not called at that time to take care of the situation.

Barclay makes an interesting point here...

(ii) 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.