Scripture: Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 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.” Matthew 8:18-22 ESV
Observation: Having modeled for his disciples the kingdom work of sacrificial service to others, particularly the marginalized, Jesus also shows them the importance of retreating to quiet places to recharge (withdrawing from the crowds to the other side of the Sea of Galilee). At some point after arriving, a scribe approaches Jesus, addresses him as Rabbi (teacher), and then declares he will follow Jesus wherever he goes. This scribe would likely fit the profile of a recent graduate of a course with another rabbi and would be looking to extend his studies under an up-and-coming teacher who drew a large audience. But why Jesus? He spoke out against the synagogue and temple leaders, and his audience comprised mostly outcasts and misfits.
Theologian Michael Wilkins clarifies: “In Galilee the scribes appear as lower-level officials who acted in the synagogue as teachers or interpreters (7:28–29), while in Jerusalem they were high-level officials linked with the chief priests and the Sanhedrin (2:4)” (The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew, p.347). Thus, this scribe likely was an overreaching neophyte who saw Jesus as a hot commodity. So he boldly but naively vows he will follow Jesus without knowing his mission. But Jesus sees through him and bypasses the request with a dose of reality: My ministry is exhausting and will expend you.
Matthew tells us that another disciple (not one of the Twelve but one of Jesus’ followers from the periphery), undeterred by Jesus’ response to the scribe, promises to get on board as soon as he takes care of burying his father. But Jesus tells this disciple that following him is more urgent—ouch!
Takeaway: While both of Jesus’ responses may seem abrupt through our twenty-first-century lens, he did the scribe a favor by not wasting his time with delusions of grandeur. But his second response to the disciple is genuinely pointed. The popularized explanation that the disciple wanted time with his father before he died has no merit in the breadth of Scripture or extrabiblical writings. There’s no way around this hard teaching. Jesus forthrightly states one aspect of discipleship under his leadership, and it’s costly. Indeed, as theologian D.A. Carson notes, Jesus’ reply used paradoxical language: “let the (spiritually) dead bury the (physically dead)” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, pp. 208–209).
So is this a reversal of the familial implications from yesterday’s Daily Focus, that Jesus cares about the family’s well-being? No, it is a statement that as much as our blood family means to us, if they are not believers, our strongest bond should be that of our spiritual family: the body of Christ. Moreover, as Carson reasons, Jesus detected the disciple’s insincerity by virtue of his request: a qualified acceptance of Jesus’ Lordship, “I will follow you, but…”
So what’s the takeaway? It’s two-fold. First, count the cost of discipleship, for it entails many sacrifices, including our comfort. Secondly, as faithful followers of Christ, our calling takes precedence over our bloodline. Still, as Paul taught Timothy, we must not neglect our aging parents (1 Timothy 5:4), for this would be dishonoring. But we must give our families to Christ’s care if we want to follow him wholeheartedly. And he will either call us to be the primary caregivers or provide by other means. Regardless, we must not hide behind our familial responsibilities to justify our half-hearted commitment to Christ. After all, he gave his all for us. So if we trust him and rely on his grace, we will find the strength and courage to offer our family into his care, whatever that may look like, and they will be better for it.
Prayer: Father God, we thank you for giving us your Son to make way for us to become your adopted children. We confess that we do not always act as if we trust you to care for our family and sometimes hold on to them too tightly. So would you please help us discern your will when we need to loosen the grip on our loved ones and give them to you and your Son so that they and we can better follow him? Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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