This is reg Jesus' words in verse 60 asking the inquirer to let the dead bury the dead. You come and follow me. What exactly does Jesus mean in this curt reply. He seems very harsh. I know its a figure of speech, but why is Jesus being so harsh?
2006-07-14 18:33:51 · 30 answers · asked by sunilbernard 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Jesus could read hearts.
It's evident that the man's father was not dead yet, but rather, the man wanted to live at home so that when his father did die, he could be there to bury him. If you read the context of the scripture, you'll see that to become a follow of Jesus Christ, you have to give your life to him and no longer live it for yourself. Since the man would have rather waited until his father had died, Jesus could tell that his heart motivation wasn't what it should be to become a follower. In a sense the man was spiritually "dead".
In affect, Jesus was telling him "If you are spiritually dead, wait for your father to die and bury him".
If the man had done this, he would have missed out on the opportunity to be an eyewitness of the miracles Jesus performed and would also have missed out on important instruction from Jesus on how to please God.
We remember, that Jesus was loving and kind, and that the instruction that Jesus gave was for the man's benefit.
2006-07-14 21:07:10 · answer #1 · answered by johnusmaximus1 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The answer to your question, is that Christ is issuing a challenge of sorts, and an illistration, all at the same time.
Essentially he is saying two things 1) that the dead are not the concern for the living - there is nothing that the living can do for them - that they are in God's hands now - so don't waist time in reverancing them.
2) (and this is more the direct answer to your question) That God is not a big fan of anyone having anything that is more important than God. Essentially - idolitry. The guy is saying "Hey Jesus - you are cool and all, but I have this thing that is more important than following you..." And Jesus is saying - "No you don't..." This idolitry - this putting things before God is what got the isrielites in troubble over and over again throught the entire scripture.
2006-07-14 18:42:51 · answer #2 · answered by ***** 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you know Jesus' nature, you know that this was not a curt response. Remember when you did something bad as a young child, but not exactly bad enough to get a consequence of some sort? Perhaps your parents lovingly, yet with a small sense of firmness, corrected you. That is probably the same tone Jesus used here. Maybe reading it in the Message translation will shed more light on it.
Luke 9:59-60 (The Message)
59He said, "Certainly, but first excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have to make arrangements for my father's funeral."
60Jesus refused. "First things first. Your business is life, not death. And life is urgent: Announce God's kingdom!"
2006-07-14 18:41:17 · answer #3 · answered by eefen 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When Jesus was gathering his apostles and disciples together at the beginning of his ministry, one asked if he could stay and bury his father first.
What he meant by that, was not that his father was on his death bed or even dead yet. By Law if a son left the family (helping his father/ working with his father) before the death of the father, he would not be entitled to his inheritance.
He simply asked if he could stay until his father died, and catch up with Jesus later, thereby insuring himself of his inheritance.
The dead bury their dead , was a reference to those who would not believe and follow Jesus as the Savior.
Yes, it seems a bit harsh, but Jesus already knew the hearts of all men, and the ones he is speaking of had no desire to follow GOD, only the law of Moses.
2006-07-14 18:45:56 · answer #4 · answered by cindy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's because so many people will make every little excuse for why they can't do things like go to church. Well I have this to do or that to do and I just can't make the time. People often make excuses by saying they have these other responsibilities that they have to take care of but in the long run they are not recognizing what is really important.
Lets put it in differnt terms for a second and make it a little less harsh. Jesus comes to town and ask a woman to follow him with the reward of eternal life in heaven and she responds, I would love to I really really would but I have to mop the kitchen floor today.
What's really important, much smaller petty responsibilities or the gift of eternal life in heaven?
2006-07-14 18:41:28 · answer #5 · answered by John 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the context of that passage it appears that the man who told Jesus to let him first bury his father didn't mean that his father had recently died. What he probably meant was that he wanted to go back home and wait for his inheritance before committing to following Jesus. Jesus was saying that people who were more interested in the things of this world were "dead" in a spiritual sense because they considered material things to be more important than seeking eternal life through Him.
2006-07-14 18:38:53 · answer #6 · answered by Martin S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it's because the guy who was talking about his dead was making an excuse. He wanted to follow Christ, but he didn't want to go to the extreme of leaving everything he had behind, including what he thought were his responsibilities. That's a lot like people today; they want to follow Jesus, but not commit totally so they end up just filling a pew in church and not really serving.
2006-07-14 18:38:25 · answer #7 · answered by Jeremy W 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
John W has answerred it well, no need to add anymore. On your added comment if the Bible is literaly correct, you are forgotting that you have to analize not only the word by word part of the book but also, the author, time, to whom the book is address, location, among other facts to evalute the word by word meaning. The Bible is literaly correct regarding Mathew & Luke's genealogies of Jesus. Considering jews LITERAL way of writting geanologies where names of women were very very rarely included the use of the name of a son in law after the name of a man is correct. However, I agree that some parts of the Bible are symbolic, with use of figures of speach such as analogies, metaphors, and hyperboles. But, as John W has explained, Luke 3 and Mathew 1 are literal.
2016-03-27 06:00:33 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I won't insult you by assuming you had no idea Jesus was suggesting that being dead in our sin is far worse than being physically dead. It was because of His love for the lost that Jesus sometimes had to be blunt in calling people out of the darkness and into the light. That is not to say that He did not love the man He was speaking to in the scripture you reference. But..... rather...... it is precisely His love that often caused Him to speak the truth, no matter what. Always remember...... the Bible rarely offers adverbs to let us know exactly what Jesus' tone of voice was whenever He was speaking. In this particular situation, I believe His voice might have sounded more sad than angry. I think He was trying to spiritually educate, not chastise.
2006-07-14 18:55:32 · answer #9 · answered by Katie My Katie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When I read these passages, it seems to me that Jesus is asking these people to make a commitment. While it may seem terse of Him to make these demands, doing the right thing does sometimes require us to make very personal sacrifices. It is very easy to never get around to doing the right thing because the time is not right, or because we have some other excuse. Sometimes we just have to stop making excuses, and just do what is right when it needs doing.
In the case of following Jesus, many times he called people and asked them to "Follow me" -- do we delay and make excuses? Or do we do as Peter and others admirably demonstrated, and immediately heed the call to action?
2006-07-14 18:50:32 · answer #10 · answered by Enoki 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋