Today’s passage begins with Jesus calling a man to follow Him. The man’s response is essentially “Yes, but…”. He had a prior obligation and this was his reason (or excuse?) for not immediately obeying the call to follow.
He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:59-60
I find it interesting how God always hits the nail on the head with us. He knows exactly what’s going on in our hearts – our motives, our priorities, our thoughts – and at the right time, He confronts us in such a way that we have to acknowledge it and make a choice.
Here, Jesus’ call to follow forced the man to reveal the thing that he felt had first call on his life. It was his obligation to his father.
Family obligations
The man was not asking Jesus’ permission to attend his father’s funeral. In the first century, people were generally buried the same day they died. So the man would not have been on the road with Jesus if his father had just passed away.
When someone died, their body was washed, often with perfumes or ointments, wrapped with strips of cloth and laid in a sealed tomb. The immediate family remained in mourning at home for the next 7 days. But children were expected to mourn the death of their parents for a full year.
At the end of that year of mourning, the family would return to the tomb and put the bones of the dead person into some sort of “bone box” marked with their name. The box was put on a shelf or in a niche in the tomb. In this way a family tomb could be used again and again as different family members died.
It seems that the man Jesus encountered may have been in the midst of this year of committed mourning for his father. If this is the case, Jesus statement “Let the dead bury (ie. celebrate the funeral rites) of their dead” makes perfect sense. These verses are usually interpreted “Let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead.” In light of the above, it could also be interpreted “Let those already dead in the tomb celebrate the funeral rites of the newly dead.”
What comes first?
For many families, like the man in our story, family obligation and expectation is incredibly important. But should these take first place when it comes to God’s kingdom? Essentially the man is saying, “Sorry, Jesus, you will have to wait, because my family obligations are more important.” Framed like this, we can see the (unintended) arrogance behind the man’s words. He is asking Jesus’ permission to place something else ahead of Him. And this should not be the case – for any of us!
Even further, unlike the man in the previous 2 verses, Jesus calls this man to follow Him for a specific purpose. He is to announce or proclaim the Kingdom of God. The Greek word used here is not the usual word meaning “preach.” Rather, this word refers to the announcement of big events.
For instance, the Day of Atonement is announced with trumpets (Leviticus 25:9); it is used of the shout given at Jericho (Joshua 6:10); it has to do with proclaiming the Lord’s decree (Psalm 2:7); announcing when a temple rite has been fulfilled (Acts 21:26); and God using Pharaoh to proclaim or announce His power (Exodus 9:16; Romans 9:17).
I also find it somewhat ironic that this man has a specific call to announce God’s kingdom reign – yet something else is reigning in his life. And this is what Jesus confronts as they are “walking along the road” (verse 57). The man wants to follow his dead father’s wishes, but Jesus asks him to follow Him. Instead of celebrating a death, Jesus is asking him to celebrate and announce His Kingdom.
No excuses
Like the man in our story, we have all been brought up with certain values and have adopted frameworks that tell us what is accepted and right. Jesus’ confrontation with the man continues to confront us today. Following Jesus, challenges our priorities and obligations – be it our family, our work, our lifestyle, or some other thing. This does not mean we abandon our responsibilities to our family or our work – but we can’t use them as excuses for not fully following Jesus in our daily lives.
Right now, you and I are “on the road” with Jesus. Are there any hidden excuses or obligations that you have inadvertently placed ahead of fully following Jesus? Have you said “yes, but…” to anything God is saying? Why not talk it over with Him today.
