Follow me And Let the Dead Bury Their Own Dead

(Messiah's 37^th Commandment in the New Testament)

By Brother R. Michel Lankford

As It Is Written:

Matthew 8:18–22, “And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. Then A certain scribe came 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.” Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”” (Matthew 8:18–22, NKJV)

Review & Identifying the Commands

#34 be one of the few who; Enter through the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14).

#35 Beware, and do not be deceived by false prophets or false teachers (Matthew 7:15-20)

#36 [The Crucial Implied Command] Do God's will, or you will be left out of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 7:21-23).

Note: Wise additional teaching but not an overt or implied command: The only way to do God's will and avoid being left out is to hear Christ's words and follow Them (Matthew 7:24-28).

This is one of those commands which Messiah made that proves that the gate and the way which leads to eternal life is indeed very narrow. You see, in order to be righteous before God, righteousness demands that we fulfill our virtuous obligations both to God and also to our vital relationships such as fulfilling our duty to family, and other vital relationships; such as keeping our word and our agreements at work, and being a good witness by fulfilling our regular obligations. In fact to violate those principles of keeping our family obligations or failing to keep our agreements would be a sin. Jesus Himself makes that very point, (Mark 7:9-13; Matthew 5:37; Psalm 15:1-5). So, Messiah was not advocating neglecting obligations to our vital relationships, nor was He advocating violating one's word.
At the same time, being the sinful, frail and weak human beings that we are, we can very easily allow ourselves to get overwhelmed with earthly commitments and entanglements which prevents us from clearly seeing and faithfully doing our duty to God. That is not good. Sometimes, we can even use our righteous obligations as an excuse and cover for not believing and obeying God in some area of our lives. This is not good either.
If one observes Matthew 8:18-27 together with Mark 7:9-13, then we can more clearly see the truth. In reality, we are not allowed to use or rather misuse one righteous obligation, to excuse ourselves from another righteous obligation. We cannot use our righteous obligations to God as an excuse for not doing what's right with the vital relationships God placed in our lives, and we cannot use our righteous duty in those vital relationships as an excuse to prevent us from obeying God. In the vast majority of instances though, any apparent conflict between our duty to God and our duty to other people is usually self-imposed, because God is fully aware of the vital relationships (meaning obligations to spouse, parents and the children) which He has placed in our lives before He Ever calls us into something. In other words, very often we create a conflict between two areas of our lives where no true conflict exists, because we are looking for an excuse to do exactly what we please.
Sometimes we can over extend our commitments to our vital relationships and make ourselves believe that they need something which they really in fact do not need, and God would rather that we place the time talent and treasure that we use to provide some of those excesses in to some other service in ministry. There really is no substitute for listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit in all these cases, because it can be a very narrow path.
Sometimes it can be hard to discern where our duty really does fit into place with our commitments. Ultimately though, if ever a genuine conflict does arise, our commitments to God must always come first. Generally, if our commitments are genuine, God will make His provision for those vital relationships as we obediently travel the road that He laid out for us, although we may only see the road a few steps at a time.
Normally, I don't like to speculate where the Scripture does not speak, but in this instance the text lends itself to some interesting questions. At first glance, it may seem harsh for Messiah to suggest that a faithful son should not bury his father, but then again, if the man's father was so ill that death was imminent, why was he not home helping to take care of him? If that was really the man's concern, he could've quietly done his duty to his father and then found Jesus and followed him. He did not have to advertise the problem and make excuses. Moreover, it's interesting to note that the man was face to face with Jesus Christ, and did not ask for healing on behalf of his father. If the man's father was that ill, and if he really believed that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, would the man not have asked Messiah to heal his father? Clearly there was another issue with which the man was not dealing. Was he overly concerned with receiving his earthly father's approval, and did he think that he would be freer to follow Jesus after his father died? Was he the firstborn son and he did not want to risk his father's wrath and lose his inheritance? On the other hand, if the man's father was already dead and truly needed burying, then Messiah's words highlight another crucial point. If the man's father was already dead, then no amount of family love respect and devotion demand to show his father now would make any difference whatsoever, but obeying God and following Messiah provides eternal benefit. In the end it's all about priorities. I will way will I will go will you will a We don't know what was going on in the man's life, but clearly Messiah understood what was really going on in the man's life. From Messiah's response it's clear that the scribe was using his elderly father as some kind of excuse. Messiah saw right through it and did not accept it.
Prayer: Almighty God, You are perfect love. Your perfect love drives out all fear. Thank you for the vital relationships that you have placed in our lives. It is from them that we learn to receive, grow in, and give love away. Your righteousness demands that with your power and grace, we fulfill our loving obligations both to You and to those vital relationships that You have placed in our Lives. Please, mercifully forgive us whenever we have come short of obeying your best and highest desires both in our relationships and obligations to You, or when we have failed to apply your principles to fulfill our loving obligations to others. Help us to hear and obey the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit, so that we can be more completely faithful to every true duty that You place before us, and mercifully give us grace to recognize and faithfully ignore those "duties and obligations" which You did not send, but which were sent as a distraction to steal our time talent and treasure away from Your service. In Messiah Name, amen.