Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 8:21
And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
21. to go ] Rather, to go away, depart.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And another of his disciples … – The word disciple properly signifies learner, and was given to the followers of Jesus because they received him as their teacher. See the notes at Mat 5:1. It does not of necessity mean that a disciple was a pious man, but only one of the multitude, who, for various causes, might attend on his instructions. See Joh 6:66; Joh 9:28.
Suffer me first to go and bury my father – This seemed to be a reasonable request, as respect for parents, living or dead, is one of the first duties of religion. But the Saviour saw that in his circumstances there might be danger, if he was thus permitted to go, that he would not return to him: and he commanded him, therefore, to perform the more important duty – the duty of attending to the salvation of his soul even at the risk of the apparent neglect of another duty. The first duty of man is religion, and everything else should be made subordinate to that.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 21. Another of his disciples] This does not mean any of the twelve, but one of those who were constant hearers of our Lord’s preaching; the name of disciple being common to all those who professed to believe in him, Joh 6:66. Bury my father: probably his father was old, and apparently near death; but it was a maxim among the Jews, that, if a man had any duty to perform to the dead, he was, for that time, free from the observance of any other precept or duty. The children of Adam are always in extremes; some will rush into the ministry of the Gospel without a call, others will delay long after they are called; the middle way is the only safe one: not to move a finger in the work till the call be given, and not to delay a moment after.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Luke repeating the same history, Luk 9:59,60, saith that Christ said to this man, Follow me. He replies, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father; to live at home with my father, who is an old man, till I have performed my last filial office to him in burying him. Others think that he was already dead, and that this disciple would not have begged leave for so uncertain a time. Christ saith unto him,
Follow me; not that our Lord disapproved the decent manner of burying the dead, but by this let him know, that no office of love and duty to men must be preferred before our duty to God, to whom we owe our first obedience. It appeareth by Luk 9:60, that this disciple was called to preach the gospel, a work not to be omitted or neglected for any offices to men. Of old, the high priests and the Nazarites were not to touch dead bodies, Num 6:6, because of their separation to the more immediate service of God. Preachers of the gospel ought to keep themselves as free as they can from what may distract them. Saith our Saviour,
Let the dead bury their dead: there are enough to bury the dead; persons that are spiritually dead, not alive to God, let them take care of those meaner offices; I have higher employment for thee than that is. Lawful and decent offices become sinful when they hinder greater duties.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And another of his disciples said unto him,…. That is, one of his disciples; for this does not suppose, that the other, the Scribe before mentioned, was one. It is possible, he might be one of the twelve. The Persic version makes him one of the disciples, whom they call “Hawarion”, apostles; and, according to ancient tradition, it was d Philip. And certain it is, that he was one, who was called to preach the Gospel; so that he was not a common ordinary disciple; nor could he be one of the seventy disciples, since it was after this, that they were called and sent forth; as appears from Luke’s account, Lu 9:60. But who he particularly was, cannot be certainly known, nor is it of any great importance to know it: his address to Christ is made with great respect and reverence, and in a very modest and humble manner,
Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father: for it seems, according to Luke, that Christ had bid him “follow” him: he had given him a call to be his disciple, and to go and preach the Gospel, which he did not refuse; but desires leave “first” to attend his father’s funeral, who was now dead; as his requests, and Christ’s answer, both suppose: though some conjecture, that he was only very aged, or was dangerously ill; and therefore it could not be thought he would live long: hence he was desirous of doing this last good office, before he entered on his public work; but these are conjectures, without any foundation: it is plain, his father was dead, and what he requested was, to go home, which perhaps might not be a great way off, and perform the funeral rites, and then return. This may seem very reasonable, since burying the dead was reckoned by the Jews, not only an act of kindness and respect to the deceased, but an act of piety and religion; and in which, men are followers of God, and imitate him, who himself buried the body of Moses e. And though this man was called to preach the Gospel, yet he might think he would be easily excused for the present, on this account; since, according to the Jewish canons, such whose dead lay before them, who were as yet unburied, were excused reading the Shema, they were free from performing the duty of prayer, and were not obliged to wear their phylacteries f.
d Clement. Alex. Strom. l. 3. p. 436. e T. Bab. Bava Metzia, fol. 30. 2. & Sota, fol. 14. 1. f Misn. Beracot, c. 3. sect. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And bury my father ( ). The first man was an enthusiast. This one is overcautious. It is by no means certain that the father was dead. Tobit urged his son Tobias to be sure to bury him: “Son, when I am dead, bury me” (Tobit 4:3). The probability is that this disciple means that, after his father is dead and buried, he will then be free to follow Jesus. “At the present day, an Oriental, with his father sitting by his side, has been known to say respecting his future projects: ‘But I must first bury my father!'” (Plummer). Jesus wanted first things first. But even if his father was not actually dead, service to Christ comes first.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And another of his disciples said unto him,” (heteros de ton matheton eipen auto) “Then another (kind) of the disciples said to him;” One of His own disciples who was already following Him, a saved follower, in contrast with the unsaved scribe who apparently wanted to follow Him as a stenographer or record keeper with pay, for monetary reasons, Mat 8:19-20; Mat 5:20.
2) “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.” (kurie epitrepson moi proton apelthein kai thapsai ton patera mou) “Lord, allow or permit me to go away first and bury my father,” Luk 9:59; Tradition says this was Philip looking back, as reported by Clement of Alexandria.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
21. Lord, permit me to go first and bury my father. We have said, that the scribe was rejected by Christ as a follower, because he made his offer without consideration, and imagined that he would enjoy an easy life. The person whom Christ retains had an opposite fault. He was prevented from immediately obeying the call of Christ by the weakness of thinking it a hardship to leave his father. It is probable that his father was in extreme old age: for the mode of expression, Permit me to bury, implies that he had but a short time to live. Luke says that Christ ordered him to follow; while Matthew says that he was one of his disciples But he does not refuse the calling: he only asks leave for a time to discharge a duty which he owes to his father. (506) The excuse bears that he looked upon himself as at liberty till his father’s death. From Christ’s reply we learn, that children should discharge their duty to their parents in such a manner that, whenever God calls them to another employment, they should lay this aside, and assign the first place to the command of God. Whatever duties we owe to men must give way, when God enjoins upon us what is immediately due to himself. All ought to consider what God requires from them as individuals, and what is demanded by their particular calling, that earthly parents may not prevent the claims of the highest and only Father of all from remaining entire.
(506) “ Jusque a ce qu’il se soit acquitte envers son pere du devoir que nature commande;” — “until he has discharged that duty to his father which nature requires.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(21) Suffer me first to go and bury my father.A curious tradition, preserved by Clement of Alexandria, says that the disciple who came with this request was Philip. Nothing in the Gospel history, however, suggests this. Philip had been called before, and had obeyed the call (Joh. 1:43). All that we can say is that it may have been so, and that he may at this stage of his spiritual growth have shrunk from the fresh activity of actual service in the work of evangelising. The form of the petition may mean either (1) that his father was then actually dead, and that the disciple asked leave to remain and pay the last honours to his remains, or (2) that he asked to remain with his father till his death. The latter seems by far the most probable. In the East burial followed so immediately on death that the former would hardly have involved more than the delay of a few hours. In the latter case the request was, in fact, a plea for indefinite postponement. This at least fits in best with the apparent severity of our Lords answer.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
21. Another of his disciples It may be more intelligibly rendered: “Another, being, one of his disciples.” Tradition says it was Philip. It is clear he was one of the twelve, for our Lord does not excuse him at his request. Nothing but the apparent solemn duty which formed the reason for the request justified the making it, for in the instance added by Luke a slight reason offered was ground of reproof and rejection.
Bury my father Who is aged, and needs my care until he goes down to the grave. Alas! before he dies and the burial is accomplished, the Son of man will have finished his ministry, and thou wilt have lost thy apostleship.
But most commentators understand that the father lies already a corpse, and the disciple asks a dispensation from duty to go and bury him. With this interpretation there is a deep rigour in our Lord’s words. He must then be understood to declare that a higher duty is pressing upon him than even the burying his dead father. The Gospel is more than the paternal corpse. Other relatives may perform that task, on whom rests no higher duty. And perhaps our Lord recognized that if this disciple went, there was danger that he would soon be numbered with the morally dead who were burying the corporeally dead. Our Lord may have perceived a worldliness in his heart and in his request that would have involved him in danger. The tenderest ties are often the conductors of temptation. The man who is willing to delay his obedience to God’s call, may find in his delay the snare that will involve him in ruin.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” ’
This disciple recognises that to become a truly dedicated disciple will involve leaving his home behind. He acknowledges that while even God’s creatures have their own homes, the disciples of Jesus are different. And he is ready for that, but not just yet. He is not quite ready now. He wants first to achieve his independence. It is an open question whether the disciple means that he wants to go back for a short while because his father is dying, or because he has just received news that his father is already dead, or whether he is referring to his filial duty to remain at home until his father dies, whenever that may be. But the principle is the same. He is seeking to avoid going with Jesus immediately.
We can compare here the case of Elisha who also went home to say farewell before following Elijah. But at that point Elisha cut himself off completely from his past life (1Ki 19:19-21), and then did follow Elijah. But in that case Elijah was not moving on out of range. And there is certainly no indication that his father was dying. Here then it is probable that the man was in fact wanting to delay full discipleship until he was freed from family ties and filial duty.
That being so it might well be that Jesus here detects that there is behind the disciple’s statement an evident reluctance to follow all the way (as with the rich young man later – Mat 19:22), and that He is challenging him precisely on that point. He is telling him to sort out his priorities. Thus what seems at first a harsh reply then becomes perfectly understandable, and in line with other references to the relationship of disciples of Jesus to relatives (Mat 10:37; Mat 19:29; Luk 14:26). On the other hand it may be that Jesus, not being sure when He would return to Galilee, is stressing that at such moments as this crucial decisions must be made which must not be affected by anything, even the death of a father. The final lesson is undoubted. Nothing must be allowed to interfere with the decision to follow Jesus.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Another lesson:
v. 21. And another of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
v. 22. But Jesus said unto him, Follow Me, and let the dead bury their dead. Here was a man that had belonged to the larger circle of disciples, that had made it a point to remain in the neighborhood of Christ. But his was a vacillating nature, he was still undecided. Jesus called him, Luk 9:59. Hesitatingly he asks for leave to bury his father, which may have been a mere pretense in order to gain time. Jesus gives him what sounds like a harsh answer. If Christ was here merely quoting a Jewish proverb, His meaning may have been: Let the spiritually dead, those that are dead to the call of the Kingdom, bury the naturally dead. But without such a supposition the words of Christ refer to an Aramaic use of the word “dead,” a play on words, meaning to say: Let the dead be taken care of by those whose business it is to inter the earthly remains; do not concern yourself about the mortal shell of your father, that is the business of the undertaker; let your concern be the kingdom of God. The discipleship of Christ is far more important than all duties toward even the nearest relatives; if there is a conflict of interests, there can be but one choice, Mat 10:35-39.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 8:21-22. And anothersaid, &c. The answer of this disciple supposes that our Saviour had ordered him to follow him. See Luk 9:59. It is uncertain whether this disciple’s father was just dead, or whether, as being very old, his son desired leave to stay with him till his death. Christ’s answer seems to take it for granted that he was already dead. Let the dead bury their dead: “Let those who are themselves spiritually dead perform the rites of funeral; yea, let the dead remain unburied, rather than disobey my word, when I give thee so great a commission.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 8:21 . ] of His disciples , in the more general sense of the words. This is evident from , which (see note on Mat 8:19 ) places him whom it represents in the same category with the scribe . According to Luk 9:59 , the is not spoken of as , and is summoned by Jesus to follow Him, which is to be regarded as an altered form of the tradition.
] in the first place , before I follow thee, Mat 8:19 ; Mat 8:22 .
] It was, and, to some extent, is still the practice of the Jews, to bury their dead on the very day on which they die, Mat 9:23 , Act 5:7 f.; and it was the sacred duty of sons to attend to the obsequies of their parents. Gen 25:9 ; Tob 4:3 ; Schoettgen, Horae , on this passage.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Ver. 21. Lord, suffer me first to go and bury ] Old men’s fear is (saith Plutarch, and that makes them so gripple) that they shall not have , those that will be careful to nourish them while alive, and to bury them decently when they are dead.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
21. ] In St. Luke we find, that our Lord previously commanded him to follow Him. . , . . . . Clem. Alex [101] Strom. iii. 4 (25), p. 522 [102] . But if so, He had long ago ordered Philip to follow Him, taking St. Luke’s order of the occurrence. A tradition of this nature was hardly likely to be wrong; so that perhaps the words are to be taken (as in Joh 21:19 ; Joh 21:22 ) as an admonition occasioned by some slackness or symptom of decadence on the part of the Apostle. The attempt to evade the strong words of our Lord’s command by supposing that means, ‘ to reside with my father till his death ’ (Theophylact), is evidently futile, since is plainly said of an act waiting to be done; and the reason of our Lord’s rebuke was the peremptory and all-superseding nature of the command .
[101] Alex. Clement of Alexandria, fl. 194
[102] By these symbols are designated the portions of two ancient MSS., discernible (as also are fragments of Ulphilas’ gothic version) under the later writing of a volume known as the Codex Carolinus in the Ducal Library at Wolfenbttel. P (GUELPHERBYTANUS A) contains fragments of each of the Gospels. Q (GUELPH. B) fragments of Luke and John. Both are probably of the sixth century . They were edited by F. A. Knittel in 1762; and, more thoroughly, by Tischendorf in 1860 [1869], Monumenta Sacra, vol. iii. [vi.]
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 8:21-22 . Another disciple . , another, not only numerically ( ), but in type. The first was enthusiastic; this one is hesitating, and needs to be urged; a better, more reliable man, though contrasting with his neighbour unfavourably. : the expression seems to imply that the scribe was, or, in spite of the repellent word of Jesus, had become, a regular disciple. That is possible. If the scribe insisted, Jesus might suffer him to become a disciple, as He did Judas, whom doubtless He instinctively saw through from the beginning. But not likely. The inference may be avoided by rendering with Bleek: “another, one of the disciples”. : he wished, before setting out from home to enter on the career of discipleship, to attend to an urgent domestic duty; in fact to bury his father. In that climate burial had to take place on the day of death. Permission would have involved very little delay of the voyage, unless, with Chrysostom, we include under all that goes along with death and burial, arranging family affairs, distribution of inheritance, etc. There would not probably be much trouble of that sort in the case of one belonging to the Jesus-circle.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
21.] In St. Luke we find, that our Lord previously commanded him to follow Him. . , . … Clem. Alex[101] Strom. iii. 4 (25), p. 522 [102]. But if so, He had long ago ordered Philip to follow Him, taking St. Lukes order of the occurrence. A tradition of this nature was hardly likely to be wrong; so that perhaps the words are to be taken (as in Joh 21:19; Joh 21:22) as an admonition occasioned by some slackness or symptom of decadence on the part of the Apostle. The attempt to evade the strong words of our Lords command by supposing that means, to reside with my father till his death (Theophylact), is evidently futile, since is plainly said of an act waiting to be done; and the reason of our Lords rebuke was the peremptory and all-superseding nature of the command .
[101] Alex. Clement of Alexandria, fl. 194
[102] By these symbols are designated the portions of two ancient MSS., discernible (as also are fragments of Ulphilas gothic version) under the later writing of a volume known as the Codex Carolinus in the Ducal Library at Wolfenbttel. P (GUELPHERBYTANUS A) contains fragments of each of the Gospels. Q (GUELPH. B) fragments of Luke and John. Both are probably of the sixth century. They were edited by F. A. Knittel in 1762; and, more thoroughly, by Tischendorf in 1860 [1869], Monumenta Sacra, vol. iii. [vi.]
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 8:21. , of the disciples) of those, namely, who were not always present.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
another: Luk 9:59-62
suffer: Mat 19:29, Lev 21:11, Lev 21:12, Num 6:6, Num 6:7, Deu 33:9, Deu 33:10, 1Ki 19:20, 1Ki 19:21, Hag 1:2, 2Co 5:16
Reciprocal: Gen 50:5 – let me go Lev 10:7 – ye shall Eze 44:25 – General Mar 1:20 – they left
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8:21
It is unreasonable to suppose that this man’s father was actually dead at this time, for had that been the case he would not have been away from home. The necessary conclusion is, then, that the father was aged and likely to pass away almost any time, and the son presented this family duty as an excuse for not going abroad over the country with Jesus.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
We must not suppose by this prohibition that Christ disallows or disapproves of any civil office from one person to another, much less of a child to a parent, either living or dying: but he lets us know,
1. That no office of love and service to man, must be preferred before our duty to God, unto whom we owe our first obedience.
2. That lawful and decent offices become sinful, when they hinder greater duties.
3. That such as are called to the work and employment of the ministry, must mind that alone, and leave inferior duties to inferior persons: as if our Saviour had said, Others will serve well enough to bury the dead; but thou that art a consecrated person must do that unto which thou art consecrated and set apart. Under the law the priest might not come near a dead corpse, nor meddle with the interment of their own parents; unto which our Saviour probably alludes.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mat 8:21-22. And another said, Lord, &c. Luke informs us, Luk 9:59, that Christ had said to this man, Follow me, to which command he replied, as is here stated, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father His meaning seems to be, Suffer me to continue at home with my father, who is far advanced in years, till I have performed the last filial office to him, in committing his body to the dust: for it does not appear that his father was already dead. But Jesus said, Follow me Namely, immediately; and let the dead bury their dead Let such as are dead in sin, spiritually dead, being insensible to the concerns of their souls and eternity, employ themselves in interring their deceased relatives and friends: or, leave the business of the world to those that are alive to it, and dead to God and things divine.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 21
Bury my father; that is, wait until the close of his life. It would seem that this was merely an excuse.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
8:21 {5} And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
(5) When God requires our labour, we must cease all our duty to men.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jesus’ demands regarding parents 8:21-22
The first potential disciple was too quick when he promised wholehearted allegiance. This second potential disciple was too slow performing wholehearted allegiance.
Evidently this disciple made his request as Jesus prepared to depart for the next place of ministry (Mat 8:18). He apparently meant that he wanted some time off from being with Jesus to attend to family matters. Some students of this passage have concluded that the disciple’s father had not yet died and that he was asking for an indefinite leave of absence from Jesus’ company. [Note: E.g., T. M. Donn, "’Let the Dead Bury Their Dead’ (Mt. viii. 22, Lk. ix. 60)," Expository Times 61 (September 1950):384; et al.] Others believe that he had already died. [Note: Edersheim, The Life . . ., 2:133.] In either case the disciple wanted to drop out temporarily.
Jesus’ reply urged the disciple to keep following Him, not to suspend his commitment to Jesus. He should put his commitment to Jesus even before his commitment to honor his parents (Exo 20:12). When following Jesus and other commitments conflict, the disciple must always follow Jesus even though his or her other commitments are legitimate. Jesus was testing this man’s priorities. Which was more important to him, following Jesus and participating in whatever Jesus’ will for him might involve or abandoning Jesus even temporarily for some less important purpose? His was not a choice between something good and something evil but between something good and something better (cf. Mat 10:37).
Jesus continued by encouraging the disciple to let the dead bury the dead. Apparently He meant, let the spiritually dead (i.e., those who have no interest in following Jesus) bury the physically dead. There are many worthy activities in life that a true disciple of Jesus must forgo because he or she has a higher calling and higher demands on him or her. Forgoing these activities may bring criticism on the disciple from the spiritually insensitive, but that is part of the price of discipleship (cf. Mat 7:13-27). Jesus called for commitment to Himself without reservation. The person and mission of the King deserve nothing less.
"It is better to preach the Gospel and give life to the spiritually dead than to wait for your father to die and bury him." [Note: Wiersbe, 1:34.]
"A disciple’s business is with life, not with death." [Note: France, The Gospel . . ., p. 330.]