NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER EIGHT

Part III (con’t)

So our Lord’s response to the scribe’s wish to be His follower had other implications as well. With all the attention and masses who came to see Jesus, it might appear that His religious center there in Capernaum might grow into a large and popular operation. As such, anyone working with Him would be accorded all the rewards and amenities that went with such an organization. So Jesus wanted to let him know, this would be a long, hard, arduous journey with few stops for rest and recreation. Since we have no record that this scribe signed on, it might be that he saw no benefit in becoming part of an itinerant prophet’s ministry that would spend most of their time walking through the countryside, with little or no compensation.

Clement of Alexandria had an interesting take on this in his encounter with the philosophers of his day. He quotes the words of one Athenian lawmaker who said: “You look at the language and the words of the man who makes comments. But you don’t look on any work that has been done; so each one of you is walking in the footsteps of a fox, And all you have are empty minds.” In other words, the disciples of the Greek philosophers were mindless robots, they did not think for themselves. They merely regurgitated what their teacher said.

But Jesus had no intention of being such a fox and leaving behind followers who did not understand His message. They not only heard what Jesus said, but also saw the works that He did and taught them to do the same. So Clement compares this to our Lord’s statement: “I think that this has the same meaning as what our Lord said. For on the believer alone, those who live apart from the world rests the head of the universe, the kind and gentle Word, who challenges the wise in their own craftiness. For the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they see in vain; the Scripture calling those the wise who are skilled in words and arts, sophists.”¹

This saying of Jesus certainly confused one Jewish writer of a polemic critique who remarked by saying: “Jesus complained about His plight and said, ‘Wolves have holes and birds of the air have nests, but I, the Son of Man, have no place to lay My head’; that’s because He was so poor.”² This criticism certainly fits the error of taking something out of context.

But let us look at another aspect of this statement. Jesus’ use of the term, “Son of Man”:

Here in verse 20 we find the first use of the term, “Son of man.” The key to understanding this phrase is to learn what is meant by the word: “man.” In this case, the Greek word used is anthrōpos, which means: “human being”. As rendered in Numbers 23:19, the Hebrew “ben adam” literally means, “son of Adam.” In writing on how it is used in the New Testament, Jewish scholars say, “In the Gospels the title occurs eighty-one times. Most of the recent writers have come to the conclusion that Jesus, speaking Aramaic, could never have designated Himself as the ‘son of man’ in a Messianic, mystic sense, because the Aramaic term never implied this meaning. Instead, Greek translators coined the phrase, which then led, under the influence interpreting Daniel 7:13 and the John’s Gospel, to establishing this title for Him, which is now basic to the Christology of the Church.” We see this used in Jewish writings where Rabbi Alexandri quoted Rabbi Joshua’s comments on two verses of scripture: “Behold, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven;³ “Behold your king comes to you… lowly, and riding upon a donkey!⁴ showing that he could not reconcile the two.⁵ To this construction reference is Rabbi Abbahu’s controversial saying: “If a man tells you, ‘I am God,’ he is lying. If he says, ‘I am the son of man,’ in the end he will regret it.”⁶ Indeed, examination of many of the passages shows that in the mouth of Jesus the term ‘son of man’ was equivalent to the personal pronoun ‘I’. Jesus was truly the Son of God and made no excuse in calling Himself such. But He was also man, and this was His way of noting that as a human being, He understood life as a human being. That’s why when this phrase is used in reference to his ascension or return, it shows that even after the resurrection, He did not shed His human image, but retained it as the symbol of victory over sin and the conquering of death. Is there any wonder then that Jesus received such a blast of condemnation from Jewish leaders by using this term.

Verse 21: Another disciple said to Him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

Remember, Jesus was wanting to cross over to the other side of the lake, but here comes another man who was already a follower of Jesus who desired to have a leave of absence just to attend the funeral of his father, Jesus rebukes him also. Jesus was not against people wanting to be His followers, nor was He against people showing respect to the parents when they die. Rather, He is emphasizing a salient point of discipleship; a point that should be well considered before the decision is made to follow Christ. It should be known ahead of time that following Christ will often bring hardships, trials and tribulations. Likewise, once one becomes a disciple of our Lord, one must never consider doing His will as something to put on hold while attending to earthly matters. Discipleship is a critical decision, one designed to last for the rest of one’s life.

Having had the privilege of being sent out as a missionary to both Europe and Asia, I too had to consider whether to leave my mother, brothers and sisters, and other family members, and go far away where it would not be possible to see them for years and years. My human nature wanted to stay so I could have fellowship with those I grew up with and loved, but my spiritual nature told me I have a spiritual family in these other lands, and I needed to go and help lead them to greater understanding of His Word. I was not dismissing my family in the United States, I loved them even more and enjoyed their fellowship each time I was allowed to come back for a visit. But by going, my Christian family grew and I ended up with many more mothers, brothers and sisters than I would have had, should I have stayed home.

But our Lord’s words did not come as quaint or out of line to His Jewish listeners. These sentiments were already recorded concerning Levi’s children: “They were more loyal to you, Lord, than to their own families. They ignored their fathers and mothers. They did not recognize their brothers. They did not pay attention to their children. But they obeyed your commands. They kept your agreement.”⁷ Since these two responses involved two specific individuals, then whatever point Jesus made was meant for them, at that moment and time in their relationship with Him.

In the case of the second man who was already a follower, the problem seemed to be that when Jesus announced that they were moving out of Capernaum to the open shore on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, it came at an inopportune time for this disciple. Apparently his father was dying, otherwise he would have already gone home to take care of the funeral. That’s because according to Jewish tradition burying one’s deceased family members was called: “the practice of loving deeds.”⁸ As one Rabbi stated: “The Holy One, blessed be He, buries the dead.”⁹ So this follower knew that if he left with Jesus to go over to the other side of the lake, he might not have time to go home to bury his father once he learned that he had died.

As a matter of fact, other Rabbis say: “One whose close relative has died, is obligated to mourn him before he is buried, but is exempt, according to the Torah, from the reciting the Shema and from prayers while he is occupied with the obligation of burial.”¹⁰ So if this disciple was not obligated to say the Shema – “Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One,” and the required daily prayers, then how much more should he be excused from going on such short notice with His Lord. So it appears that this disciple was actually asking for leave so he could go home and comfort his father who was gravely ill.

Bishop Cyril of Alexandria had this to say about believers who find themselves conflicted with family issues and ministry obligations. He writes: “Whoever wishes to serve God must not let any ties of kinship become an excuse, on grounds of preoccupation, for not following Christ. Christ Himself, for the benefit of those who were with Him, even slighted His own mother and brothers, saying, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ and ‘Such a one is my mother.’ ¹¹”¹²

However, in today’s culture, any minister or believer who refuses to go home for a family member’s funeral, especially a parent, would be looked upon with disgust rather than admiration for their dedication to the ministry. On the other hand, when we send men and women overseas into combat situations, we understand why they can’t leave the front lines and come home for a burial that they deeply regret having to miss. That’s why we must interpret exactly what Jesus was saying to this disciple. Being away is no excuse. But being on a mission that would fail or be impaired is one left is another matter. It is understood, that by serving one’s country one is serving their family. Our Lord’s answer to this follower is quite clear:

Verse 22 Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

For most readers, the part of Jesus statement that catches the eye is the part where the “dead” bury the dead. It is obvious that these people being called “dead” was not to be taken literally. We all know that it would be physically impossible for one person who expired to bury another person already deceased. So we must look for the usage of the word “dead” in the metaphysical or symbolic sense. There is ample evidence in the writings of Jewish rabbis that reads: “These are the wicked who in their lifetime are called dead, as it says. And you, O wicked one, the prince of Israel, you are dead.¹³”¹⁴

Here is what early church father Origen has to say on the subject. He writes: “Let the dead bury their dead implies spiritually: Waste no more time on dead things. You are to ‘put to death therefore what is earthly in you: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry.’¹⁵ These things therefore are dead. Cast them away from you. Cut them off as you would cut off gangrenous flesh to prevent the contamination of the whole body, so that you may not hear it said, ‘Leave the dead to bury their dead.’ But to some it seems abnormal and contradictory that the Savior does not allow the disciple to bury his father. It seems inhumane. But Jesus does not in fact forbid people from burying the dead, but rather He puts before this the preaching of the kingdom of heaven, which makes people alive.¹⁶ As for burying the body, there were many people who could have done this.”¹⁷

In other words, Origen sees our Lord’s answer to this disciple’s request to first go home to comfort his dying father as a spiritual metaphor for the things of this world. However, it may be that Jesus already knew that this disciple’s father had died, and therefore there was no further need for him to go back since the family there would do the burial. Rather, he should go forward and follow Him where he could better serve his Master. In any case, it was an isolated remark to one follower that was not meant for all believers to duplicate or use as an excuse. In fact, Jesus never used it again.

Yet there is another aspect to consider here. It basically is the idea that when one leaves on a journey from which they will be unable to return on short notice, to considered going back to bury them as a dead issue. We see this expressed in the writings of the venerable Jewish Rabbi Rashi who commented that Terah, the father of Abraham is listed as dying at the age of 245 years old.¹⁸ Says Rashi: “This happened after Abram left Haran and arrived in the land of Canaan, and was there for over sixty years, for it is written: ‘And Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran,’¹⁹ and Terah was seventy years old when Abram was born,²⁰ making Terah one hundred and forty-five years old when Abram left Haran. Accordingly, many of Terah’s years were still left. Why then did Scripture relate Terah’s death before Abram’s departure? So that the matter should not be publicized to all, whereby they would say: ‘Abram did not fulfill the commandment of honoring his father, for he left him in his old age and went away.’ Therefore, Scripture calls him dead, for the wicked, even in their lifetime, are called dead, whereas the righteous, even in their death, are called living, as it is said: ‘And Benayahu the son of Jehoiada, the son of a living man.’²¹”²²

Also when discussing the flood of Noah, the sages say that: “…only the righteous possess the life-force known as the ‘soul’”.²³ They go on to explain that only the wicked died in the flood waters because all the righteous either died before the deluge came or were the ones on the ark who were saved. Since the wicked did not possess a ‘living soul’ when they perished, they were already spiritually dead. Therefore, it goes without saying that although they may be physically alive, the unrighteous were considered spiritually dead. So it may be that the family of this disciple were not believers, so let them follow the rules of the Jewish law so they would be in compliance with their customs. Even today we speak of believers being spiritually alive while sinners are spiritually dead in trespasses and sin.²⁴

So we see that this distinction was clearly part of Jewish thinking. For instance, one sage said in describing the Sabbath: “The very day is meant primarily for the benefit of the souls…especially for righteous people who are described as ‘alive’.”²⁵ So to put it another way, Jesus was saying that since neither this disciple’s father or family were His followers; and that to follow Jesus to the other side meant putting the issue of going back to rest; then let those left behind take care of each other’s physical needs while he comes with Jesus to take care of those in spiritual need. This was a hard lesson for this follower to learn, and it is no easier for those who follow Him today.