{"id":85,"date":"2011-10-10T02:03:21","date_gmt":"2011-10-10T02:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/?p=85"},"modified":"2018-07-20T20:57:39","modified_gmt":"2018-07-20T20:57:39","slug":"weird-jesus-sayings-continued-let-the-dead-bury-their-own-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/fellowshipofsaintsandsinners\/2011\/10\/weird-jesus-sayings-continued-let-the-dead-bury-their-own-dead.html","title":{"rendered":"Weird Jesus Sayings Continued: “Let the Dead Bury Their Own Dead.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” \u00a0But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:21,22<\/em><\/p>\n

This is politically incorrect Jesus at, arguably, His best. \u00a0The one thing that every good Jew knew must take precedence even before daily morning prayers was to bury one’s father. \u00a0Only something earth-shattering, something like the long-awaited Jewish Messiah whose entrance would mean healing and restoration not just for Israel but for the world, could trump the primacy and urgency of this important ritual.<\/p>\n

Which may be one reason why Matthew took such careful note of Jesus’ words. \u00a0He is drawing attention to the fact that the Messiah Himself is here in the flesh. \u00a0With that dawning reality, life as we once knew it will never be the same again.<\/p>\n

But, what if, in the spirit of the whole “What would Jesus do?” thing,\u00a0we<\/em>\u00a0were to try out Jesus’ words for size? \u00a0What if we were to apply a similar disregard for the many excuses we have heard for not following God’s call? \u00a0“My children really need me these days.” \u00a0Or, “my spouse has cancer and really depends on me for support.” \u00a0Or, “it is my responsibility to take on the family business.”<\/p>\n

What if we were to say, in response, “Follow me, and let your kids take care of themselves,” or “Follow me, and let your spouse find support elsewhere,” or “Follow me, and let your family business find someone else to run it”? \u00a0We ministers like myself might be fired. Others of us might lose a friend or two. \u00a0We might even make it into a future edition of Dale Carnegie’s\u00a0How to Win Friends and Influence People<\/em>– only as an example of what\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0to do.<\/p>\n

And I think Matthew would say that this is the whole point. \u00a0Because we don’t have Jesus’ authority. \u00a0We never will.<\/p>\n

Only One who is either totally crazy or has a whole lot of authority, or both, can say something like this. \u00a0Could Jesus have been just a deranged, raving lunatic? I’m sure there are those who think so. \u00a0I prefer to rule that theory out on the basis of Scriptural witness and more than two thousand years of church tradition.<\/p>\n

Which leaves me grappling with the other piece: authority. \u00a0Only One whose purpose is to heal and restore the world and who has the power to do this very thing can get away with this sort of language. \u00a0Only One on an urgent, life-saving mission, who has the much-needed vaccine in His back pocket in answer to the virus that is on the loose killing people, can talk this way.<\/p>\n

These days most of us don’t like to talk about authority, unless it is our own and we are asserting it. \u00a0The idea that God in the person of Jesus Christ had a prior claim on our lives before we came along is, therefore, not very chic. \u00a0But there it is, anyway: \u00a0“Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” \u00a0It is shocking and unsettling- the way that only God can be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” \u00a0But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:21,22 This is politically incorrect Jesus at, arguably, His best. \u00a0The one thing that every good Jew knew must take precedence even before daily morning prayers…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":461,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[50,51,41,2451,52],"class_list":["post-85","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jesus","tag-dale-carnegie","tag-divine-authority","tag-gospel-of-matthew","tag-jesus","tag-religion-and-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nWeird Jesus Sayings Continued: "Let the Dead Bury Their Own Dead." - Fellowship of Saints and Sinners<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Weird Jesus Sayings Continued: "Let the Dead Bury Their Own Dead." - 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