8:21,22
“Another disciple ...” This implies that the teacher of the Law of the previous two verses was also a disciple. He asks to be allowed to go and bury his father, and Jesus’ answer seems rather cruel. There are all sorts of explanations. In Jewish culture there was a very strong obligation for the eldest son to bury his father, this was part of honouring your father and mother. Now it is highly unlikely that the man would be out and about if his father had just died and needed burying that day. So he is probably asking for a lengthy delay, at least months, possibly years. Even so, Jesus; answer of “let the dead bury their dead” still seems brutal. The only one who had a higher claim on someone’s allegiance to one’s parents was God. So Jesus is claiming equivalent authority to God. The man had to put God first, to put Jesus first. Following Jesus is a serious matter.
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