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Home Matthew 8:18-22 NRSVue

Matthew 8:18-22 NRSVue

18Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19A scribe then approached and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20And 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.” 21Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 22But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

“Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.”

Reflection on Matthew 8:18-22

Inspiration from 2025-06-30 Daily Prayer

There are sayings in the gospels that are not intended to be taken literally, and ‘let the dead bury their own dead’ is one of them.  Our Lord is really saying here that true discipleship costs and makes demands. God must always come first wherever there is a conflict of interest. Jesus always calls us to love in every situation in which we find ourselves. Let us pray for the gift of true discernment.

Further reflection

This highly educated scribe offers himself as Jesus’ disciple. What is it that makes Jesus slow to jump at the offer? Perhaps it was a suspicion that the scribe was exchanging the stability of a scholar for the stability of a disciple, still a student of God’s word. That great biblical student Karl Barth said: /To understand the scriptures we must stop acting like mere spectators./ The authentic following of Jesus means a risky, unsettled, engaged sort of life.

Lord you constantly challenge me. I will try to hear your voice in what unsettles me.

Home and family may be among our strongest securities. Jesus emphasises here that such is not the case with him. The work of God and the family of God came first for him. Following him means that nothing else should cut across his gospel in the principal relationships of our lives; that all our belonging in the world is belonging with him and in him.

It may be that as Jesus answered the scribe he challenged him know where it hurt, reminding him that he might not have anywhere to lay his head. Even as I say I am willing to follow Jesus, I too quickly realise where it may be difficult for me. If I am to be a disciple I need to remain in dialogue with Jesus, listening keenly for his response.

Jesus does not want me to be held back even by what seems positive and praiseworthy. As I pray for the trust I need to follow his call, I think of the trust he places in me as he speaks my name.