Matthew 8:18-22 18Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he commanded to leave to the other side. 19And after coming, a scribe said to him, “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, allow me first go and bury my father.” 22But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead to bury their own dead.”
Matthew gives three types of reactions to Jesus in these verses. The first is implied in how the crowd wanted to see and experience miracles. Jesus discerned that they were following him for the wrong reasons and so departed for the other side of the lake. People are interested in Jesus to see what they can get out of him. One way this is sometimes expressed is in church attendance. Certain politicians attend church or mass, but their lifestyles and viewpoints are far from the gospel and what Jesus taught. On the surface, it appears that they are like the crowds who marveled at Jesus but did not make the commitment to follow kingdom ethics.
The second response is a scribe who wanted to follow Jesus wherever he went. As a scribe, this man had religious training. He knew Scripture and even may have thought of Old Testament passages like the one Matthew cited in verse 17. He had the head knowledge, but there was something lacking in his heart. Jesus saw through this and gave a startling respond to this scribe. The implication in verse 20 is that this scribe was comfortable with his life and was not willing to follow through with what he said. He gave only “lip service” to discipleship. To follow Jesus the Messiah seemed glamorous, exciting, and attention getting. But following Jesus required the commitment to go even when there was not place to stay. Following Jesus requires faith to go wherever he says.
The third response is from one of Jesus’ disciples. Matthew does not give a name, and so we cannot assume it was one of the twelve apostles since Jesus had many disciples by this point, but it is possible. The father of this disciple had died. In that culture, burial was usually on the same day. So, this disciple had likely just received word of his father’s passing. Taking a few days to mourn and bury his father would not seem like a big issue, so Jesus’ response to this disciple is surprising. Again, the emphasis is on uncompromising commitment. Nothing, not even a family situation, should get in the way of following Jesus. We should not interpret this to mean that family is not important or that we should not care for the burial of a loved one. The emphasis should not be missed: there cannot be any compromise when it comes to following Jesus.
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