Follow Me, Not the Dead

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

FOLLOW ME, NOT THE DEAD

Matt 8:21-22

21 Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

22 But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead." 

NIV

On the surface, it seems a little rude of our Savior to show disrespect to this man’s family. But that is not at all what is going on here. Although it may be true this disciple, this learner, had a family member who died and thought it would be the right thing to do, according to the law, to attend to this person’s burial. However, Jesus is taking the opportunity to teach his disciple about what is dead. The Jews used that term in two ways. First, of course, when someone dies, they are dead. Secondly, the term dead can be used to indicate being dead to the law, as Paul says in Romans, he also uses it to say someone is dead to sin, and he uses it in his letter to the Ephesians saying they were dead in their sin. Here, Jesus used this term in that sense that those who have no truth in them, who have not accepted the truth but live by the law, and their now, twisted, form of religion, are dead spiritually and let them bury their own dead. You, speaking to his disciple, pay more attention to learning more truth. How do we relate to this? What do we glean from this which we can apply to our lives? What we do know is that the world, and we use that term to mean the ways of the world, the system or standard by which the ungodly life, is the same as dead. People who do not know Jesus, although they may know about Jesus, they have refused his Lordship in their lives, in order to serve other gods, gods of this world, are dead both in their sins, and dead spiritually. There is no need for us to involve ourselves with their funerals, for God will take care of that. We are to, in one sense, consider ourselves dead to sin, but alive in Christ. Therefore, we should focus our attention, not on the ways of the dead world, but on the living word of God. Let the world take care of its own, although we have been sent into this dead world to bring it life. That is our calling as Christians, but we are not to allow the dead world to influence us, but rather be an influence in the world. Our first calling is to follow Jesus, not the dead.