The Cost of Following Jesus(A)

57 As they were walking along the road,(B) a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man(C) has no place to lay his head.”

59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”(D)

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”(E)

61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”(F)

62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

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The Cost of Following Jesus

57 As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”

59 He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”

The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”

60 But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead![a] Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”

61 Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”

62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

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Footnotes

  1. 9:60 Greek Let the dead bury their own dead.

Three People Who Wanted To Be Followers

(Matthew 8.19-22)

57 Along the way someone said to Jesus, “I'll follow you anywhere!”

58 Jesus said, “Foxes have dens, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man doesn't have a place to call his own.”

59 Jesus told someone else to come with him. But the man said, “Lord, let me wait until I bury my father.”[a]

60 Jesus answered, “Let the dead take care of the dead, while you go and tell about God's kingdom.”

61 (A) Then someone said to Jesus, “I want to follow you, Lord, but first let me go back and take care of things at home.”

62 Jesus answered, “Anyone who starts plowing and keeps looking back isn't worth a thing to God's kingdom!”

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Footnotes

  1. 9.59 bury my father: The Jewish people taught that giving someone a proper burial was even more important than helping the poor.