Then He said to another man, “Follow Me.” The man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to another, “Follow me!” But he said, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”
- KJV And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
- NKJV Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
- NASB And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”
- NLT He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus calls another to follow, but the man asks first to bury his father. A seemingly reasonable delay reveals competing priorities.
Overview
Burying one's father was a sacred duty, so the request appears entirely fitting. Yet it may signal a delay until obligations are fully settled, perhaps over a long period. Jesus' response will show that the call to follow Him takes precedence over even honorable earthly concerns.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Matt 16:24Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
- 1 Kgs 19:20So Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and then I will follow you.” “Go on back,” Elijah replied, “for what have I done to you?”
- Matt 8:21–22Another of His disciples requested, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
- Matt 6:33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
- Hag 1:2that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.’”
- Matt 4:19–22“Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
- Matt 9:9As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 9:59 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.