A FUNERAL FOR "THE AFTERS"
- Key Verse
- Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, 'Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.' 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.' Another of his disciples said, 'Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.' But Jesus told him, 'Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead." (Matthew 8:19-22, NLT)
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Central Truth
Following Jesus requires that we put something called "the afters" into a deep grave and bury them!
Reflections
When I first read this passage years ago I was like "Whoa, Jesus is grumpy!" It seems like such a harsh response. The man is just asking Jesus if he can go have a funeral for his dad and then, after that, he would follow Him. What's the big deal?! Isn't that just being a good son? Isn't that the responsible thing to do? If so, then why does Jesus tell him "Follow me now."? And then Jesus seems to slip in an insult "Let the dead bury their own dead." Ouch! Maybe Jesus just didn't like funerals. The response seems so unlike Jesus, doesn't it?But then I began to dig a little. It turns out that the Jewish custom in Jesus' time taught that when someone died, relatives did their best to bury the deceased that same day or the next day. So, if this man's father had just died that day, it's highly unlikely that he would be there with Jesus. This man's father was probably old and near death and he wanted to stick around until his father died, which could have taken a very long time. So Jesus saw through this guy's words and into his heart and his excuses. The bottom line: this man had a bad case of "the afters."
You know, "Jesus I'll follow you AFTER my father dies" or "…after I finish college" or "…after I live a little" or "…after I have kids" or "…after my kids grow up" or "…after retirement". Jesus looked this guy in the eyes and said "Enough with the 'afters.' Follow me now."
We do need to bury something, but it's not a relative. It's excuses called "the afters." Following Jesus means He is the first and top priority in our lives. Jesus saw past the exterior appearance of this man being a good son, and into what was really going on. This man was putting off following Jesus Christ until AFTER. Thankfully Jesus pushes us to bury our "afters" and follow Him, because He knows that "the afters" often mature into "the nevers."
Discussion Questions
1. Are you following Jesus with your entire life?2. Do you have an "after" that needs to be buried?
3. What is God calling you to do right now that you've been putting off until "after..."?
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