Skeptics Blog

Let the Dead Bury Their Own Dead

June 18,

We have two men, two separate and opposite responses, yet we can assume both walked away without following Christ. What did they do wrong, especially the first one? One would think that that's the exact response we should have at following Christ! Well it is... but you see we respond with our heart, not with our mouth. This is why I am not a proponent of "the sinner's prayer", as if by some utterance of syllables from our mouths removes the stains from our souls. No, it is and always has been the heart that God responds to.

Let's look at this first man's response, he claims to want to follow Jesus wherever he goes... and Christ responds with "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Jesus is always revealing what He sees in people's hearts... He freaked the Pharisee's out when He spoke their thoughts about Him having the authority to forgive sins. With that, we must assume that Jesus is responding not to this man's words or his request, but to what is secretly lying in his heart. We can gather from Jesus' response that He is (as always) testing him. From His response of claiming to be homeless, we can assume that this man thought he had a lot to gain from following Christ. Perhaps he thought that this "healing gig" was pretty lucrative and would bring him riches or pay off his debts. Perhaps he wanted to follow Christ for the prestige and reputation, but Christ was revealing to him that no such reputation exists... he will be hated and have nowhere to lie his head. Simply put, he didn't want to follow Christ for the sake of Christ.

I think this speaks volumes and is so very relevant today. In America, we essentially have two counterfeit gospels: Prosperity and Progressive. The first promises health, wealth and prosperity to anyone who follows Him (you just need to have enough faith!) In most cases, it is just a con by evil men to sheer the sheep. The latter, however, I have sympathy for, as (unlike the former), many (if not most) who believe in progressive Christianity are sincere "honest" people. Being that they are honest in their sincerity, but are sincerely wrong. Unlike the former, progressive Christianity's focus isn't on health/wealth, but on morals, social justice, and humanism. Neither's focus is on following Christ for the sake of Christ. The former follows Christ for health and money, and the latter follows Christ to make them and others feel better about themselves and to boost their self-esteem while telling them "just be a good person and God will love you for that." Both are false, and both don't answer the question to the gospel call. Many believe the gospel call is "Do you want to go to heaven?", when in reality the true gospel call is "Do you want God?" Too many people make rash decisions to follow Christ because they are wanting to follow Him under false pretenses. Either because they were given a false gospel, or because they have their own selfish desires they believe Christ will fulfill. It is obvious from Christ's response that this man didn't want God, but something else entirely. Matthew Henry comments on this man's response, saying:

Now we should think ourselves sure of such a man as this; and yet it appears, by Christ's answer, that his resolution was rash, his ends low and carnal: either he did not consider at all, or not that which was to be considered; he saw the miracles Christ wrought, and hoped he would set up a temporal kingdom, and he wished to apply betimes for a share in it. Note, There are many resolutions for religion, produced by some sudden pangs of conviction, and taken up without due consideration, that prove abortive, and come to nothing: soon ripe, soon rotten.
-Matthew Henry

"Soon ripe, soon rotten." If this doesn't describe young adults in the American church!... But now to Christ's response for the second man. This is perhaps the more well known verse, as Christ responds "Leave the dead to bury their own dead" to a man who apparently has good reasons and intentions. It's not that he "doesn't want" to follow Christ, he has more important matters to attend to first. We must make note that Jesus isn't being insensitive here, this man's father isn't actually dead. It was Jewish custom to bury your dead with a day after their death, followed by at least a week of mourning. If this man's father was truly dead, or had just died, he would have been busy attending to his washing and burial and wouldn't have been there that day. It is more likely that this man's father was well and alive, and this man is requesting to finish his duties with his father until the time of his death, then he will follow Him. Again, we must also read Jesus' response in the context of Him looking at his heart. If this man's father was truly dead, and this man was indeed sincere about following Him, I honestly don't find it too far fetched that Christ wouldn't have allowed for a man to honor his father buy burying him, after all, that was the first commandment that came with a promise. Jesus even rebukes the Pharisees later in Matthew 15 because they dishonored their father and mother by giving to God rather than to their parents. You honor God by honoring your parents, not in spite of them. Now true, Jesus does also state "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.", but of course Jesus wasn't speaking literally. Jesus most often spoke in parables and metaphors, as when He said "If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out...if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off" This isn't about hating our parents, but loving God first and foremost and forsaking all others... so to them, it may look like hate... that you chose God over them, but I digress.

It is between these two men's responses that I believe a lot of people in the church fall. Those who are lukewarm, or those who are cold. Those who are passionate about following Christ under false pretenses, and those who put it off for another day. Christ would rather you not follow Him than have your empty promises of getting around to it. He would rather you be cold, than lukewarm. Guys, it's all or nothing... this is what Christ wants. As Paul says in Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." (NKJV) By saying "reasonable service", he is essentially saying "it's the least you can do." Other translations state it is our "spiritual worship", being that our entire lives should be placed on the altar, our entire lives should be an act of worship. God commanded us to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength."

This, of course, isn't possible. As Paul Washer said: "There has never been a human being on this planet, of all the thousands of years of humanity, of all the billions of people who have walked this earth, there has never been of all that mass, not one person who for one fraction of a second loved the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength." So what are we to do? Well, this is where grace comes in. The person who is heart-bent on following Christ isn't going to care how many times he falls down. Just look at who Christ ministered to! Who did He reveal Himself to first? The adulteress woman at the well. He's not calling perfect people to follow Him, He's calling imperfect people to follow Him. And why do we follow Him? Because we're imperfect. It's recognizing that we will never be good enough. We follow Christ and love Christ because He first loved us, because we want Him... not because we want to feel better about ourselves or because we want that new car. It's not how well you follow, but why and for whom you're following. This is what Christ was responding to in those men. The first man seemed ready to follow Him to the ends of the earth, and implied he would "follow well", but he wanted to follow for the wrong reasons. The same for the other man, as he wanted to delay following for the wrong reasons.

In closing, I would ask that you evaluate yourself and ask God to search your heart. Have you been falling in between these two responses lately? If so, repent. God is always gracious. "There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus" Remember, it's not how well you follow, but why and whom you are following. Renew that desire and love that brought you to Christ before worldy distractions drew you away. Renew your daily Bible time before other less important tasks which you thought were more important took over. Let not your response be of selfish gain or procrastination, but fall on your knees and repent daily. This is the Christian walk. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. A marathon full of potholes and sinkholes that you will fall into along the way. Some may keep you trapped for days, weeks, months, or even years, but Christ promises to "complete the work" that He began. If you are to bury your dead, let it be that you are burying the old man and that you are dying to sin daily.