Christian Art | Foxes Have Holes | Let The Dead Bury Their Dead
Matthew 8: 18-22 – Week 13 Ordinary Time, Monday (King James Audio Bible KJV, Spoken Word)
18 ¶ Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.
19 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
The crowds press in around Jesus. Perhaps there is a sense of enough having been done for now in this place, in terms of teaching and the healing miracles of Jesus. Perhaps there is a sense of too much ferment, and a need to leave these thousands upon thousands of people in quiet to reflect upon what they have experienced of Jesus so far. It is time to move, and now there does arise a question of who will follow Jesus and who will stay behind. This may be a figurative moment, in that sometimes there are people who follow Jesus in a great rush of feeling and momentarily; others are concerned to follow Jesus permanently, all their lives.
Jesus warns the first who asks to follow him and be with him that his missionary activity is taxing work, and that he has no place to rest his head. Jesus is so often on the move in the Gospels. Perhaps we are to understand this verse as a lesson for all time; to be with Jesus is always to follow him, always movement and always hard work, always watching.
As we follow Jesus, we make ourselves always available to be with Jesus and at his service. In times of solitude, we are to be spiritually alert. With others, we are to looking out for the good of the community. This is a life of prayer and of good works. It is a whole-hearted giving of ourselves to the calling. Jesus’ mission becomes our own.
This is the way of life. By taking up our cross and following Jesus, we can know that we are richly alive. The challenges of this great journey are in part echoed by Jesus’ calling himself the Son of man, which was the prophet Daniel’s way of speaking of the Messiah, rather than Son of God. In using the words Son of man, Jesus distinguishes himself from visions of worldly power, of the longed for great leader who would lead the Jewish people by conquest to a nation state. The life and happiness given to us by Jesus are of a completely different order than such things.
It may seem strange that Jesus tells the second of his would-be followers that he should come now and not look backwards to bury his father; that he should leave the dead to bury their dead. This is striking language, and implies exclusivity, a clear choice between two options: are we to be the living or the dead? The choice to be with Jesus, and the commitment this entails, is to leave death behind and to be with the living.
‘If Jesus forbade him, it was not to have us neglect the honour due to our parents, but to make us realize that nothing is more important than the things of heaven and that we ought to cleave to these and not put them off even for a little while, though our engagements be ever so indispensable and pressing.’ St John Chrysostom.
Concluding Prayer
Lord God, be the beginnng and end
of all that we do and say.
Prompt our actions with your grace,
and complete them with your all-powerful help.
We make our prayer through our Lord.
King James Audio Bible | Endnotes
Let The Dead Bury Their Dead
The passage Matthew 8:18-22 is a brief but powerful exchange between Jesus and two individuals who approach Jesus with requests to follow him. In response to each request, Jesus gives a challenging and seemingly harsh response, culminating in the famous saying: ‘Let the dead bury their dead.’ This saying has perplexed and even offended many readers over the years, but when understood in its biblical and historical context reveals a profound truth about the cost of discipleship.
First, let us examine the passage itself. In verses 18-19, a scribe comes to Jesus and says: ‘Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.’ Jesus responds: ‘The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.’ This response may seem cryptic at first, but Jesus is essentially warning the scribe that following Jesus will not be an easy or comfortable path. The Son of Man, a title Jesus often used to refer to himself, is a figure from the book of Daniel who represents a suffering and persecuted servant of God. By referring to himself as the Son of Man, Jesus is identifying with this figure and implying that his followers will face similar trials.
Next, in verses 20-22, another man approaches Jesus and says: ‘Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.’ Jesus responds: ‘Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.’ This response may seem callous or even disrespectful, but Jesus is actually issuing a challenge to the man’s priorities. In Jewish culture, burying one’s parents was a sacred duty and a sign of filial piety. However, Jesus is telling the man that following him takes precedence over even this important duty. The phrase ‘let the dead bury their dead’ is a Hebrew idiom that means ‘let the spiritually dead (i.e., those who are not following Jesus) take care of the physical dead (i.e., the man’s father)’. Jesus is essentially saying that those who are not committed to following him are spiritually dead, and that the man should prioritize his commitment to Jesus over any earthly obligation.
Now, let us examine the broader biblical and historical context of this passage. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus frequently speaks of the cost of discipleship and the trials that his followers will face. In Luke 14:25-33, for example, Jesus tells a large crowd that they must be willing to give up everything they have in order to follow him, including their families, possessions, and even their own lives. This is not an easy or comfortable message, but it is a necessary one. Following Jesus requires a total commitment and a willingness to sacrifice everything else.
Christian theologians have commented on this passage and its meaning. Saint Augustine wrote that ‘the dead in spirit must bury their dead in the flesh, but those who are alive in spirit must follow the Lord’. Saint Augustine interpreted the phrase ‘dead in spirit’ to mean those who are not committed to following Jesus, and the phrase ‘alive in spirit’ to mean those who are. Saint Thomas Aquinas also commented on this passage, writing that ‘our Lord intended by this answer to show that he must not be hindered by any earthly thing’. Aquinas interpreted the man’s request to bury his father as an excuse to delay his commitment to following Jesus, and saw Jesus’ response as a rebuke of this delay.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola wrote in his Spiritual Exercises that ‘we must make ourselves indifferent to all created things, as far as we are allowed by the liberty of our will, and set ourselves only in the divine will’. This echoes Jesus’ call to give up everything else in order to follow him and prioritize our commitment to him above all else.
In the Protestant tradition, John Calvin wrote in his Institutes Of The Christian Religion that ‘we are not our own, but belong to God.’ Calvin saw this as a call to total surrender to God and a willingness to follow him even when it is difficult or uncomfortable.
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King James Audio Bible | KJV | King James Version King Herod There were several individuals named Herod who played significant roles in ancient history, particularly in the history of the Roman Empire and the region of Palestine. Here is a brief overview of the most notable Herods: Herod the Great: Also known as Herod I, he was a Roman client king of Judea, ruling from 37 BC to 4 BC. He is perhaps most famous for his role in the biblical story of the birth of Jesus, in which it is said that he ordered the slaughter of all male children in Bethlehem under the age of two in an attempt to kill the newborn Jesus. Herod Antipas: Also known as Herod II, he was the son of Herod the Great and ruled over Galilee and Perea, two regions in Palestine, from 4 BC to 39 AD. He is mentioned in the New Testament as the ruler who imprisoned John the Baptist and later had him beheaded. Herod Agrippa I: Also known as Herod III, he was the grandson of Herod the Great and ruled over Judea from 41 to 44 AD. He is mentioned in the New Testament as the ruler who imprisoned the apostle Paul. Herod Agrippa II: Also known as Herod IV, he was the great-grandson of Herod the Great and ruled over parts of Palestine and Syria from 50 to 100 AD. He is mentioned in the New Testament as the ruler who heard Paul’s defence before the Roman governor Festus. These rulers, who were known as the Herodian dynasty, were not Jewish but rather descended from a Greek family that had converted to Judaism. Despite this, they were appointed as rulers by the Roman Empire and were generally unpopular among the Jewish population due to their collaboration with the Roman occupation and their often brutal methods of rule. Herod The Great Herod the Great, also known as Herod I, was a Roman client king of Judea who ruled from 37 BC to 4 BC. He was born in 73 BC in Idumea, a region in southern Palestine, and was the son of Antipater the Idumean, an Edomite who had been appointed as a governor of Judea by the Roman general Pompey. Herod rose to power after the Roman general Julius Caesar appointed him as king of Judea in 40 BC. He consolidated his power over the next few years by defeating his rivals and establishing himself as the undisputed ruler of the region. As king, Herod embarked on a massive building program that included the expansion and renovation of the Temple in Jerusalem, the construction of the port city of Caesarea Maritima, and the fortification of several cities in Judea. He also commissioned the construction of a number of palaces and other buildings, including the famous Herodium, a palace-fortress located south of Jerusalem. Despite his many accomplishments, Herod was a controversial figure who was known for his harsh rule and his willingness to use violence to maintain his power. He was married several times and had a large number of children, several of whom he had executed when they posed a threat to his rule. One of the most famous stories associated with Herod is the biblical account of the birth of Jesus, in which it is said that he ordered the slaughter of all male children in Bethlehem under the age of two in an attempt to kill the newborn Jesus. According to the New Testament, Jesus was saved by his parents, who fled to Egypt, and later returned to Palestine after Herod’s death. Herod died in 4 BC at the age of 70, leaving a legacy as one of the most significant rulers in the history of ancient Palestine. Herod Antipas Herod Antipas, also known as Herod II, was the son of Herod the Great and ruled over Galilee and Perea, two regions in Palestine, from 4 BC to 39 AD. He was born in 20 BC and was named after his father’s patron, the Roman emperor Augustus. Like his father, Herod Antipas was known for his ambitious building projects, including the construction of the city of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee and the expansion of the Temple in Jerusalem. He was also known for his political cunning and his ability to navigate the complex political landscape of the Roman Empire. Herod Antipas is mentioned in the New Testament as the ruler who imprisoned John the Baptist, a prominent religious figure who criticized Herod’s marriage to his sister-in-law, Herodias. According to the New Testament, John was eventually beheaded at the request of Herodias’ daughter, Salome, who danced for Herod and his guests at a banquet. Herod Antipas is also mentioned in the New Testament as the ruler who oversaw the trial and execution of Jesus. Although he initially wanted to release Jesus, he ultimately handed him over to the Roman authorities at the urging of the Jewish religious leaders. Herod Antipas’ rule came to an end in 39 AD when the Roman emperor Caligula exiled him to Gaul, modern-day France. He died in exile a few years later. Herod Agrippa I Herod Agrippa I, also known as Herod III, was the grandson of Herod the Great and ruled over Judea from 41 to 44 AD. He was born in 10 BC and was the son of Aristobulus and Bernice, two of Herod the Great’s children. Herod Agrippa I was well-educated and fluent in both Greek and Hebrew, and he was highly regarded by the Roman authorities for his loyalty and his ability to maintain order in Judea. He was appointed as king of Judea in 41 AD by the Roman emperor Claudius, who was impressed by his abilities and saw him as a reliable ally in the region. As king, Herod Agrippa I continued the building projects of his grandfather and expanded the Temple in Jerusalem. He also implemented a number of reforms aimed at improving the lives of the […]
