Luk 9:57-60 | RWP | e4.org | A certain man ( τις ). calls him "a scribe." ; , but not in Mark and so from Q or the Logia. Wherever you go ( οπου εαν απερχη ) is the present middle subjunctive with the indefinite relative adverb εαν , common Greek idiom. See on Matthew for "holes," "nests," "Son of man." The idiom "where to lay his head" ( που την κεφαλην κλινη ) is the same in both, the deliberative subjunctive retained in the indirect question. "Jesus knows the measure of the scribe's enthusiasm" (Plummer). The wandering life of Jesus explains this statement.

‏ Luke 9:57-60

A certain man ( τις ). Mt 8:19 calls him "a scribe." Lu 9:57-60; Mt 8:19-22, but not in Mark and so from Q or the Logia.

Wherever you go ( οπου εαν απερχη ) is the present middle subjunctive with the indefinite relative adverb εαν, common Greek idiom. See on Matthew for "holes," "nests," "Son of man." The idiom "where to lay his head" ( που την κεφαλην κλινη ) is the same in both, the deliberative subjunctive retained in the indirect question. "Jesus knows the measure of the scribe's enthusiasm" (Plummer). The wandering life of Jesus explains this statement.

And he said unto another ( ειπεν δε προς ετερον ). Mt 8:21 omits Christ's "Follow me" ( ακολουθε μο ) and makes this man a volunteer instead of responding to the appeal of Jesus. There is no real opposition, of course. In Matthew's account the man is apologetic as in Luke. Plummer calls him "one of the casual disciples" of whom there are always too many. The scribes knew how to give plausible reasons for not being active disciples.

First ( πρωτον ). One of the problems of life is the relation of duties to each other, which comes first. The burial of one's father was a sacred duty (Ge 25:9), but, as in the case of Tobit 4:3, this scribe's father probably was still alive. What the scribe apparently meant was that he could not leave his father while still alive to follow Jesus around over the country.

Leave the dead to bury their own dead ( αφες τους νεκρους θαψα τους εαυτων νεκρους ). This paradox occurs so in Mt 8:22. The explanation is that the spiritually dead can bury the literally dead. For such a quick change in the use of the same words see Joh 5:21-29 (spiritual resurrection from sin in Joh 5:21-27, bodily resurrection from the grave, Joh 5:28, 29) and Joh 11:25f. The harshness of this proverb to the scribe probably is due to the fact that he was manifestly using his aged father as an excuse for not giving Christ active service.

But go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God ( συ δε απελθων διαγγελλε την βασιλειαν του θεου ). The scribe's duty is put sharply ( Βυτ δο θου, συ δε ). Christ called him to preach, and he was using pious phrases about his father as a pretext. Many a preacher has had to face a similar delicate problem of duty to father, mother, brothers, sisters and the call to preach. This was a clear case. Jesus will help any man called to preach to see his duty. Certainly Jesus does not advocate renunciation of family duties on the part of preachers.