ANNOUNCER: When talking to a person who wanted to follow him, Jesus once said, “Let the dead bury their dead.” Why did He say this and what did He mean by it? Welcome, friend. We’re glad you’re with us today. This is Grace in Focus, a ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. Our website, faithalone.org. Lots of important information about us there, especially right now we’re inviting you to come to our national annual conference, happening May 18th through the 21st, 2026. Our theme is “Believe in Christ for Life” and discipleship, and there is VBS for the kids. Get all the information you need, get signed up today at faithalone.org. 

Now with today’s discussion material, here is Bob Wilkin, along with Ken Yates. 

KEN: And Bob, we got a question from G.K. And G.K. is asking a question about a verse found in Luke chapter 9, Luke chapter 9 verse 60, where Jesus responds to a man who makes a statement to Him. And it seems like that the Lord is very, for lack of a better word, insensitive. The Lord says, “Follow me.” This is verse 59. He tells the guy to follow him and he says, “Lord, let me go bury my father first.” And then Jesus says, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” 

And in this passage, really starting in verse 57, there’s three men who come up to Jesus and make requests of Him. They want to follow Him. And the words that Jesus gives to these three men are very harsh sounding. And G.K. asked a question, what does it mean when Jesus says, “Let the dead bury their own dead?” I think most of us would say, well, aren’t we supposed to honor our parents, you know? And so this guy says, let me go bury my father. So is the Lord saying, hey, listen, no, kick your dad to the curb. Don’t worry about even going to his funeral. 

Bob and I have not discussed this, we’re going to just see what we think. I would say that one of the main issues here is the time of this, the circumstances behind this. I think this is a very unique period in history. Jesus is offering the kingdom to the nation of Israel. And that’s what he means when he says, you go preach the kingdom of God in verse 60. What is the kingdom of God there? It’s the kingdom of God to the nation of Israel. And so these requirements are kind of unique. 

BOB: Because they are literally following Jesus. They’re not figuratively like we do today. They were actually traveling with him. Like the first guy says, I’ll follow you anywhere. And he says, by the way, there, I have nowhere to lay my head. He’s basically trying to discourage him. 

KEN: For example, today, if you follow Jesus, you’re probably going to have a place to lay your head.  

BOB: And basically, if you remember in Luke 14, which is five chapters later, Luke [sic] is meeting with a Pharisee and it’s a believing Pharisee and He asks him to count the cost of discipleship. And there is a cost to discipleship. And a lot of people confuse this because they think the call to discipleship is the call to everlasting life. And so they say count the cost of being born again. Well, there is no cost to us of being born again. Jesus already paid the cost of being born again. He died on the cross for us and removed the sin barrier, so that He’s paid it all. There’s nothing for us to pay. But some people look at these three people and say, all three are talking about evangelism. No, all these are talking about discipleship. 

KEN: Yeah, I would say these guys are pictures of believers. I want to follow you. 

BOB: All right. So let’s take the second example. He says, how does he say it? Let me go and bury my father, is that what he says? 

KEN: “Let me first go and bury my father.” So Jesus says, follow me. And he says, let me first go and bury my father. 

BOB: Okay. Now, most commentators say, and this doesn’t mean it’s right. But most commentators say that this man does not mean that his father was already dead, and the funeral is this afternoon. What he’s saying is my father is elderly, my father is probably going to die within the next year or two. So let me go and be with my father until he dies. And then after he dies, I’ll be ready to follow You. 

KEN: And let me just add something else on that. There’s an inheritance involved probably as well. In other words, 

BOB: This jeopardizes inheritance by leaving. 

KEN: You can hear his thinking, I want to follow you. But listen, I could do more for you if I get my inheritance, you know, I’m about to lose this. Now, normally that might be pretty good advice, especially if your parents were elderly today. If your parents are elderly, you might say back and say, well, I have a responsibility to my parents. But these are unique times. 

BOB: That’s right. And when He says, let the dead bury the dead, he’s clearly speaking metaphorically here. Paradoxically, when he says, let the dead bury the dead, the second “dead” refers to the physically dead, right? The first “dead” does not refer physically dead because they’re not burying anybody. He’s talking about the spiritually dead. Let people who lack everlasting life bury the physically dead, you need to be involved in sharing the message of eternal life. 

Now, it didn’t mean that he couldn’t be there for his father’s funeral. What is meant is you’re not going to spend years going back to your house and being with your father and his family in lieu of being with Me. And as you say, this is a unique time. Jesus was only on earth, in terms of His public ministry, for three and a half years. If you had the opportunity to walk with Him and hear Him teach for two, three, four hours a day, would you turn that down so that you could go spend two or three, those same two or three years to be with your family? I’d say that would be foolish. 

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KEN: And let me just say something else. Notice the context in the next verses. He sends the seventy out to proclaim the kingdom to the nation of Israel.

BOB: Starting in chapter 10. 

KEN: Very next verse. Yeah, very next verse. So here you go. Now this may seem weird or radical. These three had that opportunity. 

BOB: Now we haven’t discussed the third one yet. The third one is the one who says he wants to go back and bid farewell to those in his house and basically what he means is something similar to what the second one says. He doesn’t mean he’s going to go home and say, “Hasta la vista,” and he leaves five minutes later. He’s saying, I need a year or two to kind of settle all my affairs. 

KEN: Absolutely. Got a house to sell… 

BOB: Things to do. And then Jesus says in verse 62, another verse that confuses people. He talks about being fit for the kingdom. What does he say in 62? 

KEN: “No one having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.” 

BOB: Now a lot of people interpret that to mean if you put your hand to the plow and turn back, you’re not going to get into the kingdom. But that’s not what it says. He talks about fit for the kingdom. And the issue here is, is the person prepared for the kingdom. That is, is he prepared for the Lord to return and establish His kingdom? And the answer is no, this person, if he’s putting his hand to the plow and then looking back, he’s regretting serving the Lord. So, you know, you’re not going to plow straight if you’re looking in the opposite direction. He’s saying that person isn’t fit for the kingdom. The issue is fit to rule and reign in the life to come. 

KEN: We could even say worthy, right? Worthy of an inheritance in the kingdom. And these three guys, what Jesus is telling them is, listen, this is a unique time. We’re proclaiming the kingdom to Israel. You don’t think this is an easy time. I have no place to lay my head. Let the dead bury their dead. Don’t put your hand to the plow and look back and get your affairs in order. You got to get with the program. 

BOB: Don’t be like Lot’s wife. 

KEN: Exactly. Don’t look back. And let me just go back again to the seventy. If I’m correct, and these three could have had the opportunity to be one of the seventy, what did those seventy get to do? 

BOB: Yeah, they get to go out and they were actually casting out demons and they were proclaiming the kingdom was coming for that generation, if they had accepted it. And in Luke 10:20, which is just a few more verses, Jesus says, don’t rejoice the demons were subject to you, rejoice your names are written in heaven. In other words, rejoice your names are in the book of life; rejoice that you are eternally secure. Hey, it’s great to be able to cast out demons, but that’s really nothing compared to knowing that your name’s in the book of life. 

KEN: And when it says here in verse 20, when it says, rejoice that your names are written in heaven, do you think it is possible that he means more than you have eternal life? 

BOB: Okay. What would he mean? 

KEN: Registered in heaven, like one of the rewards. 

BOB: Okay. Yeah, you know, one of the theories in Revelation 3:5, it says, I won’t blot the name of the overcomer out of the book of life. And it doesn’t say He’s going to blot anybody’s name out of the book of life. And one understanding of that was a paper written in JETS about maybe 1980 or something. And the person said that the word name, onoma, can often refer to reputation. Maybe in the book of life, there’s going to not only be the names of everybody who has eternal life, but some people are going to like be bolded because they’re an overcomer. So He may blot out your reputation as an overcomer, even though your entry is still there. Because if you read Revelation 3:5, He talks about, I’m going to confess his name. Not only is He not going to blot his name out, He’s going to confess his name at the Judgment Seat of Christ. 

KEN: And also in in Revelation 2:20, when it says the overcomer, I will give him a white stone and on the stone a name written which no one knows. So I’m not saying it is, but even here, is Jesus telling the seventy, you guys have been faithful to Me. I’ve sent you out. Your name is written. 

BOB: So they might have the white stone reward. 

KEN: Right. And so, yeah, so these three guys at the end of chapter nine had the opportunity to be that, but they’re saying, well, I need to go sell my house. 

BOB: Let me take care of my stocks. 

KEN: Right. I need to get my inheritance in order here and Jesus is like, no, not at this time. 

BOB: And by the way, even though we’re not during those three and a half years, we’re in a very urgent time because Jesus could return any day. And so we should have the same sense of urgency that those three men should have had. 

KEN: These guys blew it. They made a wrong choice. 

BOB: They did. 

KEN: And they were believers. Yeah, they were wanting to follow Him as disciples. 

Well, thanks for the question. We hope this helps. And until next time, remember, keep grace in focus. 

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