Luke 9:59

Then He said to another man, “Follow Me.” The man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Jesus speaks to an unnamed man during His itinerant ministry, issuing a direct command to follow Him immediately after warning a previous listener about lacking earthly comforts. The man responds by requesting a delay to fulfill the familial duty of burying his father.

The words — The Greek ἀκολούθει (akolouthei) carries the literal sense of "do follow" or "keep following," emphasizing immediate, continuous action. The particle δὲ (de) functions as a narrative marker meaning "then" or "but," structuring the exchange between command and request.

The thread — This demand for immediate discipleship parallels Elijah’s call to Elisha in 1 Kings 19:20 and echoes Jesus’ later instruction to deny oneself and take up one’s cross in Matthew 16:24. The tension between familial obligation and kingdom priority also resonates with the command to seek God’s kingdom first in Matthew 6:33.

Why it lands — The text states that a man requests to delay following Jesus until after his father’s burial, and Jesus responds by prioritizing the proclamation of the kingdom over that duty. It asks the reader to identify any legitimate obligation being used to postpone obedience and to reorder priorities accordingly.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

ΕἶπενEipenHe said δὲdethen πρὸςprosto ἕτερον·heteronanother;ἀκολούθειakoloutheido follow μοι.moiMe.ὁho<the>δὲdeBut εἶπεν·eipenhe said;κύριε,kurieLord ἐπίτρεψόνepitrepsondo allow μοιmoime ἀπελθόντιapelthontihaving gone away πρῶτονprōtonfirst θάψαιthapsaito bury τὸνtonthe πατέραpaterafather μου.¶mouof mine.

King James Version

And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

Cross-references

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
1 Kings 19:20 So Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and then I will follow you.” “Go on back,” Elijah replied, “for what have I done to you?”
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
Matthew 8:21 Another of His disciples requested, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
Haggai 1:2 that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.’”
Matthew 4:19 “Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
Matthew 9:9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.