Matthew 8:22 (DBY)

Passage

But Jesus said to him, Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

Nearby Context

Matthew 8:20 And Jesus says to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven roosting-places; but the Son of man has not where he may lay his head.

Matthew 8:21 But another of his disciples said to him, Lord, suffer me first to go away and bury my father.

Matthew 8:22 But Jesus said to him, Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

Matthew 8:23 And he went on board ship and his disciples followed him;

Matthew 8:24 and behold, [the water] became very agitated on the sea, so that the ship was covered by the waves; but *he* slept.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesus", "said", "follow", "leave", "dead", and "bury". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesus" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "But another of his disciples said to..." into verse 23's "And he went on board ship and...", so "jesus" and "said" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jesus" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.