Matthew 8:21 (WEB)

Passage

Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”

Nearby Context

Matthew 8:19 A scribe came, and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

Matthew 8:20 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Matthew 8:21 Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, allow me first to go 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 When he got into a boat, his disciples followed him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "another", "disciples", "said", "lord", "allow", "first", "bury", and "father". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "another" and "disciples", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "Jesus said to him The foxes have..." into verse 22's "But Jesus said to him Follow me...", so "another" and "disciples" 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 "another" and "disciples" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.