Matthew 8:22 (YLT)

Passage

and Jesus said to him, `Follow me, and suffer the dead to bury their own dead.'

Nearby Context

Matthew 8:20 and Jesus saith to him, `The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven places of rest, but the Son of Man hath not where he may lay the head.'

Matthew 8:21 And another of his disciples said to him, `Sir, permit me first to depart and to bury my father;'

Matthew 8:22 and Jesus said to him, `Follow me, and suffer the dead to bury their own dead.'

Matthew 8:23 And when he entered into the boat his disciples did follow him,

Matthew 8:24 and lo, a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves, but he was sleeping,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesus", "said", "follow", "suffer", "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 "And another of his disciples said to..." into verse 23's "And when he entered into the boat...", 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.