Matthew 8:18-22

Ver 18. Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. 19. And a certain Scribe came, and said unto him, "Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." 20. And Jesus saith unto him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." 21. And another of his disciples said unto him, "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father." 22. But Jesus said unto him, "Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead."

Chrys.: Because Christ not only healed the body, but purified the soul also, He desired to shew forth true wisdom, not only by curing diseases, but by doing nothing with ostentation; and therefore it is said, "Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he commanded his disciples to cross over to the other side." This He did at once teaching us to be lowly, softening the ill-will of the Jews, and teaching us to do nothing with ostentation.

Remig.: Or; He did this as one desiring to shun the thronging of the multitude. But they hung upon Him in admiration, crowding to see Him. For who would depart from one who did such miracles? Who would not wish to look upon His open face, to see His mouth that spoke such things? For if Moses' countenance was made glorious, and Stephen's as that of an Angel, gather from this how it was to have been supposed that their common Lord must have then appeared; of whom the Prophet speaks, "Thy form is fair above the sons of men." [Psalms 45:2]

Hilary: The name "disciples" is not to be supposed to be confined to the twelve Apostles; for we read of many disciples besides the twelve.

Aug.: It is clear that this day on which they went over the lake was another day, and not that which followed the one on which Peter's mother-in-law was healed, on which day Mark and Luke relate that He went out into the desert.

Chrys.: Observe that He does not dismiss the multitudes, that He may not offend them. He did say to them, Depart ye, but bade His disciples go away from thence, thus the crowds might hope to be able to follow.

Remig.: What happened between the command of the Lord given, and their crossing over, the Evangelist purposes to relate in what follows: "And one of the Scribes came to him and said, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest."

Jerome: This Scribe of the Law who knew but the perishing letter, would not have been turned away had his address been, 'Lord, I will follow Thee.' But because he esteemed the Saviour only as one of many masters, and was a 'man of the letter' [margin note: literator] (which is better expressed in Greek,) not a spiritual hearer, therefore he had no place where Jesus might lay His head. It is suggested to us that he sought to follow the Lord, because of His great miracles, for the sake of the gain to be derived from them; and was therefore rejected; seeking the same thing as did Simon Magus when he would have given Peter money.

Chrys.: Observe also how great his pride; approaching and speaking as though he disdained to be considered as one of the multitude; desiring to shew that he was above the rest.

Hilary: Otherwise; This Scribe being one of the doctors of the Law, asks if he shall follow Him, as though it were not contained in the Law that this is He whom it were gain to follow. Therefore He discovers the feeling of unbelief under the diffidence of his enquiry. For the taking up of the faith is not by question but by following.

Chrys.: So Christ answers him not so much to what he had said, but to the obvious purpose of his mind. "Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head;" as though He had said;

Jerome:.. Why do you seek to follow Me for the sake of the riches and gain of this world, when My poverty is such that I have neither lodging nor home of My own?

Chrys.: This was not to send him away, but rather to convict him of evil intentions; at the same time permitting him if he would to follow Christ with the expectation of poverty.

Aug., Serm., 100, 1: Otherwise; "The Son of man hath not where to lay his head;" that is, in your faith. "The foxes have hole," in your heart, because you are deceitful. "The birds of the air have nests," in your heart, because you are proud. Deceitful and proud follow Me not; for how should guile follow sincerity?

Greg., Mor., xix. 1: Otherwise; The fox is a crafty animal, lying hid in ditches and dens, and when it comes abroad never going in a straight path, but in crooked windings; birds raise themselves in the air. By the foxes then are meant the subtle and deceitful daemons, by the birds the proud daemons; as though He had said; Deceitful and proud daemons have their abode in your heart; but my lowliness finds no rest in a proud spirit.

Aug., Quaest. in Matt., q. 5: He was moved to follow Christ because of the miracles; this vain desire of glory is signified by the birds; but he assumed the submissiveness of a disciple, which deceit is signified by the foxes.

Rabanus: Heretics confiding in their art are signified by the foxes, the evil spirits by the birds of the air, who have their holes and their nests, that is, their abodes in the heart of the Jewish people.

"Another of his disciples saith unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father."

Jerome: In what one thing is this disciple like the Scribe? The one called Him Master, the other confesses Him as his Lord. The one from filial piety asks permission to go and bury his father; the other offers to follow, not seeking a master, but by means of his master seeking gain for himself.

Hilary: The disciple does not ask whether he shall follow Him; for he already believed that he ought to follow, but prays to be suffered first to bury his father.

Aug., Serm., 100, 1: The Lord when He prepares men for the Gospel will not have any excuse of this fleshly and temporal attachment to interfere, therefore it follows; "Jesus said unto him, Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead."

Chrys.: This saying does not condemn natural affection to our parents, but shews that nothing ought to be more binding on us than the business of heaven; that to this we ought to apply ourselves with all our endeavours, and not to be slack, however necessary or urgent are the things that draw us aside. For what could be more necessary than to bury a father? What more easy? For it could not need much time. But in this the Lord rescued him from much evil, weeping, and mourning, and from the pains of expectation. For after the funeral there must come examination of the will, division of the inheritance, and other things of the same sort; and thus trouble following trouble, like the waves, would have borne him far from the port of truth. But if you are not yet satisfied, reflect further that oftentimes the weak are not permitted to know the time, or to follow to the grave; even though the dead be father, mother, or son; yet are they not charged with cruelty that hinder them; it is rather the reverse of cruelty. And it is a much greater evil to draw one away from spiritual discourse; especially when there were who should perform the rites; as here, "Leave the dead to bury their dead."

Aug.: As much as to say; Thy father is dead; but there are also other dead who shall bury their dead, because they are in unbelief.

Chrys.: This moreover shews that this dead man was not his; for, I suppose, he that was dead was of the unbelieving. If you wonder at the young man, that in a matter so necessary he should have asked Jesus, and not have gone away of his own accord, wonder much more that he abode with Jesus after he was forbidden to depart; which was not from lack of affection, but that he might not interrupt a business yet more necessary.

Hilary: Also, because we are taught in the beginning of the Lord's prayer, first to say, "Our Father, which art in heaven;" and since this disciple represents the believing people; he is here reminded that he has one only Father in heaven [margin note: Matthew 23:9], and that between a believing son and an unbelieving father the filial relation does not hold good. We are also admonished that the unbelieving dead are not to be mingled with the memories of the saints; and that they are also dead who live out of God; and the dead are buried by the dead, because by the faith of God it behoves the living to cleave to the living (God).

Jerome: But if the dead shall bury the dead, we ought not to be careful for the dead but for the living, lest while we are anxious for the dead, we ourselves should be counted dead.

Greg., Mor., iv, 27: The dead also bury the dead, when sinners protect sinners. They who exalt sinners with their praises, hide the dead under a pile of words.

Rabanus: From this we may also take occasion to observe, that lesser goods are to be sometimes forfeited for the sake of securing greater.

Aug., De Cons. Evan., ii, 23: Matthew relates that this was done when He gave them commandment that they should go over the lake, Luke, that it happened as they walked by the way; which is no contradiction, for they must have walked by the way that they might come to the lake.