Christ's Invitation Put Off
W. G. Lewis. Luke 9:59-60 And he said to another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.… We have now before us one of those who excuse themselves from immediate compliance with the Saviour's demands — "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father." Perhaps you have been sometimes disposed to pity this man, and to think it rather a hard case that such an act of charity and necessity should be denied. Never fear, my brethren, for the character of Christ. It was an Eastern proverb, "When I have buried my father I will do so-and-so." Mark that the man does not say his father was already dead. Had that been the case, he must, at this very time, have been engaged in the funeral preparations instead of joining the crowd in the Saviour's presence. The interment of the dead was required to take place before the sunset of the day on which they expired. He had an aged sire who could not live long, and when he was gone, and the property divided — in other words, at his own leisure — he would be a Christian. He is a type of the large class who want heaven in their own time and on their own terms. (W. G. Lewis.) Parallel Verses KJV: And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. WEB: He said to another, "Follow me!" But he said, "Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father."