Luke 9:61

61 Still another man said, "I will follow you, Lord. But first let me go back and say good-by to my family."

Luke 9:61 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 9:61

And another also said
"To him", as the Syriac and Arabic versions add, that is, to Christ; the Ethiopic version reads, "and a third said to him"; for this is the third person mentioned in this relation of Luke's; only two are spoken of by Matthew, but a third is added here:

Lord, I will follow thee;
he moves it himself, to be a disciple of his, and a preacher of his Gospel, only with this condition:

but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house:
as Elisha desired Elijah, that he might go and kiss his father and his mother and then he promises he would follow him, ( 1 Kings 19:20 ) . The Syriac version adds, "and I will come"; and the Persic, "and give commands, and then, will I come": and the phrase not only signifies, that he desired to take leave of his friends, but to compose and set in order his family affairs, and dispose of his worldly effects among his domestics, relations, and friends, in the best manner he could; and then he should have leisure, and be at liberty to follow Christ, and attend his service.

Luke 9:61 In-Context

59 He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
60 Jesus said to him, "Let dead people bury their own dead. You go and tell others about God's kingdom."
61 Still another man said, "I will follow you, Lord. But first let me go back and say good-by to my family."
62 Jesus replied, "Suppose you start to plow and then look back. If you do, you are not fit for service in God's kingdom."
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