Luke 9:61

61 Someone else said, "I will follow you, sir; but first let me go and say good-bye to my family." ¹

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 that man said, "Sir, first let me go back and bury my father."

60 Jesus answered, "Let the dead bury their own dead. You go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."

61 Someone else said, "I will follow you, sir; but first let me go and say good-bye to my family."

62 Jesus said to him, "Anyone who starts to plow and then keeps looking back is of no use for the Kingdom of God."

Cross References

• 1. 9.61 1 Kings 19.20.