Although many Jews rejected Y‘shua at that time and throughout history, Paul (in Romans, chapters 9
through 11), warns Gentiles not to boast against the natural branches (the Jews) as YHWH can easily cast
out the Gentiles to put them back in. As Paul teaches in Romans, there is always a remnant of faithful Jews;
and in the end, all of Israel will be saved.
8:16-17 They brought unto him many that were possessed with devils
―(16) When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast
out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: (17) That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses‖.
There are moments in history when significant spiritual activity occurs. When Moses was born, there were
miraculous events and an increase of demonic activity – much of it geared to killing Moses. The same
occured just prior to the arrival of Y‘shua. This is seen not only in the Gospels, but also in the text of the
Dead Sea Scrolls. The book of Revelation paints the same picture occuring prior to the return of the
Messiah, in the period of time known as "the Great Tribulation‖.
That it might be fulfilled
―Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God,
and afflicted‖. (Isaiah 53:4)
8:18-22 Let the dead bury their dead
―(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‖.
And from Luke:
(57) ―And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow
thee whithersoever thou goest.
(58) And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath
not where to lay his head.
(59) And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
(60) Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
(61) And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home
at my house.
(62) And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the
kingdom of God‖. (Luke 9:57-62)
At first reading, this reply of Y‘shua‘s seems rather harsh. It was given as a response to someone who said
they wished to become a disciple of Y‘shua. It seems like a strange answer anyway, for how can the dead
bury their dead? It cannot have a literal meaning in this sense; because when we die, of necessity we need
someone else to bury us. As is always the case, we need to put this saying of the Master into its context.
When did He make this point to His listeners and why? What were the circumstances? Let‘s explore this
incident, because it has some very powerful lessons for would-be disciples of Y‘shua today.
There are two accounts in the Gospel records: Matthew chapter 8 and Luke chapter 9. The context or
perhaps the background to this command of Y‘shua is the calling to be a disciple. The ministry of Y‘shua was
approaching its end, when He would go to Jerusalem and there be crucified. He had called His twelve
disciples to Him and had sent them out to continue the work of preaching the Gospel that He had initiated
more than three years earlier. Y‘shua now turned His back on Galilee in the north of Israel; and as Luke tells
us, ―he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem‖. (Luke 9:51) It was on this journey towards the final phase
of His ministry that three would-be disciples approached Messiah.
Matthew tells us that the first of these men was, in fact, a Scribe. He was one of Israel‘s elite class and an
essential part of the religious hierarchy at the time of Y‘shua. We have no reason to doubt the sincerity of
any of these would-be disciples, but Y‘shua was able to discern the genuineness or otherwise of those who