Matthew 8:18-22

At times Jesus seems so inaccessible. One guy tells him that he will follow Jesus any place that he goes. Jesus reply isn't "Great!" Instead, he says that he has no home. He pretty much tells the guy that it's going to be a tough existence. Then another guy tells him that he wants to bury his father before he follows Jesus. Jesus replies "Let the dead bury their own dead." I don't think that Jesus was trying to come across as mean, or inaccessible, but rather I think he was trying to expose people's weaknesses. The first guy had a security issue. He wanted to know that he would always have something. Jesus tells him that he will end up with nothing, not even a place to call home. The second guy had a dependency issue. He wanted to be able to tie up things with his family before he was ready. Jesus tells him that other things are more important. All of this seems really mean, unless you take into account what Jesus said a few chapter earlier: "Don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself." When you look at it like that, all of our insecurities and excuses melt away in the calm reassurance that Jesus has our best interest at heart. JM