TBR Bible Study -- Matthew 8

Interest fell off and I got busy. I'll try to pick it up again in September.

 

I have heard this passage interpreted "let me bury my father" to mean "let me wait until my father passes away before I follow you". Perhaps he was afraid of his father's reaction to his decision to follow Jesus. The message would then be do not allow your family to prevent you from coming to Jesus.

 

You would think so, but in that culture, I think it is far more likely that both the man and Jesus would've been cast out as being under demonic influence. The rule of thumb at that time was basically, "if the church didn't do it or approve it, it's from Satan". Also, we need to keep in mind that the church wasn't just the church. Even under Roman rule, and with a "king" in place, the church acted as the police authority.

 

I think the reason is twofold.

First, Jesus says in Matthew 12 that demons don't like being without a body. So if they know He's about to drive them out of the two men, they'd be looking for another host. The pigs just happened to be close.

Second, pigs are considered "unclean" according to the Law of Moses. I doubt Jesus would've let them enter a herd of sheep or other "clean" animal that was worthy of sacrifice.

 

I haven't heard that interpretation, but I agree with the rightness of the lesson.