Matthew 8:18-22 - Would-Be Followers

¹⁸ When Jesus saw the large crowds around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. ¹⁹ Just then, a scribe came up and told him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."

²⁰ Jesus told him, "Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to rest."

²¹ Then another of his disciples told him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

²² But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

⁵⁷ While they were walking along the road, a man told him, "I will follow you wherever you go."

⁵⁸ Jesus told him, "Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to rest." ⁵⁹ He told another man, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

⁶⁰ But he told him, "Let the dead bury their own dead. But you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

⁶¹ Still another man said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to those at home."

⁶² Jesus told him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."