Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Matthew 8:21 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 21. 21And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Hears another disciple request delay to bury his father.
Read It With
- Matthew 8:18–8:22
Read Matthew 8:21 with 8:18–8:22. In isolation, this verse's contribution—hears another disciple request delay to bury his father—can be detached from its speaker, audience, narrative or teaching sequence, and outcome. The complete unit establishes: Jesus answers an eager scribe with homelessness imagery and tells another disciple to follow rather than postpone behind a burial obligation.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Hears another disciple request delay to bury his father. This precise contribution belongs inside “Following Jesus unsettles security and delay” because Jesus answers an eager scribe with homelessness imagery and tells another disciple to follow rather than postpone behind a burial obligation.
What Remains True
Jesus answers an eager scribe with homelessness imagery and tells another disciple to follow rather than postpone behind a burial obligation. Matthew 8:21's proportionate contribution is this: Hears another disciple request delay to bury his father.
How It Can Shape Life
- Matthew 8:21 contributes this specific claim: Hears another disciple request delay to bury his father. Count the real costs of discipleship and make honest arrangements for responsibilities; do not romanticize homelessness, suppress grief, or demand abrupt sacrifice from others.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Matthew 8:18–8:22 — Following Jesus unsettles security and delaySources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Matthew 8:18–8:22, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control without treating one edition as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file data/sblgnt/text/Matt.txt, Matthew 8:18–8:22
Open the Matthew Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for the expressions actually discussed in this thought unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data TAGNT rows for Matthew 8:18–8:22
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Matthew with Translators' and Textual Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, historical, Jewish-background, and Synoptic notes for this unit.
Exact location: NET Bible Matthew PDF, printed pp. 1808-1867, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 8:18–8:22
Open source ↗