Luke 9:60

But he said unto him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God.

Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 8:18-21) records the event of these first two prospects, the same being one of the few places that either of the other synoptics touches this section. Even here, Luke gave a fuller account; and it is doubtful that he had before him either Mark or Matthew. If other synoptics had been "sources" of Luke, there is every reason to believe he would have mentioned them in his preface.

Leave the dead to bury their own dead ... There can be no higher priority than one's duty to the Lord Jesus Christ. Earthly rulers had long been accustomed to claiming of their subjects an allegiance that set aside all other duties; and the Lord, by such a statement as this, demanded for his own holy purposes an allegiance even greater and more binding than that given to generals and kings of the earth. A good example of such earthly demands of allegiance is the following battle call which marked the campaign of Donald Balloch in 1431.

Come every hill plaid and True heart that wears one; Come every steel blade and Strong hand that bears one. Leave untended the herd, The flock without shelter; Leave the corpse uninterred, The bride at the altar. Leave the deer, leave the steer, Leave nets and barges: Come with your fighting gear, Broadswords and targes.[16]

Jesus in this passage demanded such a priority for his holy kingdom, but with this monumental difference, that Jesus called men to life and eternal salvation, whereas earth's chieftains call men for shame and death.

The dead to bury the dead ... has reference to those who are spiritually dead burying their own dead. Yet it is true even in these times that services for the literal dead have been made to conflict with spiritual duties. People who plan and conduct funerals in such a manner as to coincide with regularly scheduled worship services of the church out of respect to their convenience are in violation of the priorities mentioned here.