Discourse Analysis of Matthew 8:18-22

Biblical Interpretation Methods

Professor: Gregory Beale
Student: Roman Gonzalez
Mail Box: 128
Date: January 31, 2020
 Discourse Analysis of Matthew 8:18-22
v. 18a
S
Now Jesus saw a crowd around him,
v. 18b
C *R So he commanded to go to the other
side.
v. 19a
F and after they came a scribe said to
him,
v. 19b
*E *I “Teacher, I will follow you wherever
S
you go.”
v. 20a
F Jesus responded for the first time and
said to him,
v. 20b
Adv “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air
have nests,1
v. 20c
*R *I on the contrary the Son of Man has
p *
nowhere to lay his head.”2
v. 21a
F After the first disciple spoke another
of the disciples said to him,

*I v. 21b
S
“Lord, allow me to go first and bury my
father.”
v. 22a
F Jesus responded for a second time
and said to him,
v. 22b
* *R *I “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury
their own dead.”3

1
This is the first part of Jesus’s first answer which constitutes the first half of the main point of this
passage.
2
This is the second part of Jesus’s first answer which also constitutes the first half of the main point of this
passage.
3
Jesus’s second answer constitutes the second half of the main point of this passage.
The Result of My Form Critical Analysis:
This periscope falls into the category of “words of discipleship.” The important this about this
conversation between Jesus and his followers lies in the words of Jesus about discipleship.

Exegetical Idea:
When Jesus is surrounded by the crowd, two potential disciples came up to him to tell him they
wanted to follow him, Jesus responding to them, talked to them about the cost of being one of his
disciples and the priorities in discipleship.

Homiletical Idea:
Let us be disciples of Jesus no matter the cost of it.
 Translation Comparison Chart: Matthew 8:18-22

NASB ESV NKJV HCSB NIV CEB My translation

18 18 18 18 18 18 18
Now when Jesus Now when Jesus And when Jesus saw When Jesus saw When Jesus saw the Now when Jesus saw Now, when Jesus
saw a crowd around saw a crowd around great multitudes about large crowds around crowd around him, he the crowd, he ordered saw the great crowd
Him, He gave orders him, he gave orders to Him, He gave a Him, He gave the gave orders to cross to his disciples to go over around him, he
to depart to the other go over to the other command to depart to order to go to the the other side of the to the other side of the commanded to go to
side of the sea. side. the other side. other side of the sea lake. lake. the other side.
19 19 19
Then a scribe came And a scribe came 19 19 19 19 and after they came,
and said to Him, up and said to him, Then a certain scribe A scribe approached Then a teacher of the A legal expert came a scribe said to him,
“Teacher, I will follow “Teacher, I will follow came and said to Him, Him and law came to him and and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow
You wherever You you wherever you “Teacher, I will follow said, “Teacher, I will said, “Teacher, I will “Teacher, I’ll follow you wherever you go.”
go.” go.” You wherever You go.” follow You wherever follow you wherever you you wherever you go.”
20
Jesus *said to 20
And Jesus said to 20 You go!” go.” 20
20
and Jesus said to
And Jesus said to Jesus replied, “Foxes
him, “The foxes have him, “Foxes have him, “Foxes have holes 20
Jesus told 20
Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens, and the birds him, “Foxes have
holes and the birds of holes, and birds of the and birds of the him, “Foxes have dens have dens and birds have in the sky have nests, holes and the birds of
the [t]air have [u]nests, air have nests, but the air have nests, but the and birds of the sky nests, but the Son of but the Human the air nests, but the
but the Son of Man Son of Man has Son of Man has nowhere have nests, but the Son Man has no place to lay One[b] has no place to Son of Man has no
has nowhere to lay His nowhere to lay his to lay His head.” of Man has no place to his head.” lay his head.” place where to recline
head.” head.” lay His head.” his head.
21 21 21 21 21 21
Another of the Another of the Then another of His Another disciple said Another man, one of Now, another of his
21
disciples said to Him, disciples said to him, disciples said to Him, “Lord,” another of to him, “Lord, first let his disciples, said to disciples said to him,
“Lord, permit me first “Lord, let me first go “Lord, let me first go and His disciples said, me go and bury my him, “Lord, first let me “Lord, allow me to go
to go and bury my and bury my father.” bury my father.” “first let me go bury father.” go and bury my father.” first and bury my
22
father.” And Jesus said to 22 my father.” 22 22 father.”
22
But Jesus *said to him, “Follow me, and But Jesus said to But Jesus told But Jesus said to 22
But Jesus said to
22
him, “Follow Me, and leave the dead to bury him, “Follow Me, and let But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let him, “Follow me, and him, “Follow me, and
allow the dead to bury their own dead.” the dead bury their own him, “Follow Me, and the dead bury their own let the dead bury their leave the dead bury
their own dead.” dead.” let the dead bury their dead.” own dead.” their own dead.”
own dead.”

There differences in translation of this text are small. One of them is v. 18 in the phrase ἐκέλευσεν ἀπελθεῖν εἰς τὸ πέραν, where the NASB, HCSB, NIV,
and CEB add to their translation the word sea to specify the location where Jesus was. I have not added the word sea in my translation, the ESV and the
NKJV neither did it.
Another difference comes in v. 20 where all the translation, except the CEB, translated Jesus’s title “ὁ υἱός τοῦ ἀνθρώπου” as “the human One” and by
doing so breaking the connections the authors are making with the OT references to Jesus.
 NA28 Marginal References: Matthew 8:18-22

Verse 18
Mark 4:35
Luke 8:22

Verse 19
Luke 9:57-60

Verse 20
Dan 7:13
Matt 9:6, 12:8, 32, 40; 13:41; 16:13, 27f; 17:19; 19:28; 26:64;
Mark 8:38;
Luke 12:8; 18:8; 21:26;
John 1:51; 3:13f; 6:27; 12:34
Acts 7:56
1 Cor 4:11

Verse 22
Matt 9:9
Mark 2:14
Luke 9:59, 60
John 1:43; 21:19
1Rg 19:20
Tob 4:3