Help me to understand this biblical (seeming) contradiction.

[Chrystal-J]

The ten commandments say "Honor your mother and father", but Jesus says in Matthew 8: 21-22 "Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
And then there's the passage from Matthew 19:29 that says, "For anyone who has left behind their home and property, leaving family—brothers or sisters, mothers or fathers, or children—for my sake, they will be repaid a hundred times over and will inherit eternal life".

Maybe I don't understand the term "Honor" in the ten commandments.

 

[tonychanyt]

Maybe I don't understand the term "Honor" in the ten commandments.

You do. Check out Let the dead bury their own dead

 

[zippy2006]

The ten commandments say "Honor your mother and father", but Jesus says in Matthew 8: 21-22 "Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

I see 1 Kings 19 in this text, where Elisha leaves his parents behind in order to follow Elijah. (Whether or not the text says that Elisha bade farewell to his parents is ambiguous, but he certainly left them behind.) Think Matthew 10:37.

 

[RileyG]

Essentially, he wasn’t willing to leave everything behind and follow Jesus. He was basically waiting for his father to die first before becoming a follower.

That’s my understanding, anyway.

 

[Chrystal-J]

I understand putting Jesus first always, even to the point of going against your parents wishes. (Like Mother Angelica did by running away to become a nun.) But, where do you draw the line between "honoring" your parents and following Christ? At what point do you turn away from your parents and devote yourself wholly to Jesus?
If I had agreed with my parents (particularly my mom) I would of turned away from my conservative values--including being anti-abortion, against the lbqtq extreme agendas, believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior etc.
Maybe when Christ said the passages I mentioned in Matthew, He was opening a new way to think about who you devote your life to--Jesus over everyone.

 

[RileyG]

I understand putting Jesus first always, even to the point of going against your parents wishes. (Like Mother Angelica did by running away to become a nun.) But, where do you draw the line between "honoring" your parents and following Christ? At what point do you turn away from your parents and devote yourself wholly to Jesus?
If I had agreed with my parents (particularly my mom) I would of turned away from my conservative values--including being anti-abortion, against the lbqtq extreme agendas, believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior etc.
Maybe when Christ said the passages I mentioned in Matthew, He was opening a new way to think about who you devote your life to--Jesus over everyone.

Correct. Jesus comes first.

 

[HarleyER]

The ten commandments say "Honor your mother and father", but Jesus says in Matthew 8: 21-22 "Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
And then there's the passage from Matthew 19:29 that says, "For anyone who has left behind their home and property, leaving family—brothers or sisters, mothers or fathers, or children—for my sake, they will be repaid a hundred times over and will inherit eternal life".

Maybe I don't understand the term "Honor" in the ten commandments.

It is believed that the question was a ruse. The man's father wasn't dead but that he was expected to someday soon die and then the inheritance would go to the son. At that point the son would "follow Jesus" after he got his inheritence. Jesus cut through the nonsense that this person wasn't really committed to Him and not willing to leave everything to follow Him.

 

[Hamlet7768]

I understand putting Jesus first always, even to the point of going against your parents wishes. (Like Mother Angelica did by running away to become a nun.) But, where do you draw the line between "honoring" your parents and following Christ? At what point do you turn away from your parents and devote yourself wholly to Jesus?
If I had agreed with my parents (particularly my mom) I would of turned away from my conservative values--including being anti-abortion, against the lbqtq extreme agendas, believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior etc.
Maybe when Christ said the passages I mentioned in Matthew, He was opening a new way to think about who you devote your life to--Jesus over everyone.

The typical Catholic answer to this is to obey your parents unless they command you to commit sin. As Riley said, Jesus comes first--trusting in Him will give you the discernment to apply the principle I mention to more delicate situations.