<p>8:21&nbsp;<i>And another of the disciples said to him</i>- The scribe of 8:19 could therefore be classed as a &lsquo;disciple&rsquo;. The term doesn&rsquo;t necessarily refer to the twelve, although there does seem a distinction between the &lsquo;multitudes&rsquo; who followed and from the edge of that crowd heard a few garbled versions of the Lord&rsquo;s words and work (see on 8:18), and &lsquo;disciples&rsquo;, those who were willing to be learners from Him as from a rabbi.</p>
<p><i>Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father</i>- This was perhaps said in response to the Lord&rsquo;s decision to move on beyond the crowds, or &ldquo;to the other side&rdquo; (see on 8:18). Like the scribe, this man wanted to be in some kind of inner circle. And he had shown some interest- it would seem that on the morning of his father&rsquo;s funeral, he had come to listen to Jesus. But he wanted the Lord to delay His departure until he had completed burying his father that afternoon. It seems that a third individual also wanted to follow the Lord further in response to the command He gave to the inner circle to &ldquo;depart&rdquo;; for Lk. 9:61 records another person wanting the Lord to just wait until he had run home to say goodbye to his family and explain his absence.</p>