Luke 9:60 – Jesus said unto him, ‘Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.’
The Bible clearly teaches about life and death – both physical and spiritual. Every critical aspect related to our lives is addressed in Scripture as affirmed in 2 Timothy 3:16 (“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…”) and in Psalms 32:8 (“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”) Specifically as to our death, what is the appropriate burial of a loved one? Should it always be a traditional burial? Is cremation an option? To determine the Biblical answer, we look to:
- Historical Context: The gospel of Luke, written between 58 and 65 A.D., does not identify its author. From Luke 1:1-4 and Acts 1:1-3, it is clear that the same author wrote both Luke and Acts, addressing both to “most excellent Theophilus,” possibly a Roman dignitary. The tradition from the earliest days of the church has been that Luke, a physician and a close companion of the Apostle Paul, wrote both Luke and Acts (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11). This would make Luke the only Gentile to pen any books of Scripture. This book’s purpose is to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ and all He “began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven” (Acts 1:1-2). Luke’s gospel is unique in that is a meticulous history—an “orderly account” (Luke 1:3) consistent with Luke’s medical mind—often giving details the other accounts omit. Luke’s history of the life of the Great Physician emphasizes His ministry to—and compassion for—Gentiles, Samaritans, women, children, tax collectors, sinners, and others regarded as outcasts in Israel. Called the most beautiful book ever written, Luke begins by telling us about Jesus’ parents; the birth of His cousin, John the Baptist; Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born in a manger; and the genealogy of Christ through Mary. Jesus’ public ministry reveals His perfect compassion and forgiveness through the stories of the prodigal son, the rich man and Lazarus, and the Good Samaritan. While many believe in this unprejudiced love that surpasses all human limits, many others—especially the religious leaders—challenge and oppose the claims of Jesus. Christ’s followers are encouraged to count the cost of discipleship, while His enemies seek His death on the cross. Finally, Jesus is betrayed, tried, sentenced and crucified. But His Resurrection assures the continuation of His ministry of seeking and saving the lost.
- Grammatical Usage: “Dead” in the Greek is “nekros” used 133 times in the New Testament meaning “dead” or “a dead body.” The implication is the idea that the “person” is now separate from the body which is but mere matter. The spirit and soul which made the corpse a person and animated the body was gone. In short, the dead had reached their final state or destiny. “Bury” in the Greek is “thapto” referring to the act of entombing a physical body and to honor bestowed with funereal rites.
- Literal Application: “But He said to him, ‘Let the spiritually dead entomb those physically dead, but you go away and proclaim the kingdom of God.’”
- Contextual Interpretation: The fact that Jesus gave little direct attention to something does not mean it is without importance. Jesus gave little attention to spousal abuse and less to abortion, yet surely this does not indicate His approval of these practices. Jesus, however, did give great attention to the authority and inspiration of Scriptures (Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; John 10:35) which clearly express the common practice and importance of burial. Furthermore Jesus attacked many Jewish traditions, but burial of the dead was not one of them.
When Jesus said, “Let the dead bury their own dead” (Luke 9:60), it was in response to an excuse a man gave Him when he desired to bury his father before following Jesus. The saying is a play on words in which Jesus identified the spiritually dead as those who do not follow Him. In effect, Jesus was saying, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own [physical] dead.” The passage has nothing to do with approval of cremation or condemnation of burial. Rather, the passage, if it suggests anything about corpse disposal, gives acknowledgment to entombment as the common practice that was so ingrained in Jewish society that reference to it was very common. What is noteworthy is that Jesus never said, “Let the dead cremate their own dead,” but rather, “let the dead bury their own dead.”
- Scriptural Comparison: Cremation was a common practice among many ancient, non-believing nations. The Greeks are an example of a people who only cremated their dead. In New Testament times, the Roman practice of cremation was almost universal. In stark contrast, the Jews rarely cremated. In fact, the emphasis was often upon the proper care and guardianship of a loved one’s or more normally the family tomb which held the remains of generations past. In more modern times, the Vikings cremated their leaders as an act of launching them into the next world. In such cases where a specific Biblical instruction is lacking, the appropriate response of the student is to determine the weight of Scripture in favor of multiple options. To this end, the following are primary considerations:
Old Testament Practice. The Hebrew word “qabar” which means to bury is throughout the OT. Inhumation or the placing in caves or rock-sepulchers was universal Jewish practice of all time periods. Tombs were the communal possession of a family (Gen. 23:4). The cremation of Saul and his sons (1 Sam. 31:12) was exceptional, and such treatment may be regarded as a shameful abuse (Amos 2:1) or as a solemn punishment (Jos. 7:25). The law required burial of the executed criminal the same day (Deut. 21:23), and the same care was taken to bury enemies slain in battle (1 Kings 11:15). The Jews did this, even for enemies, because to be denied burial was a shameful indignity (Dt. 28:26; 1 Kings 13:22). Clearly cremation – certainly widely practiced – was not considered right but improper.
Fire and Actions of God. While fire in some cases may be seen as good or serve as a symbol for the divine presence, it is wrong to apply this to cremation. Fire was most often associated with warning and judgment (Lev. 10:1-2) — including eternal judgment (Matthew 25:4, etc.). To connect the burning of a human body with fire would more than likely bring images of human sacrifices (Lev. 18:21), criminal punishment (Lev. 20:14; 21:9), and hell fire itself in relation to a final judgment. Therefore, the symbol of fire at best has a dual application and, when weighed, cannot be used to arguably support cremation.
Jesus’ View. Scripture itself underscores that Jesus would be buried, but rise again. Matthew 23:27 is likewise not a negative reference to burial. Rather, it is a negative reference to the scribes and Pharisees. It was they who appeared beautiful on the outside but who, like dead men in tombs, were unclean on the inside. The fact that the tombs of burial were so common to the people makes possible Jesus’ point concerning the religious leaders – it was based upon their actions or inaction that the fires of hell were reserved for them.
The fact that Jesus’ body had not been cremated was critical resurrection evidence.
New Testament Practice. The duty of burial fell upon the family or closest associates of the deceased (Mt. 8:21-22; Lk. 9:59-60; Mt. 14:12; Mk. 6:29). It was carried out with the utmost possible speed (Acts 5:5-6). It was deemed a good work to make special provision for the burial of strangers. In Revelation 11:9 the two witnesses are subjected by their enemies to the final indignity of lying dead and unburied for three and a half days. The fullest accounts of funeral practice are contained in the narratives of Lazarus (John 11) and of Jesus Himself.
Paul’s Theology. The opinion that Paul devalued dead bodies is totally without warrant. First, Paul never taught a dead body should be despised or destroyed. Therefore, Paul’s emphasis on the living body (1 Cor. 6:9) cannot be used to teach there is no value in a dead body. Second, Paul’s analogy of the body being a temple of the Holy Spirit is applied only to the living body. Paul nowhere affirmed that the body, like a temple, should be destroyed (i.e., some imposed means of destruction) after it is used. Therefore, the analogy, that it can be destroyed after it is used, does not follow. Third, Paul’s Jewish background would strongly suggest that he practiced and approved of burial as the means of disposing of dead bodies. In fact, Paul seemed to imply this by means of an analogy he used for the resurrection body. In 1 Corinthians 15:42 Paul said, “The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable.” In describing what happens to a body after death, Paul used an analogy of planting a seed, which is similar to burying a dead body (1 Corinthians 15:36-44). This is because Paul’s view of the physical resurrection teaches that there is a continuity from the body of this life, which will be transformed and glorified, to the new resurrection body – a clear reenactment of Jesus’ own resurrection.
The use of other Pauline references to the body are also taken out of context. Just because Paul preferred to be absent from the body and home with the Lord (1 Cor. 5:8), does not mean Paul did not care how the body was treated after death. In 1 Corinthians 15:50, when Paul stated that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, he was referring to our corruptible bodies, as the very next phrase reveals: “For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality” (v. 53). Paul in no way was saying that this body is unimportant. He was simply drawing a contrast between the mortal body and the immortal body (vv. 45–50). The earthly body, because of its condition, cannot inherit the kingdom of God. God must change and raise it imperishable (vv. 51–54).
What about the suggestion that for Paul the sting of death is not well represented by a prettified corpse and that it is the mortal nature that puts on immortality? First, we do not know what Paul’s opinion was concerning the beautification of a corpse. Paul never wrote on the topic. Second, burying a corpse is the best representation of the Christian’s victory over death. While it is true that God is able to resurrect our bodies no matter what their condition might be (i.e., via burial or cremation), it is important to preserve the body for theological reasons. Human nature is a soul-body unity, and it is soul and body together that put on immortality. Further, the corpse is a good representation of this hope because it is that very body that will have numerical identity with the glorified body. What better symbol to have then the very body that will someday be glorified? As Paul said, it is the same mortal body that will “put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:53). Another body or form will not replace it.
Finally, in light of Paul’s theological use and respect for the body, burial is a more compatible practice. There is, therefore, a precedence for earth burial not because it enhances bodily resurrection, but because it maintains a consistent expression of its theology that is well grounded in the New Testament. In fact, in Romans 6:4 and Col. 2:12 burial (“synthaptomai” meaning “to be buried with”) is used as a figure of baptism. The disciple is represented as identified with his Master in death, burial and risen life.
Christian Acceptance. While the reasons for the wider acceptance of cremation among some Christians may be influential, they are nonetheless flawed. First, Christians should not reinterpret biblical theology so that cremation can be more acceptable. If the Bible is God’s Word — as it claims and evidence supports it to be — then Christians today, even as in biblical times, do not have a right to reinterpret it to fit the current culture. For theological and not merely cultural reasons, burial as a method of corpse disposal was very important in biblical times therefore important in our time.
Second, while extravagant materialistic funerals are certainly questionable, it is hard to imagine how the body of the deceased loved one contributes to what some classify as an obscene use of finances (when compared with the cost of cremation). Were all the early Christians and Jews materialistic because they preserved the body for burial? How does the body in a funeral make modern Westerners more materialistic than their Christian and Jewish ancestors who practiced viewing and burial? Whether corpse viewing is beneficial or not is an individual preference and cannot be used as an argument against physical burial per se.
From Ashes to Ashes. Simply because a human practice speeds up what God ordained does not mean it is right. God ordained that all fallen beings would die (Gen. 2:16-17; cf. Rom. 5:12), but this does not justify our killing them to speed up the process. God ordained pain (Gen. 3:16), but this does not mean we should inflict it on others. There is an important difference between what God can do and what we should do. Many babies naturally abort and most adults die naturally, but this does not justify our killing them (Ex. 20:13). Of course, there is a difference. The body is already dead before it is cremated; but this no more justifies cremating it than it does burning a flag because it is going to rot anyway. Again, there is significance in symbolism, and the symbolism of destroying a body that God created and that God will resurrect is the wrong message to send. Likewise, the simple fact that given time the body will turn to dust does not mean that we should turn it to dust immediately after death. God created the body, and He desires that we respect it even in death. If we are created in God’s image and Jesus Himself underwent burial, then the deduction that we should do likewise is inferred, not optional.
- Conclusion: From the Christian perspective, burial is the pattern used in Scripture and has been historically followed by the church. Of course, it should be pointed out that cremation is no hindrance to the act, or event, of the resurrection. God, in His omnipotence, is certainly able, if He so chooses, to collect every atom and molecule, no matter where it is found in the universe, and reconstruct our same bodies in a glorified state. It does not follow from this, however, that cremation is an acceptable general practice. Whereas burial is an important practice and symbol in Scripture, cremation is a poor symbol of scriptural truth. While cremation is not an intrinsic evil, it nonetheless symbolically ignores some important biblical truths. In this sense, cremation is a hindrance to the promotion of resurrection truth and should not be a regular practice of Christians. We thus conclude that all Christians should practice Christian burial unless extraordinary circumstances do not permit it.