What did Jesus mean when He said, "Let the dead bury their dead"?

There have been some confusion on the meaning behind what Jesus said. A disciple asked Jesus if he could bury his father before moving on with Jesus' ministry. There is not much detail on how much time the disciple needed or if his father was dying, not having much time to live. Maybe the disciple wanted to take care of just a few things concerning funeral arrangements, though it wouldn't much matter when we understand Jesus' point. Jesus responded by saying, "follow me; and let the dead bury their dead." Some may argue that Jesus was too harsh and was inconsiderate to the disciple's situation, but this would be a knee jerk reaction to those who not fully taking the time and studying. Jesus was not inconsiderate nor was He wanting the disciple to neglect his family. This would be contradictory to what God's word says throughout the whole Bible.

Luke 9:57-62 These passages details three men, all requesting to take care of personal endeavors before taking on more responsibility in serving Jesus. So Jesus responses to all of them teaches us that serving our Lord requires setting aside our own personal desires.

Ephesians 2:1-5 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world.......we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind........but God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins." What Jesus meant in His response to the men is similar to what this passage is teaching. Those who lived "the course of this world" or followed the tendencies, thoughts, and pursuits that characterize this present world system are "dead in sin". So when Jesus says, "let the dead bury their dead", He means let those who follow the desires of the world(unbelievers), take care of their dead, BUT you whom Jesus has called to start His ministry, YOUR duty is now. Follow me. The disciple's father could have been an unbeliever, the Bible doesn't reveal much detail concerning this family. In Matthew 8:21-22, "Follow me; And let the dead bury their dead". Again, Jesus is emphasizing to follow Him. He was trying to get them to fully understand the commitment He expects. Jesus' ministry had begun and the time to be a part of it was now.

Final thoughts
In the Gospels that records Jesus saying, "let the dead bury their dead", Its very clear that Jesus was stating that the time to be involved in God's plan was now. As Christians we can apply the statement made by Jesus in modern times also. The "dead" are unbelievers and followers of the things of this world, always placing God second below everything else. Jesus is saying let the unbelievers follow themselves, but our duty is to serve Him. If we allow certain things in our life to prevent us from serving Jesus and sharing the Gospel to those who does not know Him, then it shows the desire and commitment that we have to follow Christ as lacking and needing work.

I think you have to consider Jewish custom concerning caring for those who have died. Typically when a person died they were to be interred in a tomb of some sort and typically on the same day they died. Then Shiva, which is a seven day mourning period wherein today in the home of that deceased person all mirrors are covered so that vanity isn't an issue when balling your eyes out, lasts seven days. As it did in first century.
After the body is placed in the tomb, there was no coffin, to decompose, then began the 30 day mourning period of Shloshim.
A year after the internment in the tomb the family would return and collect the bones of the deceased. And those would be put in a bone box called an Ossuary. And that Ossuary would then be stored in what today we'd call a family crypt.

The first burial and then the second burial, which was called the Ossilegium.

Consider that when the young man hesitated to follow Jesus at Jesus' behest by saying he needed to go to bury his father in light of that understanding.
You're talking about more than a year before the young man would be able to join Jesus and follow him if the traditional mode of burial of his father was practiced first.

Jesus told the young man to let the dead bury their dead because that is a reference to present day mortality of the young mans family, and to the state of death of his father. The living are the future dead.

Therefore, Jesus was telling the young man let those who will die in future, (the dead), bury their (family member) dead. Let the living who shall one day also die bury their dead family member according to Jewish tradition and follow me (Jesus).

Let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead.

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One of the elementary teachings of Christianity is respect for elders,
especially parents. So the man's request wasn't unreasonable.

In context; Jesus' instructions pertain to those of his followers in a Christian
service capacity; specifically evangelists, preachers, and missionaries. Well;
surely no one would blame a missionary if they were to take a leave of
absence in order to attend their parents' funeral; but Jesus says no. A
missionary's duty to Christ trumps their duty to parents.

This same principle no doubt applies to ordained ministers too; e.g. the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr. His political activism made King a knight in shining
armor to the world; but to heaven, King was a deserter who abandoned his
post.

Even John Q and Jane Doe pew warmers are forbidden to divide their
loyalties.

● Luke 14:26 . . If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and
mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-- yes, even his own
life --he cannot be my disciple.

You know, Jesus didn't lay down a new law. If he's as divine as the Bible
says he is, then the very first of the Ten Commandments applies to Jesus
just as much as it applies to the One who sent him.

● Deut 6:5 . .You shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with
all your soul, and with all your might.
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Spot on!

I wouldn't go as far as that lol the spiritually alive shouldn't bury the physically dead?

Soggykitten is spot on. Context is required to understand otherwise we try and interpret from our current thinking and can totally miss the mark

In one year they would be the future dead?
Did the man not want to initially follow Jesus?

Considering the customs of that day, "Burying ones Father" meant that "when he dies, I will be free from the obligation to take care him and will be able to travel."

So he was not saying that he just found out that his dad had died and he had to go get him buried. (The Jews buried right away)
He was saying that he was responsible for taking care of his Father who was old and depended on him. And when he died someday in the future, then he would follow.

But we are not promised tomorrow, and nothing, not even family obligations should stop us from surrendering our lives and wills and future plans to Jesus. Here am I Jesus, I will go where you want me to go to the ends of the earth to preach the Gospel. Let the dead bury the dead, means that there are always unregenerate people who can take care of the earthly responsibilities that we think are so important. Many of his disciples had left those responsibilities behind to follow Jesus and this man's obligation to an aged father was no more important than what the apostles had left behind themselves.

Sorry I'm not sure what you're asking. I think he did yeah? But was caught up in worldly matters?

I am just wondering why they would be the future dead, since the burial of the bones is only a year away?

My second question was not worded properly.

Jesus asked him to follow and he countered with obligations.

The offer Jesus made, was it not connected to a spiritual journey which the man declined?

So perhaps the "first dead" Jesus was referring to, are not the future dead, but are spiritually dead and Jesus was telling him that He was offering life not death.

I'm far from fluent in Greek but, if you look at the notes offered in the Strong's Concordance and then translate Jesus' comment word for word, He says, "Let the dead bury himself, dead," which would suggest an even harsher smack of reality, perhaps too harsh for the even the least sensitive of us to swallow. However, it would illustrate, with vivid clarity, the futility of our own attempts to obtain any sort of honor, or dignity even, apart from the work of Christ.

Thank you for sharing this!

Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
That is what it means.
He was looking back when the kingdom of God was right in front of Him!

One man just wanted to say goodbye to his family.
Even that was looking back.

Nothing else should matter!
if it does, your unfit for the kingdom of God.

Agree .... there is a spiritual connotation to the story.

I would suggest that Jesus' teaching, let the dead bury their dead, never intended that the young man should never bother to go and bury his father, as if that burial was insignificant. Rather, thinking to teach that would have made Jesus to have violated the commandment, honor your mother and father.
The young man had family that would bury his father. If the young man wanted to follow Jesus he was invited to respond then and now. Not let burial of his father take priority, and a years time, to then go and follow Jesus. The priority matter would be the issue.
Follow Jesus or bury the dead who had people who would attend to that ritual.

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The context of Luke 6:59-62 suggests that Jesus' instructions applied only to
potential missionaries.

The context also suggests that their enlistment would've been for a limited
time, i.e. it applied only to the three years leading up to his crucifixion. In
other words: "following" Jesus in that day would've been temporary duty, so
to speak-- for only the length of time that he himself was on the road as a
missionary teaching and preaching things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

That was a once-in-a-lifetime, golden opportunity. Imagine being able to list
a tour of duty with Jesus on your spiritual résumé. Man, what a score that
would be!!
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One can be sucking air and still be spiritually dead.....lost spiritually dead men carry physically dead men to the ground everyday world wide!

Unless you are Judas Iscariot......and a devil from the beginning

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There's a bit of a flip flop in my scripture reference. It should read the ninth
of Luke rather than the sixth.

Anyhow, in the snippet below, there is one Greek word for two varieties of
"dead".

"Let the dead bury their dead" (Luke 9:60)

The Greek word is nekros (nek-ros') which basically speaks of a corpse, i.e.
a dead body. For example:

• Luke 24:5-8 . . In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to
the ground, but the men said to them: Why do you look for the living among
the dead? He is not here; he has risen. Remember how he told you, while he
was still with you in Galilee: "The Son of Man must be delivered into the
hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again."

NOTE: The Watchtower Society (a.k.a. Jehovah's Witnesses) claims that
Jesus' crucified dead body-- i.e. his corpse --is still deceased, and its
remains are squirreled away on Earth somewhere in a condition and a
location known only to God.

Anyway, although nekros basically speaks of a corpse; it can also apply to
people not yet deceased, viz: still on their feet; for example:

• Eph 2:1-5 . . And you were dead in your trespasses and sins . . . But God,
being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even
when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with
Christ.

"made us alive" speaks of a resurrection that people can undergo now, in
this life, before they pass on to the next.

• John 5:25 . .Verily, verily, I say unto you: The hour is coming, and now is,
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear
shall live.

I heard tell of a preacher back in the day who went around talking about the
rapture and telling audiences that millions now alive won't die. Another
preacher came behind him telling audiences that millions alive are already
dead. I tend to agree with the latter.
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