On Cremation

2017-04-07

The Bible overwhelmingly talks about burial of the dead being the norm, rather than cremation. In some cases, people were specific concerning where they should be buried. An example is Joseph, because he believed that God would not only bring them up out of Egypt to the land of Canaan, but that he also would be raised from the dead (Genesis 50:24-26). In Hebrews 11:22, Joseph’s command to the people of Israel was evidence of his faith, because he knew God would fulfill His prophecy in Genesis 15:13-14. He knew something of the resurrection, otherwise, what would it matter?

This issue of burying the dead must be important enough, because Michael and the devil disputed about Moses’ body in Jude 1:9. Because we believe in our own resurrection on the Day of Christ, I think it leaves some sort of testimony to the others we leave behind.

Ultimately the Lord is going to be able to resurrect us no matter what happens to our bodies. John the Baptist (Matthew 14:11-12) and King Saul (1 Samuel 31:9-13; 2 Samuel 21:12-14) were both beheaded, and their heads would have been buried in locations different from their bodies. Being God, He has no limitation in this regard; He will bring our bodies back regardless of what happens to them. However, when we bury our dead, it is a testimony to the living that we believe that God will raise the dead at the end of days.