When our first parent, father Adam, disobeyed the divine command, the death sentence passed upon him. Therefore, from the Creator's standpoint in a legal sense, he was dead although the dying process took over 900 years. The death sentence was finalized when Adam passed into the tomb. Our entire race was involved with Adam in this death sentence, "As by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin and so death passed upon all men" (Romans 5:12), "As in Adam all die" (1 Corinthians 15:22). From this view of the matter our Lord was saying, “Let the dead (the legally dead) bury their dead (the actually dead).” Even the living are figuratively “dead,” undergoing the dying process.
It is because all were condemned to death in Adam that all will be made alive in Christ (see Romans 5:18,19). Corroborating the words of the Lord Jesus the Apostle Paul says, "For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge that if one died for all then were all dead" (2 Corinthians 5:14). Jesus, in the laying down of his life, was giving himself "a ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2:6) - those under the sentence of death and those who have actually died.
Matthew 8:21,22 (New Living Translation): "21 Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father. 22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.” Perhaps what the person was saying to Jesus was, Lord, after my father's death I will come and be one of your disciples. While the old gentleman lives, I think I had better stay with him, but after he is dead, I will become one of your disciples. Jesus did not mean that the young man should not attend his father's funeral, but that if he left the Lord's service too long, he might never return. There are plenty in the world who can attend to the earthly things; few who can attend to the greater and more important work of proclaiming the kingdom.
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