By definition, a funeral is a form of burial in which someone who has passed away is buried. There are also other forms of burial, such as cremation. There are also various traditions regarding the burial of the dead, often depending on culture and religion. But why do we actually bury our dead?
practical utility
In our Western society, we think very commercially and functionally. Questions we ask ourselves are: what does it yield, what is the practical utility, or what do we get out of it?
If we answer these questions regarding the burial of the dead, the answer to all questions is: nothing. So apparently, the value does not lie there, but where does it lie then?
resurrection
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul speaks about the burial of the dead and points to that which lies behind death: the resurrection of the dead. He compares this to a seed that is placed in the ground:
1 Corinthians 15 NBG
35 But, someone will say, how are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?
36 Fool! What you sow yourself does not come to life unless it has died,
37 and when you sow, you do not sow the future body, but only a grain, for example of wheat, or of something else.
typology
When a farmer entrusts seed to the ground, he sows something that is dead in itself, a dead seed (compare John 12:24). If nothing happens to that seed, it will not come to life. The seed comes to life because water and light are added. Water is an image of the word of God (Ephesians 5:26) and light is also a type of it (Psalm 119:105). Both are indispensable to bring about life. The sower sows the seed in the expectation that this dead seed will come to life, take root, stand up, and bear fruit.
expectation
It is the same with the burial of the dead. We entrust a dead body to the earth in the expectation that at the sound of God’s word (1 Thess. 4:16), the dead will be raised. Just as water and light come to a seed placed in the earth, causing it to come to life and stand up, so the dead whom we entrust to the earth will rise! That gives value to a burial, through the hope we have (1 Thess. 4:13).
Every person who died in Adam will be made alive in Christ (1 Cor. 15:22). All the dead will one day be raised in incorruptibility, glory, and power.
1 Corinthians 15 NBG
42 It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in perishability, and raised in imperishability;
43 it is sown in dishonor, and raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, and raised in strength.