¹¹ He must not defile himself by going near a dead body. He may not make himself ceremonially unclean even for his father or mother.

¹⁴ “This is the ritual law that applies when someone dies inside a tent: All those who enter that tent and those who were inside when the death occurred will be ceremonially unclean for seven days.

⁷ Even if the dead person is their own father, mother, brother, or sister, they must not defile themselves, for the hair on their head is the symbol of their separation to God.

Instructions for the Priests

21 The Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

“A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean by touching the dead body of a relative. ² The only exceptions are his closest relatives—his mother or father, son or daughter, brother,

²⁸ “Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord.

¹⁶ So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!

²⁶ “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.

⁵⁹ He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”

The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”

⁶⁰ But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead!^[a] Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”

The True Family of Jesus

⁴⁶ As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. ⁴⁷ Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak to you.”^[a]

⁴⁸ Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. ⁵⁰ Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”

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.^[a]”