What is the meaning of Matthew 27:52? The tombs • Jerusalem’s hillsides were dotted with rock-hewn graves, real places holding real bodies (John 19:41; John 11:38). • God often chooses graves as stages for His power—think of Elisha’s tomb reviving a corpse (2 Kings 13:21) or Jesus calling Lazarus out (John 11:43-44). • In Matthew’s narrative the opened tombs stand beside the torn veil (Matthew 27:51), showing that both death’s separation and the temple’s separation have been breached. broke open • “The earth quaked and the rocks were split” just moments earlier (Matthew 27:51), so the same divine quake shattered these tombs. • Earthquakes in Scripture frequently announce God’s direct intervention (Exodus 19:18; Acts 16:26; Revelation 11:19). • The timing—at the very instant Jesus yields His spirit—proclaims that His death is the force breaking death’s hold. the bodies of many saints • “Saints” refers to Old Testament believers, people made holy by faith in the coming Messiah (Hebrews 11:39-40; Psalm 16:10). • Their physical bodies, not mere spirits, were central. God does not abandon matter; He redeems it (Romans 8:23). • “Many,” not all, rose—a foretaste, not the final harvest (1 Corinthians 15:23). who had fallen asleep • Scripture calls a believer’s death “sleep” to underline its temporary nature (John 11:11-14; Acts 7:60; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). • Sleep anticipates waking; likewise the saints’ state anticipated resurrection life (Daniel 12:2). were raised • This was a literal, bodily resurrection, witnessed inside history, verifying that Jesus’ own victory over death is factual (1 Corinthians 15:20; Acts 26:23). • Matthew 27:53 notes they entered Jerusalem “after His resurrection,” underscoring Christ as “the firstfruits” and these saints as early evidence of the coming global resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:23). • Their appearance to “many” provided unarguable testimony—like Elijah’s fire on Carmel, the event left the city buzzing (Luke 24:38-43; John 20:19-20). summary Matthew 27:52 records an actual earthquake-triggered opening of real tombs, the literal raising of genuine Old Testament believers, and their public appearance as living proof that Jesus’ death shatters both sin’s curtain and death’s door. In this single verse God gives a preview of the universal resurrection, assures every believer that death is only sleep, and declares that the cross has already begun reversing the grave’s grip. |
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