The After-Effects of Jesus’ Death: Matthew 27:50-53

Mar 16

One of the strangest, few verses in all of the Bible, describes the circumstances around the death of Christ. Matthew, in the midst of a relatively unbroken flow of narrative on the crucifixion of Jesus, interrupts the flow to describe the after-effects of Jesus’ death.

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
Matthew 27:50-53

There is quite a lot here to unpack, but there is (maybe somewhat surprisingly) very little detail given. I’ve preached on the resurrection power of Jesus in the past, but have not preached on these few verses specifically. The power of the resurrection is often thought of in terms of spiritual power, or in terms of life-giving power. While these are all aspects of the power of the resurrection that is rightly thought of, the first effect of the death of Jesus that the gospel of Matthew brings up is the tremendous visible signs which accompanied that moment.

Below are a few terrific Christian thinkers, theologians, martyrs, and commenters on this passage. At the end, I’ll add a few of my own comments.

"Verse 52. And the graves were opened. Graves, or sepulchers, were most commonly made, among the Jews, in solid rocks, or in caves of rocks. The rending of the rocks, therefore, would lay them open. The graves were opened by this earthquake, but the dead in them did not rise till after his resurrection.

The graves were opened. This matter is not related so fully as our curiosity would wish; for the scripture was not intended to gratify that; it should seem, that same earthquake that rent the rocks, opened the graves, and many bodies of saints which slept, arose. Death to the saints is but the sleep of the body, and the grave the bed it sleeps in; they awoke by the power of the Lord Jesus, and (v. 53) came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into Jerusalem, the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now here

(1.) We may raise many enquiries concerning it, which we cannot resolve: as, [1.] Who these saints were, that did arise. Some think, the ancient patriarchs, that were in such care to be buried in the land of Canaan, perhaps in the believing foresight of the advantage of this early resurrection. Christ had lately proved the doctrine of the resurrection from the instance of the patriarchs (ch. xxii. 32), and here was a speedy confirmation of his argument. Others think, these that arose were modern saints, such as had been Christ in the flesh, but died before him; as his father Joseph, Zecharias, Simeon, John Baptist, and others, that had been known to the disciples, while they lived, and therefore were the fitter to be witnesses to them in an apparition after. What if we should suppose that they were the martyrs, who in the Old-Testament times had sealed the truths of God with their blood, that were thus dignified and distinguished? Christ particularly points at them as his forerunners, ch. xxiii. 35. And we find (Rev. xx. 4, 5), that those who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, arose before the rest of the dead. Sufferers with Christ shall first reign with him. [2.] It is uncertain whether (as some think) they arose to life, now at the death of Christ, and disposed of themselves elsewhere, but did not go into the city till after his resurrection; or whether (as others think), though their sepulchres (which the Pharisees had built and varnished, ch. xxiii. 29), and so made remarkable, were shattered now by the earthquake (so little did God regard that hypocritical respect), yet they did not revive and rise till after the resurrection; only, for brevity-sake, it is mentioned here, upon the mention of the opening of the graves, which seems more probable. [3.] Some think that they arose only to bear witness of Christ's resurrection to those to whom they appeared, and, having finished their testimony, retired to their graves again. But it is more agreeable, both to Christ's honour and theirs, to suppose, though we cannot prove, that they arose as Christ did, to die no more, and therefore ascended with him to glory. Surely on them who did partake of his first resurrection, a second death had no power. [4.] To whom they appeared (not to all the people it is certain, but to many), whether enemies or friends, in what manner they appeared, how often, what they said and did, and how they disappeared, are secret things which belong not to us; we must not covet to be wise above what is written. The relating of this matter so briefly, is a plain intimation to us, that we must not look that way for a confirmation of our faith; we have a more sure word of prophecy.
(2.) Yet we may learn many good lessons from it. [1.] That even those who lived and died before the death and resurrection of Christ, had saving benefit thereby, as well as those who have lived since; for he was the same yesterday that he is to-day, and will be for ever, Heb. xiii. 8. [2.] That Jesus Christ, by dying, conquered, disarmed, and disabled, death. These saints that arose, were the present trophies of the victory of Christ's cross over the powers of death, which he thus made a show of openly. Having by death destroyed him that had the power of death, he thus led captivity captive, and gloried in these re-taken prizes, in them fulfilling that scripture, I will ransom them from the power of the grave. [3.] That, in virtue of Christ's resurrection, the bodies of all the saints shall, in the fulness of time, rise again. This was an earnest of the general resurrection at the last day, when all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God. And perhaps Jerusalem is therefore called here the holy city, because the saints, at the general resurrection, shall enter into the new Jerusalem; which will be indeed what the other was in name and type only, the holy city, Rev. xxi. 2. [4.] That all the saints do, by the influence of Christ's death, and in conformity to it, rise from the death of sin to the life of righteousness. They are raised up with him to a divine and spiritual life; they go into the holy city, become citizens of it, have their conversation in it, and appear to many, as persons not of this world.
Matthew Henry

“But here a question arises. Why did God determine that only some should arise, since a participation in the resurrection of Christ belongs equally to all believers? I reply: As the time was not fully come when the whole body of the Church should be gathered to its Head, he exhibited in a few persons an instance of the new life which all ought to expect. For we know that Christ was received into heaven on the condition that the life of his members should still be hid, (Colossians 3:3,) until it should be manifested by his coming. But in order that the minds of believers might be more quickly raised to hope, it was advantageous that the resurrection, which was to be common to all of them, should be tasted by a few.”

“Another and more difficult question is, What became of those saints afterwards? For it would appear to be absurd to suppose that, after having been once admitted by Christ to the participation of a new life, they again returned to dust. But as this question cannot be easily or quickly answered, so it is not necessary to give ourselves much uneasiness about a matter which is not necessary to be known. That they continued long to converse with men is not probable; for it was only necessary that they should be seen for a short time, that in them, as in a mirror or resemblance, the power of Christ might plainly appear. As God intended, by their persons, to confirm the hope of the heavenly life among those who were then alive, there would be no absurdity in saying that, after having performed this office, they again rested in their graves. But it is more probable that the life which they received was not afterwards taken from them; for if it had been a mortal life, it would not have been a proof of a perfect resurrection. Now, though the whole world will rise again, and though Christ will raise up the wicked to judgment, as well as believers to salvation, yet as it was especially for the benefit of his Church that he rose again, so it was proper that he should bestow on none but saints the distinguished honor of rising along with him.” John Calvin

These sleeping saints (see on 1Th 4:14) were Old Testament believers, who—according to the usual punctuation in our version—were quickened into resurrection life at the moment of their Lord's death, but lay in their graves till His resurrection, when they came forth. But it is far more natural, as we think, and consonant with other Scriptures, to understand that only the graves were opened, probably by the earthquake, at our Lord's death, and this only in preparation for the subsequent exit of those who slept in them, when the Spirit of life should enter into them from their risen Lord, and along with Him they should come forth, trophies of His victory over the grave. Thus, in the opening of the graves at the moment of the Redeemer's expiring, there was a glorious symbolical proclamation that the death which had just taken place had "swallowed up death in victory"; and whereas the saints that slept in them were awakened only by their risen Lord, to accompany Him out of the tomb, it was fitting that "the Prince of Life … should be the First that should rise from the dead" (Ac 26:23; 1Co 15:20, 23; Col 1:18; Re 1:5).
Robert Jamieson

Spurgeon has an entire sermon on this passage from April 1 1888. I’ll quote only a few paragraphs from the sermon below:

”After the sepulchers had been broken up and the graves had been opened, what followed next? Life was imparted. "Many of the bodies of the saints which slept arose." They had turned to dust. But when you have a miracle you may as well have a great one. I wonder that people, when they can believe one miracle, make any difficulty of another. Once introduces Omnipotence and difficulties have ceased. So in this miracle. The bodies came together on a sudden and there they were, complete and ready for the rising. What a wonderful thing is the implantation of life! I will not speak of it in a dead man but I would speak of it in a dead heart....
Now pass on and you will see that those persons who received life, in due time left their graves. It is written that they came out of their graves. Of course they did. What living man would wish to stay in his grave? And you, my dear Hearers, if the Lord quickens you, will not stay in your graves. If you have been accustomed to strong drink, or to any other besetting sin, you will quit it. You will not feel any attachment to your sepulcher. If you have lived in ungodly company and found amusement in questionable places, you will not stay in your graves.
We shall not have need to come after you to lead you away from your old associations. You will be eager to get out of them. If any person here should be buried alive and if he should be discovered in his coffin before he had breathed his last, I am sure that if the sod were lifted and the lid were taken off he would not need prayerful entreaties to come out of his grave. Far from it. Life loves not the prison of death....
We are told—to close this marvelous story—that they went into the holy city "and appeared unto many." That is, some of them who had been raised from the dead, I do not doubt, appeared unto their wives. What rapture as they saw again the beloved husband! It may be that some of them appeared to father and mother. And I doubt not that many a quickened mother or father would make the first appearance to their children. What does this teach us but that if the Lord's Grace should raise us from the dead, we must take care to show it? Let us appear unto many. Let the life that God has given us be manifest. Let us not hide it but let us go to our former friends and make our epiphanies as Christ made His. For His Glory's sake let us have our manifestation and appearance unto others. Glory be to the dying Savior! All praise to the great Sacrifice!

Thomas Aquinas compiled a great many other writers on this passage, below are a few of his saved quotes from others:

Origen: Great things were done at the moment that Jesus cried with a great voice.
Chrysostom: When He remained on the cross they had said tauntingly, “He saved others, himself he cannot save.” But what He would not do for Himself, that He did and more than that for the bodies of the Saints. For if it was a great thing to raise Lazarus after four days, much more was it that they who had long slept should now shew themselves alive; this is indeed a proof of the resurrection to come. But that it might not be thought that that which was done was an appearance merely, the Evangelist adds, “And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”
Jerome: As Lazarus rose from the dead, so also did many bodies of the Saints rise again to shew forth the Lord’s resurrection; yet notwithstanding that the graves were opened, they did not rise again before the Lord rose, that He might be the first-born of the resurrection from the dead.

My own comments follow:

It is interesting to note the timing of the resurrection of these saints. Some (like Jerome and Robert Jamieson) are convinced by Matthew in 27:53 that the timeline is not instant with the death of Jesus (Matthew 27:50). Not every commentator points this out and I believe this is helpful for us in studying the passage. We should not read these verses and imagine a timeline that goes something like this:

When Jesus breathed his last, at that exact, precise, atomic second, all of the events of verses 51-53 occurred simultaneously. (how NOT to read the passage)

I must admit this is sometimes how I’ve read this passage. Yet verse 53 gives us a key reflection and comment from the gospel writer. These raised to life saints exited their tombs AFTER the resurrection and then went into Jerusalem appearing to many. Our understanding of the timeline ought to be more imagined like this:

When Jesus breathed his last, at that moment, the temple curtain was torn (27:51), there was an earthquake which caused a great breaking up of rocks and tombs (27:51). A few days later, after the resurrection, many in Jerusalem recognized many who had already died now alive (27:53). The death and resurrection of Christ was understood as their source of life and escape from their graves (27:52) (one POSSIBLE faithful way to read the passage).

While some interpret Colossians 1:18 (which states that Jesus is the firstborn from among the dead) as a statement of preeminence (IE Jesus is the supreme one resurrected from the dead), I think this comment given in Matthew 27:53 justifies an understanding both of the preeminence of Jesus rising from the dead, and a linear timeline that he was the first one resurrected from the dead in the age of the New Covenant.

We know that some had been raised from the dead earlier by Jesus (such as Lazarus in John 11, and Jairus’ daughter Mark 5) and some in the Old Testament (the widow’s son 1 Kings 17). Because of these previous resurrections, it would be silly to think the intended meaning of Colossians 1:18 or Matthew 27:53 are a claim to be the first ever resurrections. Rather these “firsts” are in conjunction with the supreme culminating display of resurrection validation, none other than the Son of God raised from the dead. The timing of Jesus as first raised is then seen as the first resurrections in the New Covenant which was inaugurated, and sealed by the words of Jesus at the last supper (Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-16, Luke 22:7-13, 1 Corinthians 11:23-25).

As we come away from this passage hopefully we are encouraged to read our Bibles with careful attention to seek out the intended meaning of the written author. While we may still have some questions we’d like to ask regarding this tremendous display of resurrection power, I think it best that the Lord has indeed only given us a few details regarding these others who had their tombs broken open and were resurrected. The focus of the gospel writers at the end of each of their gospels is the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus. While we may have niggling and curious questions about the details of these other miraculous signs and wonders (earthquakes, tombs opening, and many resurrections), it is understandable for the authors to only briefly mention these miraculous events as they point towards, support, and otherwise affirm and magnify the singular person of which each of the gospels is about - Jesus. As Spurgeon said “I wonder that people, when they can believe one miracle, make any difficulty of another”. Let us not get lost in the smaller adjacent miracles of this moment which the gospel writer only makes passing comment about. Let us rather focus our attention on the magnificence of the greatest miracle recorded in the gospels, the Son of God atoning for sin and rising again on the third day!