This is an excerpt from my book “40 Moments From Christ’s Final Days.” Click here to get it from Amazon using my affiliate link.
Find this moment in: Mt. 27:52-53
Matthew 28:2 tells us an earthquake ushered in Christ’s resurrection as an angel came from Heaven, moved the stone, and terrified the guard so much they fainted. However, Christ’s tomb wasn’t the only one opened in this earthquake, nor was He the only one resurrected.
And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. (Matthew 27:52-53)
If we don’t hurry past this because it’s too strange, most people have the same thought: Did zombies walk around Jerusalem? This moment is so brief, and only occurs in Matthew, that it can be hard to understand what’s happening. But if we look before and after Christ’s resurrection, it’s not so strange after all.
First, we look at what Paul told the Corinthian and Ephesian churches.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:20-21)
Therefore it says, “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, And HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.” (Ephesians 4:8)
Taken together, we can understand that Jesus was the first of many who would be resurrected like He was. Not like Lazarus, who would die again after his resurrection, but resurrected with a body like Jesus that would never die. When He later returned to Heaven, Jesus also led a group of people who were considered captives. These captives are the same ones who resurrected with Him on Sunday. They were resurrected into glorified bodies, then brought up to Heaven when Jesus ascended in Acts 1:9-12. The question, of course, is whether the Bible gives us a better indication of who these people are.
Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. (Ezekiel 37:12)
Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and that in Him, everyone who believes is justified from all things which you could not be justified from through the Law of Moses. (Acts 13:38-39)
The moment accompanying Christ’s resurrection may fulfill this promise to Israel. Before Jesus, no one could enter Heaven because they were still guilty of their sins. However, we read in Hebrews 11 that God marked people in the Old Testament as righteous because they not only believed God during one moment, but because they would have also believed what He revealed about a coming Messiah. As much as they could, they lived with the faith that God would send someone to fully atone for their sins.
When Jesus resurrected, He granted passage for these people who were, in a way, held “captive” in the grave. This strange moment in Matthew was their promised resurrection before they entered Heaven to be with the Father. Jesus may have been the first to resurrect into a glorified body, but on that day, He wasn’t the only one.[1]
Stop and think: This moment gives us great hope for our resurrection and eternal life. From the moment He came back to life, Jesus proved that He truly had the power over death and the authority to grant new life. Think about your own hope for the future and why you believe you’ll share in a similar resurrection.
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[1] To learn more around this moment, or understand what happened during the three days of Christ’s burial, check out my article “What Did Jesus Do in the Grave?” at OnwardintheFaith.com
