“And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many” (Matthew 27:52, 53).

The expressions “out of the graves [tombs]” and “out of the tomb” are used occasionally in the New Testament, but apparently with a different shade of meaning.

The expression is twice used in the singular, “out of the tomb.” It is spoken of Lazarus when he was “called … out of the tomb” (John 12:17) and of Jesus when Mary of Magdala surmised that “they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb.” In each case it is of someone coming out from inside a specific tomb.

Matthew 8:28 speaks in the plural of two demoniacs “coming forth out of the tombs.” Mark 5:2 speaks similarly of a man with an unclean spirit. Clearly, none of these three was dead; so the expression evidently merely means these were in a cemetery, and not necessarily inside a tomb (empty or not). Luke 8:27 speaks of a demoniac who “abode … in the tombs,” when he also was not dead.

Zechariah’s Tomb, east of the Old City of Jerusalem

It is also in the plural, later in Matthew, “And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and gave up his¹ breath. (51) And behold, the veil of the temple² was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake; and the rocks were rent; (52) and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep were awakened;³ (53) and coming forth out⁴ of the tombs after his resurrection they entered into the holy city and appeared unto many” (Matthew 27:50-53 RVIC).

Some questions about this seemingly mysterious account need be resolved:

• Is any group called “saints” other than Jesus Christ and his church?
• At the end of verse 52 the Greek word primarily means “awaken, arouse” (Liddell & Scott). Does it mean awaken from sleep or from death in this context?
• It says, “they came forth … after his resurrection,”

The text may be easier to understand than it seems at first glance. The “saints” need only come out of a cemetery. The “saints” usually means the (faithful) church; so why not the apostles here? They had been so tired after the Last Supper that they could not watch one hour without falling asleep, and it is here said that they had fallen asleep; so the earthquake awakened them. They remained fugitives from the city of Jerusalem until after Jesus was resurrected.

— Br. James Parkinson

 

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(1) Or, the spirit. or, the wind.

(2) Or, sanctuary

(3) Or, raised;

(4) Or, out from the tombs after His resurrection

 

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