Matthew 27:52

Mat 27:52-53. And the graves were opened — Some of the tombs were shattered and laid open by the earthquake, and doubtless continued open all the sabbath, since the law would not allow of any attempt to close them on that day: but the dead bodies which were in them did not come to life till Christ’s resurrection had taken place, as is implied in the next clause, for he was the first-born from the dead, Col 1:18; and the first- fruits of them that slept, 1Co 15:20. And many bodies of the saints which slept — The bodies of many eminently holy persons; arose and came out of their graves — Or tombs, while they remained unclosed; after his resurrection — Probably immediately after it; and went into the holy city — That is, Jerusalem, called the holy city, on account of the temple and its worship; and appeared unto many — Who knew them; thus attesting the truth of that most important event, Jesus’s resurrection, and declaring their own rescue from the grave, as a kind of first-fruits of his power over death, which should at length accomplish a general resurrection. It is and must remain uncertain who these saints were that had now the honour of being the first-fruits of Christ’s resurrection. Mr. Fleming thinks, that they were some of the most eminently holy mentioned in the Old Testament; and that they appeared in some extraordinary splendour, and were known by revelation to those to whom they appeared, as Moses and Elijah were to the disciples at the transfiguration. But Mr. Pierce, Dr. Macknight, and many others, think it more probable that they were persons who had died but lately, perhaps, such as had believed on Christ, and were well known to surviving disciples. Whoever they were, their resurrection was a most extraordinary event, and doubtless was much spoken of in Jerusalem among those to whom they appeared, and other well-disposed persons to whom they mentioned it. It is not improbable that Christ’s prophecy, recorded Joh 5:25, referred to this event, and thereby received its accomplishment, being distinguished from the general resurrection predicted in Mat 27:28-29 of that chapter. As it is only said, these saints appeared to many in Jerusalem, but not that they continued with them, it is probable that as they were undoubtedly raised to immortality, they attended their risen Saviour, during his abode on earth, and afterward accompanied him in his ascension, to grace his triumph over death and the grave, and all the powers of darkness, Eph 4:8; Col 2:15. Thus, as the rending the veil of the temple intimated that the entrance into the most holy place, the type of heaven, was now laid open to all nations, so the resurrection of a number of saints from the dead demonstrated that the power of death and the grave was broken; that the sting was taken from death, and the victory wrested from the grave; and if they ascended with him too, it was thus shown that the Lord’s conquest over the enemies of mankind was complete, and not only an earnest given of a general resurrection of the dead, but of the kingdom of heaven being opened to all believers.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27:52-53 tombs opened: Jesus’ climactic death inaugurated the Kingdom of God by breaking the powers of death and establishing the final resurrection (see Isa 26:19; Dan 12:2; 1 Cor 15:1-58; Col 1:18; Heb 2:14-15). • These godly ones either did not enter the city until after Jesus’ resurrection or they were not raised until then, with Jesus as the firstfruits (see 1 Cor 15:20, 23; Col 1:18). If that is the case, Matthew has included this episode to form a more powerful commentary on the impact of Jesus’ death.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mat 27:52. Τῶν κεκοιμημένων ἁγίων, of the saints that had slept) The name saints belongs equally to the living and the dead; yea, in the mention of the dead, the determining clause is added, “who had slept.” And these saints are reckoned such, not by human, but Divine Canon. Of the Saints, who had died either a long while before the birth of Christ, or not much after (see Gnomon on Joh 11:25), from all tribes no doubt. The ancients appear to have considered Job to have been one of these; for, at the end of his book, the LXX. and Theodotion add γέγραπται δὲ αὐτὸν πάλιν ἀναστήσεσθαι μεθʼ ὧν ὁ κύριος ἀνίστησιν, but it is written that he shall rise again with those whom the Lord raises.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is to say, the stones clave asunder, and the graves did open themselves, to show by this token, that death was overcome: and the resurrection of the dead followed the resurrection of Christ, as appeareth by the next verse following.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose--These sleeping saints (see on Th1 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" (Act 26:23; Co1 15:20, Co1 15:23; Col 1:18; Rev 1:5).

and went into the holy city--that city where He, in virtue of whose resurrection they were now alive, had been condemned.

and appeared unto many--that there might be undeniable evidence of their own resurrection first, and through it of their Lord's. Thus, while it was not deemed fitting that He Himself should appear again in Jerusalem, save to the disciples, provision was made that the fact of His resurrection should be left in no doubt. It must be observed, however, that the resurrection of these sleeping saints was not like those of the widow of Nain's son, of Jairus' daughter, of Lazarus, and of the man who "revived and stood upon his feet," on his dead body touching the bones of Elisha (Kg2 13:21) --which were mere temporary recallings of the departed spirit to the mortal body, to be followed by a final departure of it "till the trumpet shall sound." But this was a resurrection once for all, to life everlasting; and so there is no room to doubt that they went to glory with their Lord, as bright trophies of His victory over death.

The Centurion's Testimony (Mat 27:54).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 52. And the graves were opened] By the earthquake; and many bodies of saints which slept, i.e. were dead, sleep being a common expression for death in the Scriptures.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(52) Many bodies of the saints which slept arose.—It is scarcely, perhaps, surprising that a narrative so exceptional in its marvellousness, and standing, as it does, without any collateral testimony in any other part of the New Testament, should have presented to many minds difficulties which have seemed almost insuperable. They have accordingly either viewed it as a mythical addition, or, where they shrank from that extreme conclusion, have explained it as meaning simply that the bodies of the dead were exposed to view by the earthquake mentioned in the preceding verse, or have seen in it only the honest report of an over-excited imagination. On the other hand, the brevity, and in some sense simplicity, of the statement differences it very widely from such legends, more or less analogous in character, as we find, e.g., in the Apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, and so far excludes the mythical element which, as a rule, delights to show itself in luxuriant expansion. And this being excluded, we can hardly imagine the Evangelist as writing without having received his information from witnesses whom he thought trustworthy; and then the question rises, whether the narrative is of such a character as to be in itself incredible. On that point men, according to the point of view from which they look on the Gospel records, may naturally differ; but those who believe that when our Lord passed into Hades, the unseen world, it was to complete there what had been begun on earth, to proclaim there His victory over death and sin, will hardly think it impossible that there should have been outward tokens and witnesses of such a work. And the fact which St. Matthew records supplies, it is believed, the most natural explanation of language hardly less startling, which meets us in the Epistle, which even the most adverse critics admit to be from the hands of St. Peter. If he, or those whom he knew, had seen the saints that slept and had risen from their sleep, we can understand how deeply it would have impressed on his mind the fact that his Lord when “put to death in the flesh” had been “quickened in the spirit,” and had “preached to the spirits in prison” (1Pe_3:19), so that glad tidings were proclaimed even to the dead (1Pe_4:6). Who they were that thus appeared, we are not told. Most commentators have followed—somewhat unhappily, I venture to believe—the lead of the Apocryphal Gospel just named, and ι have identified them with the Patriarchs and Prophets of the Old Testament. It is clear, however, that St. Matthew’s statement implies that they were those who came out of the opened graves, who had been buried, that is, in the sepulchres of Jerusalem; and, remembering that the term “saints” was applied almost from the very first to the collective body of disciples (Act_9:13; Act_9:32; Act_9:41), it seems more natural to see in them those who, believing in Jesus, had passed to their rest before His crucifixion. On this supposition, their appearance met the feeling, sure to arise among those who were looking for an immediate manifestation of the kingdom—as it arose afterwards at Thessalonica (1Th_4:13)—that such as had so died were shut out from their share in that kingdom; and we have thus an adequate reason for their appearance, so that friends and kindred might not sorrow for them as others who had no hope. The statement that they did not appear till after our Lord’s resurrection, is from this point of view significant. The disciples were thus taught to look on that resurrection, not as an isolated phenomenon, but as the “firstfruits” of the victory over death (1Co_15:20), in which not they themselves only, but those also whom they had loved and lost were to be sharers.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And came out of the graves after his resurrection,.... The resurrection of Christ; for he rose as the first fruits, as the first begotten of the dead, and the firstborn from the dead; for he was the first that was raised to an immortal life; for though others were raised before him, by himself, and in the times of the prophets, yet to a mortal life; but these saints came forth to the resurrection of life, and therefore it was necessary that Christ the first fruits, should rise first. The Arabic version indeed reads, "after their own resurrection"; and the Ethiopic version, "after they were raised"; both wrong, and scarcely sense:

and went into the holy city; the city of Jerusalem, which though now a very wicked city, was so called, because of the temple, and the worship of God, and his residence in it: the burying places of the Jews were without the city (a), and therefore these risen saints, are said to go into it:

and appeared unto many; of their friends and acquaintance, who had personally known them, and conversed with them in their lifetime. These saints, I apprehend, continued on earth until our Lord's ascension, and then joining the retinue of angels, went triumphantly with him to heaven, as trophies of his victory over sin, Satan, death, and the grave,

(a) Vid. Gloss. in T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 80. 2. & Maimon. Hilch. Shemitta veyobel, c. 13. sect. 3.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

Ver. 52. And the graves were opened] To show that death was now swallowed up in victory by life essential; like as the fire swallows up the fuel, and as Moses’ serpent swallowed up the enchanted serpents.

And many bodies of the saints] To show that the heart strings of death, which before bound them in their sepulchres, were now broken, and they enlarged to attend our Saviour’s resurrection.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the graves were opened - “Graves” or sepulchres 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 until after his resurrection.

And many bodies of the saints arose - Of course, it is not known who these were, nor what became of them. It is probable that they were persons who had recently died, and they appear to have been known in Jerusalem; at least, had the ancient saints risen, they would not have been known, and would not so soon have been credited as those who had recently died.

Which slept - Which had died. The death of saints is often called “sleep,” Dan 12:2; 1Co 15:18; 1Th 4:15.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

52. The graves were opened — In the East it is often the case that tombs are broken up by the violence of earthquakes; but this was now the intended effect. The graves are often excavations in a rock, with a stone placed against them for a door, which the shock throws from its place. Many bodies of the saints which slept arose — Here is the third effect of the Saviour’s death. It pierces the domains of death. A few of the blessed saints, who are precious to Christ, are awakened to life as specimens in advance of his resurrection power.

We should put a period after the word opened. Then we shall perceive that the bodies of the saints did not rise and come into the city until after his resurrection. His death opened their graves; his resurrection raised them from the dead. Bodies — Observe, it was not the souls or spirits alone of the dead who were recalled from the domains of death. But their bodies were re-animated by the spirit, and returned again to life. Saints — Some think they were saints lately dead. Otherwise, how should it be known who they were? But this is by no means certain. See note on Mat_17:3. Slept — A beautiful figurative term for death; used in Scripture, usually in a good sense, of the happy dead.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The graves (the sepulchres) were opened. The earthquake tore away the stones that closed the mouths of many of the adjacent tombs. This and the following fact are mentioned only by St. Matthew. Many bodies of the saints which slept (twn kekoimhmenwn , who had fallen asleep) arose. Matthew anticipates the time of the actual occurrence of the marvel, which took place, not at this moment, but after our Lord"s resurrection, who was "the firstfruits of them that slept" (see the next verse). Who are meant by "the saints" here is doubtful. The Jews probably would have understood the term to apply to the worthies of the Old Testament. (comp. 2Pe_3:4) But the opening of the sepulchres in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem would not have liberated the bodies of many of those who were buried far away. The persons signified must be those who in life had looked for the hope of Israel, and had seen in Christ that hope fulfilled; they were such as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea, true believers, who are called saints in the New Testament. How did these bodies arise? or how were they raised up? They were not mere phantoms, unsubstantial visitants from the spirit world, for they were in some sense corporeal. That they were not resuscitated corpses, as Lazarus, Jairus"s daughter and the son of the widow, who lived for a time a second life, seems plain from the expression applied to them in the next verse, that "they appeared unto many," i.e. to persons who had known them while living. Some have thought that in them was anticipated the general resurrection, that, delivered from Hades and united to their bodies, they died no more, but at the Ascension accompanied Christ into heaven. Scripture says nothing of all this, nor have we any reason to suppose that any human body, save that of our blessed Lord (mediaeval legends add that of the Virgin Mary), has yet entered the highest heaven. (see Heb_11:39, Heb_11:40) Another opinion is that these were not strictly resurrections, but bodily appearances of saints like those of Moses and Elias at the Transfiguration; but it is a straining of language to make the evangelist describe such visitations as bodies arising from open sepulchres. Farrar tries to elude the difficulty by a supposition, as baseless as it is dishonouring to the evangelist"s strict and simple veracity. He writes, "An earthquake shook the earth and split the rocks, and as it rolled away from their places the great stones which closed and covered the cavern sepulchres of the Jews, so it seemed to the imaginations of many to have disimprisoned the spirits of the dead, and to have filled the air with ghostly visitants, who, after Christ had risen, appeared to linger in the holy city. Only in some such way," he adds, "can I account for the singular and wholly isolated allusion of Matthew." Because a fact is mentioned by one evangelist only, it is not on this account incredible. St. Matthew was probably an eyewitness of that which he relates, and might have been confuted by his contemporaries, if he had stated what was not true. An early witness to the fact is found in Igmatius, who, in his "Epistle to the Magnesians," ch. 9., speaks of Christ when on earth raising the prophets from the dead. The whole matter is mysterious and beyond human ken; but we may well believe that at this great crisis the Lord, who is the Resurrection and the Life, willed to exemplify his victory over death. and to make manifest the resurrection of the body, and this he did by releasing some saintly souls from Hades, and clothing them with the forms in which they had formerly lived, and permitting them to show themselves thus to those who knew and loved them. Of the future life of these resuscitated saints we know nothing, and will not presumptuously venture to inquire. When they have demonstrated that the sting was now taken from death, that the power of the grave was broken, that men shall rise again with their bodies and be known and recognized, they pass out of sight into the unseen world, and we can follow them no further.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Some of the tombs were shattered and laid open by the earthquake, and while they continued unclosed (and they must have stood open all the Sabbath, seeing the law would not allow any attempt to close them) many bodies of holy men were raised, (perhaps Simeon, Zacharias, John the Baptist, and others who had believed in Christ, and were known to many in Jerusalem, ) And coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, went into the holy city (Jerusalem) and appeared to many - Who had probably known them before: God hereby signifying, that Christ had conquered death, and would raise all his saints in due season.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

graves

That these bodies returned to their graves is not said and may not be inferred. The wave-sheaf Lev 23:10-12 typifies the resurrection of Christ, but a sheaf implies plurality. It was a single "corn of wheat" that fell into the ground in the crucifixion and entombment of Christ Joh 12:24, it was a sheaf which came forth in resurrection. The inference is that these saints, with the spirits of "just men made perfect" Heb 12:23 from Paradise, went with Jesus Eph 4:8-10 into heaven.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

52. The tombs were opened. The convulsions of the earth would naturally roll the stones from the doors of the sepulchers. The saints … were raised. Who is not stated, or whether their bodies returned to the grave again. Their rising was a testimony that the death of Christ is life to the saints.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

52. τῶν κεκοιμημένων ἁγίων. κοιμᾶσθαι twice in this gospel, here figuratively of death; ch. Mat 28:13, of literal sleep. The figure is quite classical, as ὡς ὁ μὲν αὖθι πεσὼν κοιμήσατο χάλκεον ὕπνον, Il. λ. 241. Cp. the beautiful lines of Moschus, Id. III. 109–111:

ἄμμες δʼ οἱ μεγάλοι καὶ καρτεροί ἢ σοφοὶ ἄνδρες

ὅπποτε πρᾶτα θάνωμες ἀνάκοοι ἐν χθονὶ κοίλᾳ

εὕδομες εὖ μάλα μακρὸν ἀτέρμονα νήγρετον ὕπνον.

and Verg. Æn. VII. 277, ‘et consanguineus leti sopor.’ With Christianity it became the usual word to express the sleep of death, see 1Co 15:6; 1Co 15:18; hence κοιμητήριον (cemetery), the resting-place of the dead.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

52. καὶ τὰ μν … to end of ver.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(P) 52, 53. And the earth was shaken, and the rocks were rent; and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep arose, and came out of the tombs after His resurrection; and entered into the Holy City, and were made manifest to many.] The passage probably comes from Mt.’s cycle of Palestinian traditions. The cause of the rending of the veil was an earthquake, which also exposed the bodies of the dead by laying bare their graves. These dead saints, whose rest was so rudely shattered, appeared to many in the city. Mt. adds this account to the Marcan record, but interpolates a clause which is inconsistent with the obvious meaning of the tradition. If Christ was the first-fruits of them that slept, how could His resurrection have been preceded by that of these saints? Under the influence of some such idea the editor adds the caution, “after His resurrection.” Or had his authority, “After their resurrection”; and did he by mistake or purposely alter “their” to “His”?—ἔγερσις] occurs only here in N.T.—τὴν ἁγίαν πόλιν1] cf. 4:5.—ἐνεφανίσθησαν] only here in Mt. On the verb as signifying a visible manifestation, see Abbott, Johannine Vocabulary, 1716 n. Cf. Buddhist and Christian Gospels, p. 189: “When the Lord entered into Nirvana, a great earthquake, terrific and tremendous, accompanied His entry into Nirvana.”

52. τῶν ἁγίων] S1 has “the righteous” = τῶν δικαίων.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.