"The tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. " Matthew 27:52
Let's talk about Matthew 27:52-53 : The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
This verse only event is only mentioned in Matthew's Gospel, but we shouldn't worry about that. I found this quote from St. Augustine "There is no reason to fear that these facts, which have been related only by Matthew, may appear to be inconsistent with the narrative present by any one of the rest [of the Gospel writers]… it would still have been perfectly legitimate to suppose, that as many astonishing things did place at that time… the historians were at liberty to select for narration any particular incident which they were severally disposed to instance as the subject of the wonder."
I am wondering two things. Who were the people raised and what happened to them afterwards?
Who were they?
I've found some very interesting articles and regarding the identity of the holy people, it would clearly be Jewish holy folk ("old testament saints"), as I do not believe there would be "many" dead actual Christians in Jerusalem at this point.
I've heard a few theories about these "saints". One that I hadn't heard until recently was that at the resurrection Jesus defended to Hades and emptied out the good side of Hades (aka. those in Abraham's bosom, Luke 16:19-31) and from that point on in history, no believer went to wait in Hades but was "with the Lord" when they died. (See 1 Peter 3:19 also). This local resurrection, then, was an evidence God decided to use of that happening.
If this idea is new one on you, it might help to think about the fact that in order to inhabit the resurrected bodies the souls of these dead would have had to come from somewhere. So if some souls are being taken from Hades to Earth, why not free all the faithful souls?
I believe this is a belief John Calvin ascribed, in his commentary on this verse he says "This was a particular portent in which God testified that His Son had entered death’s prison, not to stay there shut up, but to lead all free who were there held captive…. That is the reason why He, who was soon to be shut in a tomb opened the tombs elsewhere."
My ponderings on this make me also wonder if John the Baptist was among these resurrected. He was dead at the time, killed nearby and his family home was likely in or near Jerusalem (his father being a Temple priest). Just a thought.
What happened to the Resurrected people afterwards?
Some commentators believe they rose and lived mundane lives again and died again like Lazerus. Others that they returned to their graves once they'd testified. For me, it seems most likely that they were translated/ascended just as Christ did. This makes sense particularly if the idea presented above has merit as they are truly among those taken from Hades to be with Christ.
What are your thoughts on the matter?
Below, Ive linked a few of websites that discuss the matter is you'd like some further reading ;)
https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/bible-questions-and-answers/what-happened-to-the-resurrected-saints-mentioned-in
https://defendinginerrancy.com/early-fathers-resurrection-saints/
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/split-rocks-open-tombs-raised-bodies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_27:53
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