Matthew 27:51-53: ...The earth shook and the rocks split. 52 The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
Why? I'd like your thoughts on this one.
6 comments:
does this possibly have anything to do with 1 Peter 3:18-20? My first thought is "no". He preached tot eh disobedient of Noah's day and the resurrected were holy people. But without any other idea why this happens, perhaps this is a clue.
I have been racking my brain, but to no avail. It sounds like something right out of "Ghostbusters." Was it real? Was it Matthew's embelishment of the story? Was it the release of all those in Sheol? I don't know.
Tasker in the TYndale Commentary says:
"By the death and resurrection of Jesus the saints of the old Israel, the prophets who foretold his coming, became united in close fellowship with the believers of the new."
I think the Spirits (souls) of Prophets Rose in Celebration.
Good thoughts. Of course, the text says that it was bodies (not spirits, souls or ghosts). Makes one wonder what shape those bodies were in, but we don't get to know that.
One of the odd things about this section is where it shows up in the story. Jesus breathes his last and before the guards there could comment on it, Matthew interjects this. When you take it with the curtain tearing, the earthquake, and the declaration of the Roman guard, you see what a phenomenon this truly is.
This is from the IVP New Testament Commentaries www.biblegateway.com enjoy:
The Father Vindicates His Murdered Son (27:50-53) Elijah did not come to deliver Jesus, but signs that Jews regularly expected to accompany the death of the righteous did follow Jesus' death (vv. 51-53). To both pagan and Jewish audiences these signs would indicate divine approval of Jesus and disapproval of his executioners (see Kee 1983:189; Best 1965:98; R. Brown 1994:1113-14). The raising of dead persons at Jesus' death (vv. 52-53) reminds us that by refusing to save himself, Jesus did save others (v. 42). Yet by mentioning only many of the saints, Matthew clearly intends this sign merely to prefigure the final resurrection, proleptically signified in Jesus' death and resurrection (Cullmann 1956a:168). Popular folk religion venerated the tombs of saints (Meyers and Strange 1981:162), and the very people who sought Jesus' death built those tombs (23:29-32); but Jesus, the holiest saint of all, had power to raise them.
I get a devotional from Brent Riggs of SeriousFaith.com, he addressed this question today.
http://www.seriousfaith.com/question_detail.asp?questionid=1272
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