Question: What Happened to the Resurrected Believers after Jesus’ Death?

Bible Study

52Also the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

– Matthew 27:52-53

20But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

– 1 Corinthians 15:20
(NASB® © 2020)

Question: In Matthew 27:52, 53, it is said that when the Lord Jesus died on the cross, many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and that after His resurrection, those who had been raised went into the holy city and appeared to many there. How is the fact of the resurrection of these saints compatible with the Lord’s title as “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20), since they were raised before Him? Furthermore, can anything be said about the nature of their bodies and whether they left the earth again through death?

Answer: According to the account in Matthew 27, it is by no means certain that these saints who had fallen asleep were raised before the Lord Jesus. Rather, the Holy Spirit here seems to point to two sets of events at the time of the Lord’s death: When Christ died, the veil of the temple was torn, the earth shook, the rocks were torn asunder and the tombs opened. But then many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were also raised, and after His resurrection, they came out of the tombs and went into the holy city and appeared to many. At any rate, that seems to be the meaning of this remarkable passage. Despite the brevity of the account, it seems to indicate two focal points that do not coincide in time: first, the speech of God in powerful natural events and then the resurrection of certain saints. Through both, God bore witness to the work of His Son.

We can assume that the resurrection of these saints did not take place immediately after the Lord’s death: it was only after His resurrection that they came out of the tombs and went into Jerusalem, where they were seen by many. Christ is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor 15:20); these saints could not precede Him. Who these saints were, to whom they appeared, with which bodies they appeared, how and when they left the earth again – God’s Word does not answer any of these questions, and we do not want to speculate about them. In any case, their resurrection is a clear indication that Christ, through death, destroyed him who had the power of death (Heb 2:14), and that death has now been swallowed up in victory for believers (1 Cor 15:54, 55).

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