Matthew 27:52-53 sounds awfully strange, doesnt it. The initial impression that one gets is that the bodies of deceased saints came back to life, and after Jesus resurrection (that is, not immediately during Jesus crucifixion, but later), they entered Jerusalem and many people saw them. A careful examination of the Greek words involved here, though, may suggest a scenario a bit less startling.
The statement that many bodies of the saints were raised is not necessarily referring to a resurrection, but a physical effect of the earthquake. The Greek word used here for were raised is not the term anastasis which is used elsewhere when the resurrection is the subject; its egerthesan. And the structure of the sentence requires that its the bodies of the saints, rather than the saints themselves, that arise. Thats all that is said to happen during the crucifixion.
After the crucifixion, and after Jesus resurrection, having gone forth out of the tombs after His arising (again, this isnt the normal term for resurrection), they entered into the holy city and appeared unto many. Even though the sentence doesnt start over and specify that in this phrase, the saints themselves, and not their physical bodies, are the subject, I think that thats the frame of reference.
Our next question is, What city is the holy city mentioned in 27:53? Is this the earthly Jerusalem, or the heavenly Jerusalem? Good arguments can be arrayed for both answers, so I will consider them both.
If the holy city is interpreted to be the earthly Jerusalem, then the spirits of some Old Testament saints whose bodies had been entombed in Jerusalem, having departed Sheol, were -- after Jesus resurrection -- allowed to briefly visit Jerusalem in forms quite similar to ghosts, and appear to many people there before proceeding on to Paradise.
If the holy city is interpreted to be the heavenly Jerusalem, then the spirits of some Old Testament saints whose bodies had been entombed in Jerusalem, having departed from Sheol, followed Christ directly from Sheol into Paradise, and there they entered their rest in the heavenly city, appearing unto many angels and to the privileged saints who had entered Paradise before them, thus manifesting to the angels the accomplishment of Gods purposes to usher in the new covenant which even the angels themselves had not fathomed.
The second interpretation is tidy. But maybe its a little too tidy. While the first interpretation is more challenging theologically, I think it offers a better explanation for the phrase and appeared unto many. The term used in 27:53 for appeared is enefanisthesan. While this word could describe the manifestation of a ghost-apparition, or an ordinary encounter between one human being and another, it is also capable of describing manifestations in dreams or visions. Matthew doesnt provide enough details for us to confidently discern which mode of appearance he had in mind. (Hebrews 9:24 uses a very similar word to refer to Christs appearance in heaven; other usages -- some of which describe communication, rather than a visual manifestation -- include Heb. 11:14 and Acts 23:22).
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
The statement that many bodies of the saints were raised is not necessarily referring to a resurrection, but a physical effect of the earthquake. The Greek word used here for were raised is not the term anastasis which is used elsewhere when the resurrection is the subject; its egerthesan. And the structure of the sentence requires that its the bodies of the saints, rather than the saints themselves, that arise. Thats all that is said to happen during the crucifixion.
After the crucifixion, and after Jesus resurrection, having gone forth out of the tombs after His arising (again, this isnt the normal term for resurrection), they entered into the holy city and appeared unto many. Even though the sentence doesnt start over and specify that in this phrase, the saints themselves, and not their physical bodies, are the subject, I think that thats the frame of reference.
Our next question is, What city is the holy city mentioned in 27:53? Is this the earthly Jerusalem, or the heavenly Jerusalem? Good arguments can be arrayed for both answers, so I will consider them both.
If the holy city is interpreted to be the earthly Jerusalem, then the spirits of some Old Testament saints whose bodies had been entombed in Jerusalem, having departed Sheol, were -- after Jesus resurrection -- allowed to briefly visit Jerusalem in forms quite similar to ghosts, and appear to many people there before proceeding on to Paradise.
If the holy city is interpreted to be the heavenly Jerusalem, then the spirits of some Old Testament saints whose bodies had been entombed in Jerusalem, having departed from Sheol, followed Christ directly from Sheol into Paradise, and there they entered their rest in the heavenly city, appearing unto many angels and to the privileged saints who had entered Paradise before them, thus manifesting to the angels the accomplishment of Gods purposes to usher in the new covenant which even the angels themselves had not fathomed.
The second interpretation is tidy. But maybe its a little too tidy. While the first interpretation is more challenging theologically, I think it offers a better explanation for the phrase and appeared unto many. The term used in 27:53 for appeared is enefanisthesan. While this word could describe the manifestation of a ghost-apparition, or an ordinary encounter between one human being and another, it is also capable of describing manifestations in dreams or visions. Matthew doesnt provide enough details for us to confidently discern which mode of appearance he had in mind. (Hebrews 9:24 uses a very similar word to refer to Christs appearance in heaven; other usages -- some of which describe communication, rather than a visual manifestation -- include Heb. 11:14 and Acts 23:22).
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
