The Bible says that after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome came to see the tomb of Jesus; they had bought spices and prepared it, so they brought it that they might come and anoint Him. (see Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1-2; Luke 24:1). They got to the tomb when the sun had risen, only to realize that the sun wasn't the only light-giving body that had risen, but that the Son had also risen. Hallelujah! The Bible says, “they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “WHY DO YOU SEEK THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD? He IS NOT HERE, BUT IS RISEN! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the THIRD DAY rise again.’” And they remembered His words. Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.” (Luke 24:2-9). What joyous news the resurrection of the Lord must’ve been to these women, who prior to arriving at the tomb had been contemplating who was going to roll away that very large stone from the door of the tomb for them; and what a surprise and shock it must’ve been to them when they first looked up and saw that the stone had been rolled away. (see Mark 16-3-4; Luke 24:2). But how was the stone rolled away? The Bible says there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. (see Matthew 28:2; Mark 16:4). I love this angel, for he had good sense of humor: he rolled the stone and sat on it! The angel's countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. (see Matthew 28:3). Regarding the great earthquake with which the angel of the Lord came and rolled back the stone, Matthew tells us in an earlier report that “THE ROCKS WERE SPLIT, and THE GRAVES WERE OPENED; and MANY BODIES OF THE SAINTS who had fallen asleep WERE RAISED; and COMING OUT OF the graves AFTER His RESURRECTION, they WENT INTO THE HOLY CITY and APPEARED TO MANY” (see Matthew 27:51-53). What this is saying is that after Jesus was raised from the dead, many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep WERE RAISED also, and they came out of their graves, went into the city and appeared to many. What an amazing day this must’ve been! What a great day to be alive! There is no doubt that these saints were raised by the same Power that raised Jesus from the dead — the power of the Holy Spirit.
As you probably know, Matthew 27:52-53 is the only passage in the entire Bible that reports the event of some saints being raised bodily with the Lord and coming into the Holy City and appearing to many. Clearly, this passage alone does not give us complete information about what happened to these resurrected saints afterwards. Nevertheless, we can point out a few truths based on the information we are provided in Matthew’s gospel, in addition to other scriptural references from the New Testament epistles:
First, those who were raised from the dead were saints (believers; righteous people).
Second, they were raised bodily (their bodies were raised). Here the Word "glorified" is not used to describe their risen bodies, but that is immaterial to any conclusion we draw on this, because when Jesus' body was raised, the word "glorified" was not used in Matthew's gospel to describe His risen body in reporting the actual account of His resurrection either. (see Matthew 28:1-10). And yet we know, based on other scriptural references, that it was a glorified body. Paul tells us of the believer's body, that it is sown (or buried) in corruption, but it is raised incorruptible; that it is sown (or buried) in dishonor, but raised in glory. (see 1 Corinthians 15:42-43). And since this account in Matthew's gospel is the first account of believers being raised (physically) together with the Lord Jesus Christ in His resurrection, we can conclude that they were raised in glory or in a glorified body, just like the Lord Jesus Christ.
Third, those saints who were raised (only) APPEARED to many (people). The Bible doesn't say that they afterward lived with the people whom they appeared to. The word "appeared" seems to suggest a temporary presence. Whenever Jesus visited His disciples after His resurrection, the same word “appeared” as well as the phrases “was seen” or “presented Himself to” and other similar phrases were also used to describe His visits, thus denoting a temporary physical presence with the disciples, which the Bible tells us lasted over a period of 40 days. (see Acts 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Luke 24:34-36). Moreover, the Bible says of Jesus, that “When He ASCENDED on high, HE TOOK MANY CAPTIVES (with Him) and gave gifts to His people.” (see Ephesians 4:8 NIV, brackets and emphasis mine). And so we are told here that JESUS DIDN'T ASCEND ALONE but took many captives with Him, which seems to suggest that those saints who were raised with Christ also ascended with Him to Heaven. Now, the use of the word "captives" is understood in the sense that every man born of Adam (after the fall) is a captive of Satan, and does the will of Satan, until he accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior in all sincerity. (see 2 Timothy 2:26; John 8:44). And so believers were also once captives of Satan until we believed in Jesus, who redeemed us. Thus, when Jesus began His ministry on earth after being anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power, He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He HAS SENT Me to heal the brokenhearted, TO PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO THE CAPTIVES ..." (see Luke 4:18 NKJV). We all are the captives Jesus proclaimed liberty to and has freed. And so He took all believers with Him when He ascended to Heaven. We were all in Christ when He was raised, having died with Him and been buried with Him (see Romans 6:4-11); we were all raised together with Him (together with those saints who were raised bodily on resurrection morning); then we all ascended with Him and God seated us together with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (see Ephesians 2:4-6). Now, this is referring to our spirit. But for those saints who were raised bodily with Christ on Resurrection Morning, it also includes their glorified body.
Regarding the bodily resurrection of the rest of us who may die before the Lord returns, the apostle Paul said, we know "that He who raised up the Lord Jesus WILL ALSO RAISE US UP WITH JESUS, and WILL PRESENT US WITH YOU. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God." (see 2 Corinthians 4:14-15 NKJV). He also said, “Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” (1 Corinthians 15:12-19 NKJV). Those saints who were raised together with Christ on His resurrection morning, present us with an additional evidence for our hope as we await the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the resurrection of the dead. And, of course, we know, as Paul tells us, that "the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. AND THE DEAD IN CHRIST WILL RISE FIRST. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Amen.
I share this message, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16).
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