By Craig L. Blomberg
Read: Matthew 27:46-54
“The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.” (v. 52 NIV)
Ask most Christians what happens at the end of life, and they will say, “You die and go to heaven.” But this is only the first stage of eternity.
The Bible ends describing “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1), while Paul promises that Jesus’s resurrection was “the firstfruits” of all who have died hoping in Christ (1 Cor. 15:20). These truths help explain one of the strangest episodes in all of the gospels.
In Matthew 27:51-53, we read that when Jesus died, an earthquake broke open certain tombs, and various godly people came out of their tombs after Jesus’s resurrection. We may presume that these were not resurrections like those of Lazarus or Jairus’s daughter, who eventually died again. Instead, they had perfected, glorified bodies like Jesus did, fit for eternity (see Rom. 8:30).
Countless questions remain. Who were they? How many? How long did they appear to people? Who saw them? Apparently, we don’t need to know.
What this miracle demonstrates is that all God’s people in both Old and New Testament times can look forward to bodily resurrection, not just disembodied eternal immortality. God created human beings to be whole persons, body and soul, intricately knit together, and we can look forward to the restoration of everything we were meant to be, in our bodies.
—————
Craig L. Blomberg is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Denver Seminary.
Read: Matthew 27:46-54
“The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.” (v. 52 NIV)
Ask most Christians what happens at the end of life, and they will say, “You die and go to heaven.” But this is only the first stage of eternity.
The Bible ends describing “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1), while Paul promises that Jesus’s resurrection was “the firstfruits” of all who have died hoping in Christ (1 Cor. 15:20). These truths help explain one of the strangest episodes in all of the gospels.
In Matthew 27:51-53, we read that when Jesus died, an earthquake broke open certain tombs, and various godly people came out of their tombs after Jesus’s resurrection. We may presume that these were not resurrections like those of Lazarus or Jairus’s daughter, who eventually died again. Instead, they had perfected, glorified bodies like Jesus did, fit for eternity (see Rom. 8:30).
Countless questions remain. Who were they? How many? How long did they appear to people? Who saw them? Apparently, we don’t need to know.
What this miracle demonstrates is that all God’s people in both Old and New Testament times can look forward to bodily resurrection, not just disembodied eternal immortality. God created human beings to be whole persons, body and soul, intricately knit together, and we can look forward to the restoration of everything we were meant to be, in our bodies.
—————
Craig L. Blomberg is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Denver Seminary.
