Matthew 27:51-53

Matthew 27:51-53

[51] And,  behold,  the veil  of the temple  was rent  in  twain  from  the top  to  the bottom;  and  the earth  did quake,  and  the rocks  rent;  [52] And  the graves  were opened;  and  many  bodies  of the saints  which  slept  arose,  [53] And  came  out of  the graves  after  his  resurrection,  and went  into  the holy  city,  and  appeared  unto many. 

What does Matthew 27:51-53 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Earthquakes often accompanied divine judgment and the manifestation of God"s glory in the Old Testament ( 1 Kings 19:11; Isaiah 29:6; Jeremiah 10:10; Ezekiel 26:18). [1] This one may have been responsible for the rending of the temple veil, the splitting of the rocks, and the opening of the tombs. The temple stood on a geological fault that has caused minor damage throughout history. [2] The supernatural occurrences that accompanied Jesus" crucifixion hinted at its spiritual implications.
One writer suggested that the sentence begun in Matthew 27:51 should really end with "were opened" or "broke open" in Matthew 27:52. [3] There were no punctuation marks in the original Greek text. Thus the two events that accompanied the earthquake were the rending of the temple veil and the splitting of the rocks. These things happened when Jesus died.
The resurrection of the saints (lit. holy people) that Matthew described happened when Jesus arose from the dead. This explanation obviates the problem of people coming out of their graves when Jesus died but not showing themselves until He arose. Matthew did not answer many questions that we would like answers to such as what type of bodies they had and whether they died again or went directly to heaven. They were Old Testament saints. I suspect that they experienced the same type of resurrection that Lazarus did. Perhaps Matthew mentioned their resurrections here to help us appreciate the fact that Jesus" death provided the basis for the resurrection of believers who died before the Cross as well as after it. Maybe he placed it here also to avoid breaking the narrative flow of chapter28 and to connect Jesus" death immediately with resurrection. [4] The King had authority over life and death.
"This event is nowhere explained in the Scriptures but seems to be a fulfillment of the feast of the first fruits of harvest mentioned in Leviticus 23:10-14. On that occasion, as a token of the coming harvest, the people would bring a handful of grain to the priest. The resurrection of these saints, occurring after Jesus Himself was raised, is a token of the coming harvest when all the saints will be raised." [5]