The Curious Case of Extra Resurrections in Matthew 27:52

“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” (Matthew 27:52–53).

Imagine your shock. You mourned the death of a loved one. You watched him get buried. Not long afterward, the sky goes dark followed by an earthquake. Days later, still unsettled by these phenomena, your dead relative walks in the door.

Only the Gospel of Matthew records this astounding detail. When Jesus rose, others rose with Him. What? Dead people came back to life and just walked out of their graves on the first Easter? Who were they? Why did this happen? Did they die again? Why did nobody but Matthew mention these resurrections?

Let’s do some detective work to better understand the curious case of the extra resurrections.

The Facts of the Case

First, let’s ask some questions as we examine the passage to find out what we know about these extra resurrections:

1. What happened? Multiple people rose from the dead, went into Jerusalem, and appeared to many.
2. Why? The reason seems related to Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection.
3. When? The graves opened during the earthquake after Jesus gave up His spirit on the cross. However, the resurrections occurred after Jesus rose from the dead.
4. How? The resurrections are directly linked to Jesus’ resurrection.
5. Where? The graves that opened were near the holy city, Jerusalem.
6. Who? The people raised from the dead were called saints, Old Testament era believers.

The Gaps in the Case

Next, let’s list the details Matthew’s Gospel does not reveal to us. We do not know…

1. How many people came back from the dead. The text says “many bodies.” The point seems to be that there were enough formerly dead people walking around Jerusalem that it was hard to explain away.
2. Who these people were. Since no names are given, it is unlikely the resurrected were famous prophets from the Old Testament. They were probably normal, everyday believers known to living residents of Jerusalem who would recognize them as having died but were now alive again.
3. When they had lived. It seems likely they were recently deceased rather than ancient Jews since their bodies had not completely disintegrated.
4. Whether they had normal bodies like resurrected Lazarus or glorified bodies like resurrected Christ. If normal bodies, they would then die again and be an exception to Hebrews 9:27. If glorified bodies, they would then need to ascend or be raptured. Scripture gives no indication that this happened.
5. Why the graves opened when Jesus died but the bodies did not resurrect until after Jesus’ resurrection. I guess the corpses just laid there in cracked-open graves for three days. Is this a problem?
6. Why Mark, Luke, and John did not record this event. Certainly, resurrections are notable. But the other Gospel writers omitting a resurrection actually is common. The only resurrection mentioned in all four Gospels is Jesus Christ’s. John omits the raising of Jairus’s daughter (Matthew 9:18–26; Mark 5:21–43; Luke 8:40–56). Only Luke records the resurrection of the widow of Nain’s son (Luke 7:11–17). Only John relates the astounding story of Lazarus (John 11:1–44).

Explanation of the Extra Resurrections

Through these extra resurrections, God unmistakably emphasized to all the importance of His Son’s death and resurrection. Both Jews and Gentiles witnessed unprecedented events. In the context of the extra resurrections, the temple veil rent in two from top to bottom when Jesus died (Matthew 27:51). An earthquake split rocks and opened graves (Matthew 27:51, 54). The Gentiles may not have recognized the significance of the torn veil like the Jews did, but they could not miss the earthquake. Even the hardened soldiers at the cross “feared greatly” and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Immediate Influence of the Extra Resurrections

But not everyone was in the temple or at the cross. The common people going about their day in Jerusalem and the surrounding area surely felt the earthquake. They had experienced the supernatural darkness all afternoon (Matthew 27:45). But how would they connect these phenomena to what happened outside the city at Calvary? Reports of these extra resurrections would have spread across the city just three days after Christ’s death. They would have coincided with reports of One who was crucified also leaving His tomb empty. When Peter stood up at Pentecost just weeks later, he declared Jesus’ resurrection, a topic already being discussed in Jerusalem, and he connected it with signs like the darkness they would have remembered from that day (Acts 2:20–24).

Reasons for Matthew Including the Extra Resurrections

Beyond the local impact of these resurrections, Matthew wrote his Gospel to Jewish believers a couple decades later. In the face of persecution, these believers needed encouragement in their stand for Christ. By telling them of these extra resurrections, he gave them hope of future resurrection themselves. Perhaps Matthew intended that these extra resurrections be a picture of Jesus as the firstfruits of all who will rise (Acts 26:23; 1 Corinthians 15:20).

Unnecessary Debate about the Extra Resurrections

In recent years, some scholars have argued that the extra resurrections did not really happen. They claim that these resurrections were merely a literary device to highlight Jesus’ resurrection or an apocalyptic symbol to indicate the dawning of a new age. However, the text gives no warrant for interpreting away these resurrections. Matthew describes them alongside undisputed events like the tearing of the veil, the confession of the centurion, and the burial of Jesus’ body by Joseph of Arimathea.

Conclusion: Resurrections and the Glory of God

If God raised Lazarus, Jairus’ daughter, and the widow of Nain’s son, why could he not resurrect more of His people coinciding with His Son’s triumphant victory over the grave? In every case, God was glorified (Matthew 9:26; Luke 7:16; John 11:4). What more could glorify God than His Son’s victory over death immediately resulting in the resurrection of His people? What a foretaste of the resurrection to come! Since that first resurrection day, every believer can claim the same hope: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Since He rose, we too will rise. The extra resurrections of Matthew 27 are just a glimpse of the scope of His life-giving power.