The Walking Dead Alive

“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and 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.” Matthew 27:50-53

Going on 45 years of following Jesus and His written word ceases to amaze me. Still, I know I continue to only just scratch the surface. For what seemed the first time this Easter I took a greater interest in an element of the Passion story that I always shook my head, said That’s crazy and moved on. But this time it really jumped out at me. (Knowing it wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve found something to be a great revelation that most everyone else is already aware of. Duh!)

But, how amazing is Mathew 27 when it says that at Jesus’ death; 1. the temple veil was torn, 2. the earth quaked followed by 3. many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. Whoa! Part 3 is worth spending a little time on.

The Walking Dead?

At first, the imagery of part 3 makes me think of the popular series, The Walking Dead. It seems that the world has an obsession with the idea that dead people could be raised up to walk again but still stay dead to terrorize the living. What a gloriously different reality we have, that those who are raised up again, not from death to death, but from death to life!

So, for what seemed the first time, I meditated on that last component. Many bodies of the saints who had died were raised! What? How many were raised? Who were these people? And why did this happen? And, for the first time, I realized how critical this piece of evidence is to verify the power of Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection to defeat sin and death.

How Many Were Raised?

Verse 53 of Matthew 27 uses the Greek word Polla translated as many. How many? We don’t know but it is the same word used in numerous scriptures describing the large crowds that gathered to hear Jesus. We know that in some cases, as large as 3,000 to 5,000 people. Even if it were say, 50 that would be more than enough to create a shockwave throughout Jerusalem.

Who Were These People?

It describes them as Saints or the Greek Hagiōn, meaning those who are set apart by (or for) God, holy, sacred. These might be described as True Believers – those who while they were alive, only God could see their FAITH and the desire of their hearts as being set on Him. And, I would assume these people’s lives had reflected a God focus and would not be surprising that others would realize that if anyone were raised, it would be them.

Why Did This Happen?

The symbolism alone is powerful. With Jesus’ death and resurrection, sin and death were defeated. Immediately, when Jesus rose from the dead, a whole host of believers were literally brought from death to life. The graves that had been cracked open by the great earthquake now had dead bodies made alive walking out of them. Amazing! If anyone had doubted Jesus was raised from the dead or believed the resurrection was only for Jesus, there were now many people who had been dead and buried now wandering through Jerusalem as living billboards to the resurrection power of God!

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” – John 5:24

But beyond that, for all those in the city of Jerusalem who were not at Golgotha or did not visit Jesus’ empty tomb, there were “many” husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, cousins, and neighbors who had died and were buried now wandering the streets as evidence of the powerful truth of Jesus’ words and the reality of the power of God. Can you imagine the stir in the city?

I’m sure there were many in the city who could have dismissed all that was happening – Okay, Jesus was tried and found guilty and died on the cross. Coincidently, when he died there was a great earthquake that did some major damage, and then our leaders told us that his followers stole the body from the tomb a few days later. So what? But, to then see “many” who were dead and buried brought to life to walk through the streets of Jerusalem? The connection to Jesus’ life and death seems undeniable. Try coming up with an alternative rationale for that?

I Can Only Imagine What This Looked Like

I would go back several weeks earlier in the Gospel accounts to the precursor to this; the death and resurrection of Lazarus. Just as Lazarus came forth on the 4th day in the tomb still wrapped in his grave clothes, I envision that this group of Hagiōn may have been those who had been buried 3-4 days earlier. With their tombs cracked open by the great earthquake, after Jesus was resurrected, they were shuffling around the city until someone would come and unwrap the gift to discover their family, friend or neighbor who had recently been buried was now alive. Wow!

Can you imagine what kind of reports were sweeping through the city, connecting this event to Jesus’ death and now his empty tomb? What an unbelievable testimony to the reality of what had just happened. We know the Jewish leaders and the Romans were creating their narrative that Jesus’ body had been stolen. Well, I’ve got to believe that this completely shot that narrative down as numbers of dead were now risen from the grave and made alive.

On the Road to Emmaus

In Luke 24 after Jesus’ resurrection, the unrecognizable Jesus comes alongside a few of his followers. Cleopas tells Jesus of the “things” happening in Jerusalem. Jesus asks “What Things?” And Cleopas explains all that happened. Now, if Cleopas was in Jerusalem when Jesus rose from the dead, though it is not detailed, I’m guessing that ‘dead people brought to life and walking through town’ was one of the major “things” he shared.

Primed for Pentecost

Jumping forward to Acts 2, and Peter’s powerful speech where 3,000 souls were added. Yes, it was the power of Peter’s testimony and the clarity of his explanation as to who Jesus was and what was required of them, accompanied by signs and wonders (ultimately, all the move of the Holy Spirit). But, I’ve got to believe that those same 3,000 were primed by seeing the dead brought to life in the streets of their own town – having experienced the physical reality of all that Peter was preaching.

From Death to Life

I have had the privilege of being part of a prayer team that prayed for someone who had “Fallen asleep” (i.e. clinically dead) and through our prayers, God raised him from the dead. (You can get the full account in my post A Black Rock Resurrection Story (Parts I & II) in April 2019). While seeing the hand of God show up in very real and powerful ways is transformational, it pails compared to the life-altering power for those who are spiritually dead and then given the gift of eternal life. At its core, this is the greatest gift that Jesus promises.

We were the Walking Dead, but by Jesus’ death with His resurrection, He raised the dead so that we now walk in the fullness of life. What can we say but Thank You God!

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” – Ephesians 2:4-6