Hi Ahanu —
"And behold the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top even to the bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks were rent. And the graves were opened: and many bodies of the saints that had slept arose, And coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, came into the holy city, and appeared to many."
The current theological reading of this text comes under the heading of a paratactic text, (from the Greek: 'the act of placing side by side') that is, one that refers (in this case obliquely) to another.
Matthew follows Mark in the description of the Crucifixion, but fills the text out with references from his rabinnic heritage (we hold the final redactor of Matthew was probably a well-educated Rabbi convert to Christianity — certainly a skilled writer in the Hebrew literary tradition, and the rabinnic method of argument, utilising many of their stock phrases). In this way Matthew continues his practice of showing the events in the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ fulfill the prophecies of Scripture.
This verse echoes the eschatalogical and apocalyptic vision of Scripture:
"Thy dead men shall live, my slain shall rise again: awake, and give praise, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is the dew of the light" Isaias 26:19
"And he said to me: Prophesy concerning these bones; and say to them: Ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will send spirit into you, and you shall live." Ezekiel 37:4-5
"And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth, shall awake: some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, to see it always." Daniel 12:2.
This, according to my source (New Jerome Biblical Commentary and the NJB) was how the early church interpreted the verse, and the Fathers followed. A quick search of my own books have turned up nothing.
It's not unreasonable to assume the "holy city" spoken of is the Heavenly Jerusalem of the Apocalypse.
For sure, much, much more was made by the Fathers of the symbolism of the rending of the veil than of the opening of tombs.
My own semi-symbolic speculation:
Quite involved, but I (currently) believe that Satan hoped to bring Christ down before He achieved his Messianic mission, and assumed that by the Crucifixion he had achieved his objective — to separate man from God utterly and absolutely.
The darkness gathering over the land, from the sixth to the ninth hour, was all the evil in the Cosmos gathering in one place to take possession of the Crucified Saviour's mortal soul.
Jesus' cry, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" was, on one level, they cry of a fully human desperation, but again, in quoting the Psalm 21, is also an anthem of victory ... the Psalm ends:
"And to him my soul shall live: and my seed shall serve him. There shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come: and the heavens shall show forth his justice to a people that shall be born, which the Lord hath made" (21:31-32 — it's worth reading the whole Psalm).
The earthquake is a psychic event manifest in the material world, for the Resurrection involves the material as well as the spiritual ...
The rending of the veil, as I say, has produced reams of theological speculation. The opening of the tombs ... the risen dead following their Saviour into Paradise ... very little ...
I think, possibly as the Fathers thought, that in that single and singular moment in the cataclysmic history of the Cosmos, anything was possible, so I wouldn't rule it out.
Thomas
I know Matthew 27: 51-53 may mean something else to conservatives Christians, but I am curious as to how the early Christians and Church Fathers who came into contact with this text would have thought, believed, remembered, and taught this text to mean...
"And behold the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top even to the bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks were rent. And the graves were opened: and many bodies of the saints that had slept arose, And coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, came into the holy city, and appeared to many."
The current theological reading of this text comes under the heading of a paratactic text, (from the Greek: 'the act of placing side by side') that is, one that refers (in this case obliquely) to another.
Matthew follows Mark in the description of the Crucifixion, but fills the text out with references from his rabinnic heritage (we hold the final redactor of Matthew was probably a well-educated Rabbi convert to Christianity — certainly a skilled writer in the Hebrew literary tradition, and the rabinnic method of argument, utilising many of their stock phrases). In this way Matthew continues his practice of showing the events in the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ fulfill the prophecies of Scripture.
This verse echoes the eschatalogical and apocalyptic vision of Scripture:
"Thy dead men shall live, my slain shall rise again: awake, and give praise, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is the dew of the light" Isaias 26:19
"And he said to me: Prophesy concerning these bones; and say to them: Ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will send spirit into you, and you shall live." Ezekiel 37:4-5
"And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth, shall awake: some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, to see it always." Daniel 12:2.
This, according to my source (New Jerome Biblical Commentary and the NJB) was how the early church interpreted the verse, and the Fathers followed. A quick search of my own books have turned up nothing.
It's not unreasonable to assume the "holy city" spoken of is the Heavenly Jerusalem of the Apocalypse.
For sure, much, much more was made by the Fathers of the symbolism of the rending of the veil than of the opening of tombs.
My own semi-symbolic speculation:
Quite involved, but I (currently) believe that Satan hoped to bring Christ down before He achieved his Messianic mission, and assumed that by the Crucifixion he had achieved his objective — to separate man from God utterly and absolutely.
The darkness gathering over the land, from the sixth to the ninth hour, was all the evil in the Cosmos gathering in one place to take possession of the Crucified Saviour's mortal soul.
Jesus' cry, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" was, on one level, they cry of a fully human desperation, but again, in quoting the Psalm 21, is also an anthem of victory ... the Psalm ends:
"And to him my soul shall live: and my seed shall serve him. There shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come: and the heavens shall show forth his justice to a people that shall be born, which the Lord hath made" (21:31-32 — it's worth reading the whole Psalm).
The earthquake is a psychic event manifest in the material world, for the Resurrection involves the material as well as the spiritual ...
The rending of the veil, as I say, has produced reams of theological speculation. The opening of the tombs ... the risen dead following their Saviour into Paradise ... very little ...
I think, possibly as the Fathers thought, that in that single and singular moment in the cataclysmic history of the Cosmos, anything was possible, so I wouldn't rule it out.
Not sure what you're getting at here?So there must be some other explanation that Christians who believe in the material resurrection of Jesus must believe this verse to mean.
Thomas