And the graves were opened?

Question

Mat 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
Mat 27:51 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;
Mat 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
Mat 27:53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

What does this mean? And where are these saints now, are they still appearing to many? Why or why not? Or did the church cut them off after a predetermined time, following Jesus' death? If so, when was that?

Answer 1

Don't like zombies. They kinda creep me out.

Edit: Read the d*mn verse, people! It not only says 'raised' but that they 'WALKED INTO THE NEAREST HOLY CITY'!' Bodies flung out of their tombs during a violent earthquake do not gain the ability to walk anywhere!

Answer 2

The text at Matthew 27:52, 53 concerning “the memorial tombs [that] were opened” as the result of an earthquake occurring at the time of Jesus’ death has caused considerable discussion, some holding that a resurrection occurred. However, a comparison with the texts concerning the resurrection makes clear that these verses do not describe a resurrection but merely a throwing of bodies out of their tombs, similar to incidents that have taken place in more recent times, as in Ecuador in 1949 and again in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1962, when 200 corpses in the cemetery were thrown out of their tombs by a violent earth tremor.—El Tiempo, Bogotá, Colombia, July 31, 1962

Answer 3

Epiphanius and other early Church Fathers taught that the holy ones literally came to life and went with the resurrected Jesus to heaven. Augustine, Theophylactus, and Zigabenus believed that these dead ones received a temporary resurrection but later returned to their tombs.
First, whoever “the holy ones” were, Matthew did not say they were raised up. He said their bodies, or corpses, were. Second, he did not say these bodies came to life. He said they were raised up, and the Greek verb e·gei′ro, meaning to “raise up,” does not always refer to a resurrection. It can, among other things, also mean to “lift out” from a pit or to “get up” from the ground. (Matthew 12:11; 17:7; Luke 1:69) The upheaval at Jesus’ death opened tombs, tossing lifeless bodies into the open. Such occurrences during earthquakes were reported in the second century C.E. by Greek writer Aelius Aristides and more recently, in 1962, in Colombia.
This view of the event harmonizes with Bible teachings. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the apostle Paul gives convincing proof of the resurrection, but he completely ignores Matthew . So do all other Bible writers. (Acts 2:32, 34) The corpses raised up at Jesus’ death could not have come to life in the way Epiphanius thought, for on the third day thereafter, Jesus became “the firstborn from the dead.”

Answer 4

It means what it says. There were several good people that came back to life after Jesus died. Their names are not recorded, so I think that who they were doesn't really matter. The point is that Jesus' death was so powerful that it even raised others from the dead. I always presumed that those people died and were buried again sometime later. Since they were worthy enough to receive ressurection then, I also presume that they're in Heaven now.

Answer 5

When Jesus died on the cross for the believers sins, the veil was ripped through Gods finger to show that man is no longer separated from God because of his sins . Saints are people who believed and their resurrection demonstrated God victory over death ,they are in heaven

Answer 6

You're exactly what's need here----another scripture quoting Jesus freak