Regarding this topic, "Yobel no Tsunobue" (Jubilee Shofar) provided an exceptionally brilliant and thorough explanation based on the original language, so I would like to copy and paste it here as it is. While it is highly suspected that this specific passage might be a later interpolation, I have also put together some notes below on how we might interpret it assuming it is authentic. I am deeply grateful for such a clear and easy-to-understand commentary.
The Mystery of Matthew 27:50-54
First, let us lay out the scripture in question along with its immediate context.
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.
So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
(Matthew 27:50-54)
Because this passage describes a resurrection of the saints happening *before* Christ's own resurrection—a detail that naturally makes anyone tilt their head in confusion—commentaries on this verse are generally scarce. In fact, there is a noticeable tendency among most commentators to avoid touching upon this description altogether.
Here are a few explanations I managed to find:
- "It demonstrates that Jesus' death had the power to 'destroy' or 'nullify' the power of death."
- "This serves as a prophecy of what we ourselves, who rely on Christ, will personally experience in the future."
- "These descriptions can be understood as foreshadowing the events of the resurrection on the third day after the death on the cross."
While these viewpoints seem to represent the general consensus, they are about all anyone can come up with, and no clear biblical basis is provided to support why we should view it that way.
Furthermore, because the account is so baffling and is recorded exclusively by Matthew, some have even gone so far as to propose a "fabrication by Matthew" theory, stating:
"This resurrection narrative holds extremely little credibility as a historical fact. It is highly probable that this story was entirely fabricated."
Now, let us begin to unpack this scripture.
The Problem with a Literal Interpretation of "Resurrection"
In my view, the core issue lies in the fact that—putting the timing aside for a moment—people take this description as a literal "resurrection of the saints."
First, let us examine two Greek words used here.
What is the text actually trying to convey when it says, "many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised"?
- "Body" (Greek: Soma)
- "Raised" (Greek: Egeiro)
If you think about it closely, the phrasing "the *bodies* were raised (came back to life)" sounds somewhat peculiar. Simply saying "they came back to life" would have been perfectly sufficient. There should be no reason to explicitly point out that their "bodies" did so. Prompted by this awkwardness, I looked into the meaning in the original language.
So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,
which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance (Soma) is of Christ.
(Colossians 2:16, 17)
Now you are the body (Soma) of Christ, and members individually.
(1 Corinthians 12:27)
From these usages, we can see that "Soma" is used not only to mean a literal "fleshly body" but is also frequently employed in a figurative or metaphorical sense.
Furthermore, "Egeiro" is a verb that means "to awaken" or "to stand up," and it does not inherently mean a definitive "coming back to life." While the phrase "coming back to life" presupposes a state of prior physical death, this Greek word itself does not specify whether the subject is biologically alive or dead.
The translators likely chose a free translation because of the preceding phrase "the graves were opened," but this completely deviates from the original meaning of the word. By adding arbitrary meaning to the text, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it practically a "mistranslation." Let's look at an example that proves this point:
Then Joseph, being aroused (Egeiro) from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife...
(Matthew 1:24)
In this instance, Joseph wasn't "dead"; he literally just "woke up" from a normal sleep. He didn't "come back to life."
Therefore, let us unburden ourselves from the translation "came back to life" and establish first that this description is not necessarily limited to a literal physical resurrection.
The Logical Breakdown of a "Literal" Interpretation
With this in mind, let us reconsider the passage under the assumption that everything described here occurred "literally."
If the translation is taken literally, those holy ones who supposedly came back to life at the exact moment of Christ's death—despite being "alive"—remained inside their graves for at least three full days before "coming out of the graves" (since "after His resurrection" doesn't necessarily mean "immediately after"). What on earth were they doing during those three days?
Trapped inside a tomb without food or water, unable to relieve themselves, and in an environment where it's highly doubtful they could even breathe—what is the point? Even if they had been miraculously "brought back to life," maintaining such a state inside a sealed grave would mean no one could possibly survive. Coming out of the graves after three days would be a physical impossibility.
Not only is a "resurrection of the saints prior to Christ's resurrection" doctrinally impossible, but also the narrative itself completely lacks logical consistency.
The logic breaks down so severely that one cannot even suggest with a straight face the common commentary that "this was shown as a prophecy or to emphasize the certainty of the future resurrection of the saints after Christ." If the author had intended to write it for that purpose, they would have at least penned it in a far more orderly and sensible manner.
Therefore, it is entirely untenable to claim these few verses carry a "literal" meaning. In other words, no matter how you look at it, this account must be a figurative expression.
At any rate, since Matthew explicitly links the timing by writing, "when He yielded up His spirit... the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised," we shouldn't dismiss it by saying "well, that's not what actually happened." We ought to accept the text as written and seek a sound, biblical resolution.
The Awakening of the Disciples as Christ's "Body"
As touched upon earlier, let us dig deeper into the original meaning of the text.
When we read the phrase "had fallen asleep," anyone would naturally take it as a euphemism for being literally "dead." However, the original word simply means "sleeping," and the word translated as "raised" literally means "stood up" or "awakened."
We also mentioned how unnatural the phrasing "the bodies awakened" sounds. Let us propose that the word "bodies" was deliberately added here as an application of the figurative expression, "You are the body of Christ."
The confusion and dismay felt by the disciples when their Master was arrested and executed must have reached an absolute peak. Yet, somewhere deep down, they might have still been hoping for a dramatic, last-minute reversal.
...concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.
(Luke 24:19-21)
However, once Christ's death became an undeniable reality, their misplaced, carnal expectations shattered instantly. This forced a massive paradigm shift—a reconstruction of their faith and thought process—providing a critical catalyst that made them re-evaluate and truly comprehend the entire scope of what had happened.
At this moment, the disciples—who had been dejected, helpless, and essentially "sleeping inside a grave" as Christ's "body" (Soma)—were powerfully awakened.
Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
(Luke 24:25-27)
In Conclusion
To summarize, the passage likely means that upon Christ's arrest and execution, the holy ones (the body of Christ)—who had been in a state resembling a deep "sleep"—were startled awake and enlightened.
Having received this profound conviction, they "came out of their graves" and gathered together in the holy city of Jerusalem.
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.
(Acts 2:1-6)
...He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me...”
(Acts 1:4)
J's Personal Notes: The Symbolic Meaning
To begin with, if we interpret the words strictly literally, this passage completely contradicts the rest of Scripture. Why? Because a literal reading of the text implies: "After Jesus' death, the tombs were opened, and *after* Jesus' resurrection, the corpses came back to life, entered Jerusalem, and appeared right in front of many people."
Since the Greek word *egeiro* can indeed mean to resurrect, a natural reading yields the interpretation above. Even so, one cannot help but question the necessity of such a bizarre, isolated miracle.
It is far more reasonable to interpret this passage as carrying a symbolic, apocalyptic, and metaphorical meaning. In an era when Gentiles—meaning Hellenistic Jews, half-Jews, and foreigners—were increasingly accepting Christ's message and growing in number, this passage can be understood as a symbolic representation of the salvation extended to the Old Testament saints.
In Matthew 4, when Jesus was tempted by Satan, it says he was taken to the "holy city," and from a high mountain, Satan showed him "all the kingdoms of the world and their glory." Seeing all the kingdoms of the world from a physical mountain is literally impossible. It is only natural to conclude that Satan showed Jesus a spiritual vision or a manifestation to tempt him. Therefore, the "holy city" mentioned here does not have to mean literal earthly Jerusalem; it could very well signify the New Jerusalem within the Kingdom of God.
Thus, the description serves as an omen or an implied reality: through the death of Jesus, the graves of the pre-Christian saints were opened and they were "raised" in a spiritual sense, guaranteeing their future entry into the Holy City (the future New Jerusalem ruled by Christ). Though they still remain in the sleep of death, the opening of the graves symbolizes that the path to resurrection has been officially unlocked for them.
In Ephesians 2:6, it says, "[God] raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Here, the text uses the indicative aorist tense (past tense). The Bible frequently depicts things that have not yet occurred in the future as if they have already taken place in the past. We see the exact same grammatical pattern utilized here in Matthew 27:53.
Furthermore, the Gospels are packed with parables, and outside of them, we see highly figurative imagery—such as the souls of martyrs under the altar speaking directly to God demanding vengeance. Metaphorical language is a core characteristic of Scripture. Therefore, if a literal reading clashes with the rest of the Bible, we should treat it as symbolic rather than insisting on a literal interpretation.
We should view this as an apocalyptic glimpse: through Jesus' death, it is guaranteed that many Old Testament saints will eventually be granted incorruptible bodies and enter the Holy Jerusalem, living in a restored paradise on earth where God's kingdom is fully present. In an age where the gospel was spreading rapidly among foreigners, this past-tense metaphor served to proclaim: "Take heart, the ransom has been successfully applied to the ancient literal Jews, the righteous, and the saints who died prior to Jesus' death and resurrection as well."
The High Probability of Later Interpolation
In the Gospel of Matthew, we already see known instances of alteration by later Trinitarian scribes, such as the baptismal formula in Matthew 28 ("in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"). Sadly, textual corruption, scribal modifications, and interpolations do exist within the biblical text. Given this reality, it is highly probable that Matthew 27:53 is a later addition. The Gospel of Matthew is historically notorious for having various textual expansions.
After all, none of the other Gospels record such a monumental event. Luke—a physician praised for his meticulous analytical skills, thorough investigative journalism, sharp memory, and deep sense of accountability as a historian—does not pen a single word about this incident.
The Gospels of Mark and Luke are heavily built upon the narrative framework found in Matthew. This implies that in the original Hebrew or Aramaic proto-Matthew, such a disruptive, dynamic event as "dead bodies walking out of graves" was likely never recorded.
Even looking at the later Greek manuscripts, no author besides Matthew mentions this case. When an account is so fundamentally un-scriptural and stands in stark isolation, we are much better off not swallowing it wholesale.
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