Matthew 27:52

[Faith1960]

I was reading Matthew today and the verse 27:52, where to tombs opened and the dead arose kind of got to me. I know God is all powerful but how can decomposed bodies of nothing but bone or near bone arise and walk the earth? Can someone help me understand?

 

[crazzeto]

I was reading Matthew today and the verse 27:52, where to tombs opened and the dead arose kind of got to me. I know God is all powerful but how can decomposed bodies of nothing but bone or near bone arise and walk the earth? Can someone help me understand?

How could the God of all creation not be possible enough to raise up anyone and make them whole? In fact we profess that God will do just this when he comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead

“…I believe in the resurection of the body…”

 

[Spencerian]

I was reading Matthew today and the verse 27:52, where to tombs opened and the dead arose kind of got to me. I know God is all powerful but how can decomposed bodies of nothing but bone or near bone arise and walk the earth? Can someone help me understand?

Hi.

I don’t think that the immediate waking of the dead was any less disturbing (read: gross) as Christ’s raising of Lazarus.

That said, no matter what happens to our body after death, the Lord tells us that he will re-unite our bodies with our souls as they are meant to be joined. God created the heavens and the earth from nothing–and I’m sure He still has those blueprints for you still available somewhere…

 

[Verbum]

Hi Faith,

What you are expressing is disbelief in the reusurrection. It so happens that this is the central truth of Christianity. St. Paul says that if there is no resurrection, then our faith is vain and we are the unhappiest of men.

You must not think of the resurrection as the gathering up of all our molecules or atoms from the ends of the earth and putting them back together, if only because the same molecule or atom can have belonged to many, many individuals. At the resurrection, God will reunite our soul with a new glorified body, a real material body, but not necessarily from the same original materials. Our soul is what gives us our individuality and possibly God will also re-create our DNA. Nothing is impossible to God.

Now whether those people who appeared in Jerusalem were actually resurrected body and soul or whether they were just apparitions is something that could be discussed. But please do not question the possibililty of resurrection.

Did I address your concerns?

Verbum

 

[Faith1960]

Hi Faith,

What you are expressing is disbelief in the reusurrection. It so happens that this is the central truth of Christianity. St. Paul says that if there is no resurrection, then our faith is vain and we are the unhappiest of men.

You must not think of the resurrection as the gathering up of all our molecules or atoms from the ends of the earth and putting them back together, if only because the same molecule or atom can have belonged to many, many individuals. At the resurrection, God will reunite our soul with a new glorified body, a real material body, but not necessarily from the same original materials. Our soul is what gives us our individuality and possibly God will also re-create our DNA. Nothing is impossible to God.

Now whether those people who appeared in Jerusalem were actually resurrected body and soul or whether they were just apparitions is something that could be discussed. But please do not question the possibililty of resurrection.

Did I address your concerns?

Verbum

Ok, let’s discuss whether they were just apparitions or resurrected bodies and soul. What are your thoughts?

 

[John7]

nothing but bone

I ponder these verses when reading Matthew 27:52

Ezekiel 37
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
.
.
13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,

 

[chaunceygardner]

It is difficult to imagine the other three Gospels not including this spectacular occurrence, so it is likely that the author of Matthew added this imagery in anticipation of the final days. And Matthew says this occurred after Jesus’ resurrection (27:53) but it appears in the story of His death, so you wonder if it is misplaced in the text or was added later.

Matthew also says that those who rose from the grave appeared to “many” in the city, not to all. That makes one think that this was not a resurrection of human remains, but of the “new” body that one receives with resurrection (similar to the bodily change in Jesus in His post-resurrection appearances). And just like Jesus, only certain people would have the ability to “see” them in this new “body”.

 

[Faith1960]

It is difficult to imagine the other three Gospels not including this spectacular occurrence, so it is likely that the author of Matthew added this imagery in anticipation of the final days. And Matthew says this occurred after Jesus’ resurrection (27:53) but it appears in the story of His death, so you wonder if it is misplaced in the text or was added later.

Matthew also says that those who rose from the grave appeared to “many” in the city, not to all. That makes one think that this was not a resurrection of human remains, but of the “new” body that one receives with resurrection (similar to the bodily change in Jesus in His post-resurrection appearances). And just like Jesus, only certain people would have the ability to “see” them in this new “body”.

That makes more sense that what I was thinking, thanks.