In our Wednesday evening Bible Study we are taking an in-depth look at the resurrection. We are currently working through Matthew’s account in Matthew 28:1-10. One thing we know about the gospel writers, particularly Matthew, is that they were not overly concerned with putting things in strict chronological order. We see this in Matthew 28:1-2: (NIV) After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
The earthquake happened before the women went to the tomb but Matthew mentions it after. This led to an interesting question from our study last Wednesday: Are the two earthquakes recorded in Matthew’s account of the resurrection (Matthew 27:51; Matthew 28:2) the same event? We will attempt to answer that question this Wednesday. But it leads to another aspect of the resurrection accounts.
Matthew is the only gospel writer to record these earthquakes and the events that Matthew records in Matthew 27:51-54 are an important part of the resurrection story. When did these events take place? Was Matthew speaking literally or figuratively? Did these people physically rise and die again or were they permanently resurrected? Who were these people Matthew speaks of in Matthew 27:52-53? Explore this passage as you find the time and we will explore this sometimes overlooked part of the resurrection narrative in our study on the resurrection.