A Glimpse of What's to Come

The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. —Matthew 27:51–52 ESV

The earthquake on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion was no small tremor. Matthew 27:54 tells us that the Roman soldiers were “terrified.” Not only did it shake the earth, it opened rock tombs and “many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised” (v. 52).

Think about what this would have meant to those who saw these people they had known come out of the graves and walk into Jerusalem. The believers who were still alive were going to have their faith greatly tested in the days ahead. Perhaps God performed this miracle to bolster their faith and give them hope, to remind them that through His death, Christ had overcome death, that He was the resurrection and the life.

Maybe it was in seeing these resurrected saints that those early believers were encouraged with a foretaste of their own ultimate bodily resurrection. It was a glimpse of what they had to look forward to in that ultimate resurrection.