The Resurrected Saints
by Owen Borville
April 17, 2019
Bible
The description of the resurrected saints during Jesus' Crucifixion described in Matthew 27:51-53 marks one of the most unusual events of the Bible. As Jesus' crucifixion is described and Jesus "gave up his spirit" (Matthew 27:50), some very bizarre and unique things immediately occurred, as described in the scripture.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. Matthew 27:51-53 NIV.
Because the event is only described in Matthew and was not included in the other gospels, the event has been questioned by some skeptics. However, the fact that the event was only described in Matthew and not in the other gospels or other parts of the Biblical scriptures does not falsify or contradict the account. This unique event was witnessed by many people, as recorded in the scripture, and if this event was not real, it would have easily been refuted by the the people living at the time.
The fact that Matthew includes the event in the gospel scripture gives strong evidence that it was a real event. Some scholars suggest that the event was "symbolic" and was not meant to be taken literally, as skeptic scholars commonly explain. However, it is unlikely that this event would have been recorded in the scripture if it did not actually happen. Many witnessed this event, as recorded in the scripture, and if it did not actually occur, many would have refuted the account and it would not have been recorded by Matthew.
Some scholars question why the three other gospel writers did not include the account of the resurrected saints. The fact is that there were many miraculous events that occurred during the life of Jesus on Earth and not all of these events were recorded in the scriptures and the gospel accounts. One could argue that the Crucifixion and Resurrection accounts were focused on Jesus Christ and the account of the resurrected saints would take attention away from Jesus, who was the central figure and focal point of the entire Christian faith and movement.
The other gospel writers also could have omitted the account simply because they felt it was not that important or crucial to the larger story or theme of the Gospel message. Jesus did perform many miracles and not all of the miracles that were performed were included in each gospel account. Some events were likely omitted simply because there was not enough room to describe each and every miraculous event that occurred during the life of Jesus.
However, the fact that one gospel writer, Matthew, includes the account of the resurrected saints in his version of the gospel gives stronger evidence that it actually occurred. It is also possible that the other disciples and gospel writers did not know about the account of the resurrected saints. The disciples and gospel writers were very careful to be accurate in their writings and only included events that were documented and were witnessed. It is very unlikely that Matthew or the other disciples would describe an event that no one could document or no eyewitness could verify the account. Therefore, there is strong historical evidence for the account of the resurrected saints described in Matthew's gospel.
In the Gospel of John it is written:
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31.
Also in the Gospel of John it is written:
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. John 21:25 NIV.
Therefore, we can see that not every miraculous event that happened was recorded in every gospel and that some events may have been omitted for various reasons. Each disciple and gospel writer selected what he thought was important to be recorded in the scripture, as led by the Holy Spirit of course, and there was not enough room to write about every single event that happened during Jesus' life on Earth.
The writers of the gospel scriptures also likely did not want to stray away from the central theme of the gospel message and therefore some events that were not central or key to the theme of the gospel message may not have been recorded. Skeptics often claim that there are contradictions within the gospel accounts. However, one must consider that there were four different human beings that wrote the gospel accounts plus the Apostle Paul and the other apostles that wrote scriptures included in the New Testament. Each gospel writer had their own unique style and these supposed differences in the gospel accounts are not contradictions but in fact are unique accounts led by the Holy Spirit that actually give more evidence for the cause of the Christian faith.
The fact that there are multiple accounts written by multiple human beings at different times of their lives within the first century should give a stronger validity and genuine authenticity of these scriptures. For example, if each gospel account was identical in every word and there were no differences in the accounts, one could question the authenticity. The fact that different events were described in each gospel scripture was the result of different authors for each gospel scripture. Some disciples were fishermen, businessmen, tax collectors, clergymen, or even politicians. Each disciple came from a different background or walk of life and each account had a different style based on the personality of the writer and the relationship that each had with Jesus and the disciples.
by Owen Borville
April 17, 2019
Bible
The description of the resurrected saints during Jesus' Crucifixion described in Matthew 27:51-53 marks one of the most unusual events of the Bible. As Jesus' crucifixion is described and Jesus "gave up his spirit" (Matthew 27:50), some very bizarre and unique things immediately occurred, as described in the scripture.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. Matthew 27:51-53 NIV.
Because the event is only described in Matthew and was not included in the other gospels, the event has been questioned by some skeptics. However, the fact that the event was only described in Matthew and not in the other gospels or other parts of the Biblical scriptures does not falsify or contradict the account. This unique event was witnessed by many people, as recorded in the scripture, and if this event was not real, it would have easily been refuted by the the people living at the time.
The fact that Matthew includes the event in the gospel scripture gives strong evidence that it was a real event. Some scholars suggest that the event was "symbolic" and was not meant to be taken literally, as skeptic scholars commonly explain. However, it is unlikely that this event would have been recorded in the scripture if it did not actually happen. Many witnessed this event, as recorded in the scripture, and if it did not actually occur, many would have refuted the account and it would not have been recorded by Matthew.
Some scholars question why the three other gospel writers did not include the account of the resurrected saints. The fact is that there were many miraculous events that occurred during the life of Jesus on Earth and not all of these events were recorded in the scriptures and the gospel accounts. One could argue that the Crucifixion and Resurrection accounts were focused on Jesus Christ and the account of the resurrected saints would take attention away from Jesus, who was the central figure and focal point of the entire Christian faith and movement.
The other gospel writers also could have omitted the account simply because they felt it was not that important or crucial to the larger story or theme of the Gospel message. Jesus did perform many miracles and not all of the miracles that were performed were included in each gospel account. Some events were likely omitted simply because there was not enough room to describe each and every miraculous event that occurred during the life of Jesus.
However, the fact that one gospel writer, Matthew, includes the account of the resurrected saints in his version of the gospel gives stronger evidence that it actually occurred. It is also possible that the other disciples and gospel writers did not know about the account of the resurrected saints. The disciples and gospel writers were very careful to be accurate in their writings and only included events that were documented and were witnessed. It is very unlikely that Matthew or the other disciples would describe an event that no one could document or no eyewitness could verify the account. Therefore, there is strong historical evidence for the account of the resurrected saints described in Matthew's gospel.
In the Gospel of John it is written:
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31.
Also in the Gospel of John it is written:
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. John 21:25 NIV.
Therefore, we can see that not every miraculous event that happened was recorded in every gospel and that some events may have been omitted for various reasons. Each disciple and gospel writer selected what he thought was important to be recorded in the scripture, as led by the Holy Spirit of course, and there was not enough room to write about every single event that happened during Jesus' life on Earth.
The writers of the gospel scriptures also likely did not want to stray away from the central theme of the gospel message and therefore some events that were not central or key to the theme of the gospel message may not have been recorded. Skeptics often claim that there are contradictions within the gospel accounts. However, one must consider that there were four different human beings that wrote the gospel accounts plus the Apostle Paul and the other apostles that wrote scriptures included in the New Testament. Each gospel writer had their own unique style and these supposed differences in the gospel accounts are not contradictions but in fact are unique accounts led by the Holy Spirit that actually give more evidence for the cause of the Christian faith.
The fact that there are multiple accounts written by multiple human beings at different times of their lives within the first century should give a stronger validity and genuine authenticity of these scriptures. For example, if each gospel account was identical in every word and there were no differences in the accounts, one could question the authenticity. The fact that different events were described in each gospel scripture was the result of different authors for each gospel scripture. Some disciples were fishermen, businessmen, tax collectors, clergymen, or even politicians. Each disciple came from a different background or walk of life and each account had a different style based on the personality of the writer and the relationship that each had with Jesus and the disciples.
