27. The Resurrection
THE RESURRECTION
How can we reconcile1 Corinthians 15:20with the record inMatthew 27:52that there was a resurrection of some of the saints at the time of Christ’s crucifixion?
There is no such record in Matthew 27:52 or elsewhere. Verse 53 carefully states that it was “after his resurrection.”
Please explainMatthew 27:52-53, “many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” I have had these verses explained in the light ofEphesians 4:8, but I do not feel thatEphesians 4:8explains them.
I know nothing about this passage, Matthew 27:52-53, except just what it says. I am unable to trace any connection between this passage and Ephesians 4:8.
It ought to be noted that the resurrection of these saints was not at the time of the crucifixion, but “after his resurrection.” How many there were of these, or whether they went back into their graves, or what became of them, I do not know. It is one of the mysteries that I expect to have cleared up when we get to Heaven. In His resurrection did the Lord Jesus actually come forth bodily from the dead?
Yes. Otherwise there was no resurrection at all. Our Lord predicted His bodily resurrection in John 2:18-22. Look at His words there recorded, and consider them. They are either true or false. If they are false, then He either knowingly or ignorantly told a falsehood; and in either case He could be no one’s Savior. Make no mistake in supposing the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ to be unimportant. It is a vital part of our faith, and without it there is no faith worth mentioning. See how Paul deals with it as a basic doctrine in 1 Corinthians 15.
Please explainJohn 20:7: “And the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.” The explanation is that the linen clothes still lay where they had been while the Lord’s body was yet in them, with the same convolutions as when surrounding the body, while the napkin had been carefully folded and placed by itself in a separate place. All this showed that a miracle had taken place, and when John “saw” it he “believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead” (verses 8,9). Would you please tell me what is the difference between the resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:33-44) and the resurrection of Jesus Christ?
I am not sure that I understand the full purport of your question. Of course, we know nothing about the resurrection of Lazarus except what is written in John 11. There was certainly a vast difference between it and the resurrection of our Lord. Our Lord was raised from the dead with a glorified body. And it was on account of His death and resurrection that we are assured of a glorious resurrection. There is no indication that Lazarus was raised with a glorified body. Whether he died again or was taken to heaven with the body with which he was raised is not told us in Scripture. But the presumption is very strong that he went through death the second time, since there is no indication that his body was glorified when he was raised at Bethany.