This took place WHEN the vail was torn.
Mattheww 27:50 When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He yielded up His spirit. 51
At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. 52The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53
After Jesus’ resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people.
When the Bible says: "many" I pay attention.
4183 polýs –
many (high in
number); multitudinous, plenteous, "much"; "great" in
amount (
extent).
Sorry for being away so long.
Thank you so much, for the scripture.
Matthew 27:
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,
53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
Let's look at this scripture closely.
#1
Comparing translations, on
the Bible Hub website, I counted six (6) translations that inserted Jesus, in place of 'he' -
αὐτός : autos: (1) self (emphatic) (2) he, she, it (used for the third pers. pron.) (3) the same.
Why do you suppose some Bible translators have taken it upon themselves to say that the verse is talking about "after the resurrection of Jesus"?
#2
In verse 53,
the Greek word egersis (ἔγερσις) is used, which means rising, or rousing. Not resurrection.
The Greek word used by the Christian Greek writers when discussing resurrection is,
anastasis (ἀνάστασις) - a standing up,a raising up, rising.
Of the thirty two (32) translations, on
the site, only five (5) uses 'rising', while the other twenty seven (27) uses 'resurrection'.
#3
Still with verse 53. The Greek word used there is, emphanizó (ἐμφανίζω), which can mean
to exhibit, appear (in person), or, to declare.
On
the Bible Hub site, practically all the translators use appear. Three use show (exhibit).
With the above information, let's consider these points.
How could the verse be referring to after Jesus' resurrection, when Jesus was not resurrected till the third day?
The verse could not be referring to Jesus, because that would mean that Matthew is relating something that happened two days subsequent to the earthquake. That would mean the insertion is wrong - misleading, or mistranslated.
Could the verses be referring to the dead Saints being resurrected, and then entering the temple to be seen by all?
For two (2) reasons, that would not be correct.
Reason #1
The verse can be read as:
Greek exactly
καὶ ἐξελθόντες ἐκ τῶν μνημείων μετὰ τὴν ἔγερσιν αὐτοῦ εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν πόλιν καὶ ἐνεφανίσθησαν πολλοῖς.
English (word for word)
and having gone forth out of the tombs after the rising of him they entered into the holy city and declared to many
English (made understandable)
(verse 53) and persons having gone forth out of the tombs after the rising of him, these persons entered into the holy city and declared to many (what they saw). Hence many people got to hear, (verse 52) that the bodies of many Saints had been raised up - that is, thrown out of their tombs, since the earthquake was so powerful that it split rocks, and tombs broke open.
Reason #2
The resurrection of the Saints would happen, not before Jesus was resurrected, but after.
1 Thessalonians 4:
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:22, 23
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
So, if we are to keep in harmony with the scriptures, would it not be the case that a resurrection did not occur there and then, but rather, the bodies of many Saints were thrown from their tombs as these tombs were split open by the quake, and those who witnessed it, went into the temple, and declared what they saw?