A very thin veil
And the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. –Matthew 27:52-53 (NIV)
Wait, what? Come on Matthew! You can’t just casually throw out that little tidbit and not give us any more detail about what seems to be a curious, perhaps even significant event. I got questions!
Who were these holy people? Why were they raised? Did they have awareness they had been dead? If so, was finding themselves alive again a scary thing for them? (Not to mention the "many" they encountered!) Were their bodies restored to normal, healthy condition, absent any sign of whatever had caused their demise? Did they just go back home and resume their places in family and community? Did they later die of natural causes, as we assume happened for Lazarus and others who were raised from the dead during Jesus’ time on earth? Were they able to tell stories of the after-life? Did they testify to the validity of Jesus’ claims and identity? Were they the “warm-up act” for Jesus’ resurrection a couple days later?
From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). –Matthew 27:45-46 (NIV)
I want to know more. As it stands, it’s a pretty strange factoid with a lot of loose ends. Most of what has been written about it is speculative, from how recently these people had died, to what kind of bodies they had (mortal or glorified?), to how long they hung around the cemetery before they began appearing in Jerusalem. Are you ready for my take?
Consider what all was happening. It was a dark day. It was a cataclysmic day. It was a day when the old order was literally torn away. It was a day when lives were restored. And that's just what was observable from an immediate, physical standpoint! Perhaps ironically, the accuser had anticipated this day as his most glorious triumph, the day he would finally capitalize on the only perceived weakness of YHWH – His hopeless, unreasonable, unexplainable affection for the pitiful race He had created. Then suddenly, the plans of the enemy went pear-shaped. The victory he expected was somehow slipping away….
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split… –Matthew 27:50-51 (NIV)
As the Son of God/Son of Man paid off the debt that hung over humanity, the Father did not walk away. Indeed, the veil between heaven and earth, light and darkness, life and death became paper-thin at that point, as God oversaw and orchestrated every detail of His plan for the redemption of all mankind. Is there any wonder that the Author of Life, in the process of purchasing eternal life for us all, would have some spill-over onto a nearby graveyard?
So what do I do with this strange two-verse story? I take heart. The Kingdom of Heaven is closer than we think. The power of the Father is stronger than we think. The love of the Son is more far-reaching than we think. I’ve been watching with interest the events and ripple effects of what's been happening at Asbury University. I’m not sure what it may lead to, but it sure looks like the light is putting up a real good fight against the darkness. Our world needs Jesus. Pierce the veil – it's time to shine!