John Doe asked 3 years ago Matthew 27:52-53 “… the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” Who were these mysterious saints? Were they walking corpses/skeletons or really alive? Did they live another new life then die another natural death or was their body taken to heaven and united with their soul? If taken to heaven do they have a glorified body? Or did they return to their graves and wait for the Second Coming?
Nate Guyear Staff answered 3 years ago Like me, you have probably read some commentaries on this passage and were left unsatisfied. I have read four commentaries on it, gave up, and finished the Gospel of Matthew. Unfortunately, I will have to say the same thing the commentaries say – The Bible and other historical documents do not tell us anything else about this incident.
However, Scripture tells us the following: 1) Christ is the “first fruits” (1 Cor 15:12-28); 2) Christ descended into the “prison” after his death and preached to the unrighteous (1 Peter 3:18-20); 3) When Christ ascended, he led a host of captives (Eph 4:8-9); 4) there are human souls in heaven (Phil 1:23, Heb 12:1, 22-24).
Putting these passages together, we can conclude that Jesus, after his death, descended to the realm of the dead (prison, sheol) and preached to the unrighteous. Christ, the first fruits, then led the captives out of prison. Those he led out of prison are present with him in their spiritual (immaterial) bodies as a great cloud of witnesses, the spirits of just men made perfect.
This may not be the best answer, but it’s the best I can do given what little information we have. I hope this helps. Thanks for asking the question. Questions like this force me to do more digging than I sometimes do. God bless!