To begin this lesson, I would be amiss if I first did not present the VAST evidence available to prove that Jesus Christ rose from the dead or the whole point of others doing it at the same time would be impossible.
He is the 'Firstborn from among the dead' so it follows logically that others would follow! If Jesus rose as stated then the others having rose from their graves on that day are automatically proven to be possible.
Mark 8:31-38 (Amplified Bible)
Jesus tells about his death to come and Resurrection!
31And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must of necessity suffer many things and be tested and disapproved and rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be put to death, and after three days rise again [from death].
32And He said this freely (frankly, plainly, and explicitly, making it unmistakable). And Peter took Him by the hand and led Him aside and then [facing Him] began to rebuke Him.
33But turning around [His back to Peter] and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, Get behind Me, Satan! For you do not have a mind intent on promoting what God wills, but what pleases men [you are not on God's side, but that of men].
34And Jesus called [to Him] the throng with His disciples and said to them, If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross, and [joining Me as a disciple and siding with My party] follow with Me [continually, cleaving steadfastly to Me].
35For whoever wants to save his [higher, spiritual, eternal] life, will lose it [the lower, natural, temporal life which is lived only on earth]; and whoever gives up his life [which is lived only on earth] for My sake and the Gospel's will save it [his higher, spiritual life in the eternal kingdom of God].
36For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life [in the eternal kingdom of God]?
37For what can a man give as an exchange (a compensation, a ransom, in return) for his [blessed] life [in the eternal kingdom of God]?
38For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words in this adulterous (unfaithful) and [preeminently] sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory (splendor and majesty) of His Father with the holy angels.
Luke 24 (Amplified Bible)
" 1BUT ON the first day of the week, at early dawn, [the women] went to the tomb, taking the spices which they had made ready. 2And they found the stone rolled back from the tomb,3But when they went inside, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4And while they were perplexed and wondering what to do about this, behold, two men in dazzling raiment suddenly stood beside them.
5And as [the women] were frightened and were bowing their faces to the ground, the men said to them, Why do you look for the living among [those who are] dead?
6He is not here, but has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still in Galilee
7That the Son of Man must be given over into the hands of sinful men (men whose way or nature is to act in opposition to God) and be crucified and on the third day rise [from death].
8And they remembered His words.
9And having returned from the tomb, they reported all these things [taken together] to the eleven apostles and to all the rest.
10Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who reported these things to the apostles.
11But these reports seemed to the men an idle tale (madness, feigned things, nonsense), and they did not believe the women.
12But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; and stooping down and looking in, he saw the linen cloths alone by themselves, and he went away, wondering about and marveling at what had happened."
Matthew 28:2 (Amplified Bible)
"2And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled the boulder back and sat upon it."The resurrection of the saints, and their subsequent appearance to many (Matthew 27:52-53) After the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Matthew 27:52-53 (Amplified Bible)
"52The tombs were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep in death were raised [to life]; 53And coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many people."
What we DO know ABOUT THIS HAPPENING is clear from the passage:
Jesus dies with a loud cry, and remember Jesus has raised many during his ministry with his very word so this was the catalyst that set in motion the following event of raising the dead around his death.
The veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom, this could only happen as a result of God's hand ripping it from top to bottom, another proof that great energies were at work surrounding Jesus death.
From
God’s Commentary on the Finished Work of Christ, Part 1: The Torn Curtain
Scholars are divided over which veil was torn in the temple because the temple contained two curtains. There was the outer curtain which separated the sanctuary from the forecourt (cf. Ex. 26:37; 38:18; Num. 3:26). This exterior curtain (the outer veil) covered the entrance to the temple structure itself and would have been visible to everyone facing that side of the temple. The innermost curtain (cf. Heb. 6:19) or the “second” veil (cf. Heb. 9:3) was the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple.
The vast majority of commentators believe that the inner curtain was the one torn for the following reasons. First, the word used to describe the veil (Gk. katapetasma) most often refers to the innermost veil next to the Holy of Holies. Second, the author of Hebrews by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit interprets the suffering and death of Christ as the means by which believers enter the heavenly Holy of Holies.
“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh” (Heb. 10:19-20; cf. 6:19; 9:3). At the exact moment that our Savior died (i.e. when the veil of His flesh was rent by death; when His soul was severed from His body) God ripped the curtain of the Holy of Holies in half. The symbolic significance of the tearing of the inner curtain during the precise moment that our Lord died is scripturally unmistakable. Jesus and His completed work of redemption is the opened curtain, gate or door by which we enter into heaven and the special presence of God.
To understand how dramatic the rending of the inner veil was we need to know how magnificent a curtain was involved. The curtain before the Holy of Holies was “40 cubits (60 feet) long, and 20 (30 feet) wide, of the thickness of the palm of the hand, and wrought in 72 squares, which were joined together; and these Veils were so heavy, that, in the exaggerated language of the time, it needed 300 priests to manipulate each.
If the Veil was at all such as is described in the Talmud, it could not have been rent in twain by a mere earthquake or the fall the lintel, although its composition in squares fastened together might explain, how the rent might be described in the gospels.” Exodus 26:31 says that the curtain was beautifully embroidered with blue, scarlet and purple thread. It was to be designed with cherubim who likely represented angelic guardians who were shielding access to a thrice holy God.
The purpose of the veil was to separate the special Shekinah presence of Jehovah from the people and even the regular priests who ministered in the temple. Only the high priest was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies behind the veil. This special entrance occurred only once each year on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:2ff; Num. 18:7; Heb. 9:7). On this day the high priest would pull back the edge of the curtain and enter the most holy place with the blood of sacrifice for himself and the people of Israel; then, he would sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before it. Under the old covenant administration the approach unto God was very restricted and this approach involved dread and fear. If any mistakes were made in the prescribed ritual whether intentional or not the person involved would be struck down by God. While the Day of Atonement pointed to Christ, the veil signified no admittance.
The special approach to God was very rare and limited. To everyone (except the yearly approach by the high priest) the veil said stay away; do not enter. God is holy and you are sinful and polluted. “The time when the high priest entered into it, it was indeed turned aside; whereon it immediately closed again and forbade an entrance and a prospect unto others. Wherefore there could be no entrance into that holy place abiding, unless the veil was rent and torn in pieces, so that it could close no more."
There was an earthquake of some sort (common for that area) but this one directly connected to the energies emitted from God's powerful hand at the Temple area. The rocks split (a more severe earthquake)
Bodies of many (but not all) Jewish saints came back to life (of some type-natural or supernatural) They come out of the tombs in which they had been buried.
They went into the "holy city" (undoubtedly Jerusalem) and became visible to many people (but not to all).
The events above concerning the raising/appearing of the saints occurred AFTER the resurrection (most probable punctuation/division of the verse-see standard commentaries).
The Jesus Inquest: The Case For and Against the Resurrection of the Christ
Greatest Heroes and Legends of the Bible: Last Supper, Crucifixion, and Resurrection
The waiting world: Or, What happens at death
What Happens at Death?
The Big Book of Near Death Experiences: The Ultimate Guide to What Happens When We Die
What Happens After Death: Scientific & Personal Evidence for Survival
