Why is Matthew the only Gospel that mentions the dead saints rising when Jesus died?
Studied by claude-opus-5-5 · asked once
The text never says why Mark, Luke and John leave it out. What can be shown is that every Gospel picks its own material (John 20:30–31). Matthew alone tells several stories that cluster around an earthquake, and he draws on prophecies about God opening graves (Ezekiel 37:12–13). Christians disagree about whether Matthew 27:51–53 records a literal event, uses apocalyptic imagery, or does something of both.
What the text says
The passage. When Jesus dies, Matthew reports a run of signs: "the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After Jesus' resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many" (Matthew 27:51–53). The centurion and the men with him see "the earthquake and all that was happening" and say, "Truly this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:54).
What the other Gospels share, and what they don't. Mark and Luke also have the darkness, the torn temple curtain and the centurion's words (Mark 15:33, 38–39; Luke 23:44–47). They have no earthquake, no opened tombs and no risen saints. John has none of these signs. So the risen saints belong to material that only Matthew has. That material also includes the dream of Pilate's wife (27:19), the guard at the tomb (27:62–66; 28:11–15) and a second earthquake on Easter morning, when an angel rolls the stone away (28:2).
Why only Matthew? The honest answer: the text does not say. No Gospel explains what it leaves out. What the Gospels do say is that they choose. John writes that Jesus did "many other signs… which are not written in this book" and that his book was written for a particular purpose (John 20:30–31; 21:25). Luke says he drew on several earlier accounts and arranged his material (Luke 1:1–4). Leaving something out is therefore not the same as denying it. Still, a sceptical reader is right that an event this dramatic is not confirmed by the other Gospels, Acts, or any surviving non-Christian source. That silence is part of why readers explain the passage in different ways (see the views below).
What Matthew seems to be doing with it. The wording echoes the Hebrew prophets. Ezekiel 37:12–13 reads: "I will open your graves and bring you up from them, My people… Then you will know that I am the LORD." Earthquakes and a Lord who comes "and all the holy ones with Him" appear in Zechariah 14:4–5. Daniel 12:2 speaks of "many who sleep in the dust" awakening. Matthew uses "many", "saints/holy ones" and "fallen asleep", and the overlap is close. Whatever else it is, the scene presents Jesus' death as the moment the long-promised resurrection begins to break in. Matthew also says the saints came out only "after His resurrection" (27:53). That keeps Jesus first, matching Paul's description of Christ as "the firstfruits" of those raised (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23).
What the text leaves open. It does not name the saints. It does not say whether they had ordinary bodies, whether they died again or ascended, how many people saw them, or how long they stayed. Every answer to those questions is a guess.
Where readers differ
A real event that Matthew alone recorded
Matthew sets the passage among other events he plainly means as history (the curtain, the centurion, the tomb), and he uses no 'as it were' language. The Gospels are openly selective (John 20:30–31; 21:25), and Matthew includes other material the others lack. Holders note that Matthew says the saints 'appeared to many' in Jerusalem, which reads like an appeal to witnesses. They also note that very early Christian writers seem to know of a raising of the righteous dead tied to Christ's death, though those writers may simply be drawing on Matthew.
Apocalyptic imagery that interprets what Jesus' death means
Jewish writing often marked world-changing moments with cosmic signs such as darkness, earthquakes and split rocks (Joel 2:10; Amos 8:9). Matthew's wording closely follows Ezekiel 37:12–13 and Zechariah 14:4–5, his Gospel is full of fulfilled prophecy, and no other source mentions the event. On this reading Matthew is saying, in the vivid language of prophecy, that Jesus' death opens the age of resurrection. He is not giving a news report. Some who hold this view still regard the Gospels as fully truthful and treat this as a question of genre, not of accuracy.
A literal event in two stages, which explains the timing
Among readers who take it literally, the debate is about timing. Matthew says the tombs opened at Jesus' death, but the saints 'came out' and appeared only 'after His resurrection.' One reading is that the earthquake opened the tombs on Friday and the raising and appearing happened on Sunday. That keeps Christ as the 'firstfruits' (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23) and 'firstborn from the dead' (Colossians 1:18). Others place the comma differently so that the saints were raised on Friday and emerged on Sunday. Either way, Matthew joins the two key moments, the cross and the empty tomb, into a single act of God.
Matthew 27:521 Corinthians 15:201 Corinthians 15:23Colossians 1:18
A later, legend-like expansion of the tradition
Many historical-critical scholars think Mark is earlier than Matthew and that Matthew used Mark. If so, Matthew added the earthquake and the risen saints to Mark's darkness and torn curtain. The oddities in the passage are taken as signs of growth in the tradition: Mark, Luke, John and Paul say nothing of it, there is no known follow-up, and the timing is awkward. On this view the story reflects early Christian belief about Jesus' death more than an event that witnesses observed.
The words it turns on
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ἅγιος hagioi (ἅγιοι)
'Holy ones': people set apart for God. Here it means the righteous dead of Israel. In Zechariah 14:5 (Greek version) and Daniel the same word can also refer to angels or to God's faithful people.
Drift: In English, 'saints' often brings to mind specially honoured or officially recognised Christians. Matthew means faithful Israelites who died before Jesus, not people later named as saints.
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κοιμάω koimaō (κοιμάω)
To fall asleep. Jews and early Christians used it as a gentle word for death, with the hope of waking (Daniel 12:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–14).
Drift: It does not mean soul sleep or literal sleep. It is a figure of speech for being dead, chosen because death is not seen as final.
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ἐγείρω egeirō (ἐγείρω)
To raise, or wake someone up. The same verb is used for Jesus' resurrection (Matthew 28:6–7) and in 27:52, 'were raised.'
Drift: English 'arose' can sound as if the dead simply stood up. Here the verb is passive, 'were raised', so God is the one acting.
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ἔγερσις egersis (ἔγερσις)
A raising or resurrection. Matthew 27:53 is the only place in the New Testament where this noun appears: 'after His resurrection.'
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ἐμφανίζω emphanizō (ἐμφανίζω)
To make visible or show oneself; 'appeared to many' (27:53).
Drift: The word does not say whether the saints had ordinary bodies or appeared in some other way, or how long they stayed visible.
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σεισμός seismos (σεισμός)
A shaking or earthquake. Matthew uses it at the cross (27:54) and at the empty tomb (28:2). Earthquakes are a stock sign in the prophets that God has come.
What the Bible doesn't say
The Bible never explains why Mark, Luke and John don't mention this, and nothing elsewhere in Scripture refers back to it. Matthew does not say who the saints were, what happened to them afterward, or whether their bodies were like ordinary or resurrected bodies. The Church Fathers already disagreed: some said the saints went up to heaven with Christ, and others said they died again, like Lazarus. Traditions today still differ on whether the passage is plain history, prophetic imagery, or both. Each reading is held by people who take the text seriously, and the text does not settle the question.
Key verses
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Matthew 27:51
At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, and the rocks were split.
The passage itself: earthquake, opened tombs, saints raised, and appearing in Jerusalem after Jesus' resurrection.
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Matthew 27:54
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
The centurion reacts to 'the earthquake and all that was happening.' This ties the signs to who Jesus is.
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Mark 15:38
And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
Mark's version has the torn curtain and the centurion but no earthquake or risen saints, so it shows what Matthew adds.
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Luke 23:44
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour.
Luke also has the darkness and the torn curtain but no opened tombs.
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Ezekiel 37:12
Therefore prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘O My people, I will open your graves and bring you up from them, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
'I will open your graves and bring you up.' This is the clearest prophetic background to Matthew's wording.
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Zechariah 14:4
On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south.
An earthquake, and the Lord coming with 'all the holy ones.' Matthew's scene echoes it.
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Daniel 12:2
And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
'Many who sleep in the dust' will awake. It is the source of the 'many' and 'sleep' language.
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1 Corinthians 15:20
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Christ as 'firstfruits.' It explains why Matthew says the saints emerged only after Jesus' resurrection.
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John 20:30
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book.
The Gospel writers openly say they selected their material. This is the main biblical reason one Gospel can include what others leave out.
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Matthew 28:2
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it.
A second earthquake, also found only in Matthew. It shows that earthquakes are a theme of Matthew's.
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Luke 1:1
Many have undertaken to compose an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,
Luke says he drew on several earlier accounts and put them in order, which shows the Gospels drew on overlapping but different sources.
Common points of confusion
- The saints rose and walked around Jerusalem on Good Friday, before Jesus himself rose.
- Matthew 27:53 says they came out of the tombs and entered the city 'after His resurrection.' The text keeps Jesus first.
- If the other Gospels leave it out, they must contradict Matthew.
- None of the other Gospels denies it. They simply don't mention it, and the Gospel writers say openly that they selected their material (John 20:30–31; 21:25). The silence is a fair historical question, but it is not a contradiction in the text.
- These 'saints' were Christian martyrs or specially holy people.
- The Greek hagioi means 'holy ones.' At this point it can only mean faithful people of Israel who had already died. The text names no one.
- The passage teaches that everyone who had died was raised at the cross.
- Matthew says 'many,' not all, echoing Daniel 12:2. The general resurrection is still in the future elsewhere in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 15:23; Revelation 11:18). The early Christian Didache likewise speaks of a raising 'not of all the dead' (Didache 16:7).
- Matthew says the risen saints went up to heaven with Jesus.
- The text says nothing about what happened to them after they 'appeared to many.' Ideas that they ascended, or that they died again, come from later tradition.
Sources: Greek New Testament (Nestle-Aland 28th edition / SBL Greek New Testament), Matthew 27:51-54 · Septuagint (Greek Old Testament), Ezekiel 37, Zechariah 14, Daniel 12 · Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (G40, G1453, G1454, G1718, G2837, G4578) · Bauer, Danker, Arndt, Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (BDAG) · Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament · R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew (NICNT) · D. A. Carson, Matthew (Expositor's Bible Commentary) · W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison, Matthew (International Critical Commentary) · Didache 16:6-7 · Ignatius, Letter to the Magnesians 9 (early reference to Christ raising the prophets)
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