Matthew 27:50-54: a reflection

50Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. 51Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. 52The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they entered into the holy city and appeared to many. 54Now the centurion and those who were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were done, were terrified, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

At the moment Jesus dies, extraordinary things happen. The veil of the temple is torn in two from top to bottom; the earth quakes; rocks split; and, more startling still, tombs are opened, and the bodies of many holy people who had died are raised, coming out of the tombs after Jesus' resurrection and appearing to many. At the very moment of his death, death itself begins to loosen its grip; the graves start to give up their dead. And the watching centurion, seeing it all, confesses, Truly this was the Son of God.

Notice what these signs proclaim, especially the opening of the tombs. Jesus' death looked like a defeat, the end of him. But at that very moment, death began to break: the graves opened, the dead were raised, a foretaste of the resurrection to come. His death was not death's victory but the beginning of its undoing. The One who seemed conquered by death was, in dying, breaking death's grip from within.

That is the paradox at the heart of the gospel. What looked like Jesus' defeat was the death of death; in the moment he died, the tombs began to open. Because of his death and resurrection, death no longer has the final word over those who belong to him; the graves that opened that day are a promise of the day when all his people will rise. When you face death, your own or that of those you love, remember what happened at the cross: death began to break. Christ's death was the beginning of death's undoing, and because he died and rose, the grave is not the end. The tombs opened when Jesus died; they will open fully when he comes again.

Lord Jesus, at the moment of your death, the tombs opened and the dead were raised, a sign that death itself was beginning to break; your death was not death's victory but the beginning of its undoing. Thank you that what looked like your defeat was the death of death. Because you died and rose, death no longer has the final word over those who belong to you. When I face death, my own or that of those I love, remind me of the tombs that opened when you died. The grave is not the end; it is a door you have opened. Help me live in the hope of resurrection, trusting that because you conquered death, I and all your people will rise. Thank you for breaking the grip of the grave.