When The Tombs Open

Matthew 27:50-53

Text: Matthew 27:52–53

Big Idea: When Jesus died, God gave a glimpse of the resurrection victory Christ was about to accomplish.

Introduction

On May 8, 1945, people across Europe flooded into the streets celebrating the end of the war in Europe during Victory in Europe Day.

After years of fear, bombings, and uncertainty, the news spread quickly: Nazi Germany had surrendered.

Church bells rang. Strangers hugged each other. Soldiers who had lived through unimaginable horrors finally allowed themselves to breathe.

But historians often remind us that the real turning point of the war had actually come almost a year earlier on June 6, 1944 during D-Day.

When Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, the decisive battle had begun. The war was not over yet. Fighting continued for months, and thousands more lives would be lost.

But from that moment forward, the outcome was no longer in doubt.

Victory had begun.

The celebration simply came later.

Something very similar happens in the story of the cross.

When Jesus died, it looked like defeat. The Messiah had been mocked, beaten, and executed by the Roman Empire. His followers had scattered. The religious leaders believed they had silenced Him.

But Matthew records something that shows a deeper reality.

Matthew 27:52–53 says:

“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.”

In the middle of what looked like the darkest moment in human history, graves began to open.

Death itself was starting to lose its grip.

One of the questions people often ask when reading this passage is simple:

Why did Matthew include this story?

None of the other gospel writers record it.

Matthew is the only one who tells us that tombs opened and saints appeared in Jerusalem.

So why include it?

Matthew wrote his Gospel primarily for a Jewish audience—people who knew the Old Testament promises.

For generations they had heard prophets speak about a day when God would defeat death.

They had heard the promise that the righteous would be raised.

But those promises had always seemed distant—something that would happen far in the future.

Matthew wants his readers to understand that something new had begun.

When Jesus died, the future resurrection had broken into the present.

It was as if God was saying:

“The victory has started.”

These resurrected saints were not the final resurrection.

They were a preview.

A sign pointing to what God was about to accomplish through Jesus.

1. The Saints Were Raised

Matthew tells us that when Jesus died, tombs opened and many saints were raised.

These saints were faithful believers who had trusted in God long before Jesus was born. They were people who had lived ordinary lives of faith—parents, workers, neighbors, worshipers in the temple.

Eventually they died, just like everyone else.

Their bodies were buried in rock-cut tombs around Jerusalem. Stones were rolled over the entrances, sealing them shut.

In the ancient world, the tomb represented finality.

Once someone was buried, the story was finished.

Families mourned.

Time moved forward.

But when Christ died, something happened that had never happened before.

Graves opened.

This moment connects directly to the long story God had been telling throughout the Old Testament.

For centuries God had promised that death would not have the final word.

Job declared in Job 19:25–26,

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth… yet in my flesh I shall see God.”

Isaiah proclaimed in Isaiah 26:19,

“Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.”

And Daniel wrote in Daniel 12:2,

“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.”

These promises were not vague spiritual ideas. They pointed to a real resurrection.

But until the moment Jesus died, no one had seen anything like this.

So what changed?

The answer is the cross.

At the cross, Jesus was not just suffering physically. He was carrying the weight of human sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says,

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Sin brought death into the world in the first place.

Romans 5:12 says,

“Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin.”

So when Jesus took sin upon Himself, He was striking at the root of death itself.

The opened tombs were like the first cracks appearing in the walls of death’s prison.

Imagine living in Jerusalem that day.

The city is already crowded because thousands of people have traveled there for Passover.

Rumors are spreading about the strange darkness that covered the land.

People are talking about the earthquake.

And then suddenly something even more unbelievable happens.

People begin to appear in the city who had been dead.

Matthew says they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

We are not told their names.

We are not told how long they lived afterward.

Matthew simply records that it happened.

But think about the message this would send.

The grave—the place everyone feared most—was no longer secure.

Something had changed.

And the only explanation was the death of Jesus.

Application

This matters for us because it reminds us that Jesus did not come only to improve our lives—He came to defeat the greatest enemy we face.

Every person eventually confronts death.

We try not to think about it. Our culture distracts us with entertainment, success, and constant noise.

But the reality is that death touches every family.

The gospel tells us that Jesus entered that reality and broke its power.

For students, that truth changes how we think about life.

If Christ defeated death, then life is not just about popularity, grades, sports, or what people think of us.

Our lives are part of something eternal.

2. Jesus Is the Firstfruits

Matthew also tells us something important about timing.

He says the saints came out of their tombs after Jesus’ resurrection.

That detail matters.

These saints were raised because Jesus Himself was about to rise first.

1 Corinthians 15:20 says,

“Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

The idea of firstfruits comes from farming.

When the first crops appear in the field, farmers know the harvest has begun.

The rest is coming.

Jesus’ resurrection is the beginning of the great harvest of resurrection life.

Paul explains it further in 1 Corinthians 15:21–22:

“For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.”

Through Adam, death entered the world.

Through Christ, resurrection enters the world.

This is why the resurrection is absolutely central to Christianity.

If Jesus had stayed in the grave, the cross would simply be the tragic death of a good teacher.

Paul even says in 1 Corinthians 15:17,

“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”

But the tomb was empty.

Jesus appeared to His disciples.

Hundreds of witnesses saw Him alive.

And these resurrected saints appearing in Jerusalem were a visible sign that resurrection power had arrived.

There is something important to understand about resurrection in the Bible.

When Jesus raises Lazarus in John 11, Lazarus eventually dies again.

But the resurrection of Jesus is different.

Jesus rises never to die again.

Romans 6:9 says,

“Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.”

That means the resurrection of Jesus is not just a miracle.

It is the beginning of a new creation.

In the same way sin entered the world through Adam, resurrection life enters the world through Christ.

Paul describes Jesus as the second Adam in 1 Corinthians 15.

Through the first Adam came death.

Through the second Adam comes life.

And that life spreads to everyone who belongs to Him.

Illustration

Think about the first light before sunrise.

When the sky is dark, it can feel like night will last forever. But the moment the first line of light appears over the horizon, everything changes.

You know the sun is coming.

The darkness may still linger for a few moments, but it has already lost.

That is what the resurrection of Jesus is like.

The raised saints in Matthew 27 were like the first light before sunrise—a glimpse of the full resurrection that will come one day.

Application

For students, this means the resurrection is not just a doctrine we memorize—it is a truth that shapes how we live.

Because Jesus rose, our hope is not fragile.

Your identity is not defined by how many followers you have online.

Your worth is not determined by how people treat you at school.

Your future is not limited by your past mistakes.

The resurrection means Jesus has authority over life, death, and eternity.

3. Our Resurrection Is Coming

The resurrection of Jesus is not only good news about Him.

It is good news for everyone who belongs to Him.

Romans 6:5 says,

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

Union with Christ means that what is true of Jesus becomes true for those who trust Him.

His death becomes our forgiveness.

His righteousness becomes our standing before God.

And His resurrection becomes our future.

One day Jesus will return.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 says,

“The Lord himself will descend from heaven… and the dead in Christ will rise.”

Think about that moment.

Every cemetery.

Every grave.

Every believer who has died in Christ.

All raised by His power.

Paul celebrates that victory in 1 Corinthians 15:54:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Illustration

Early Christians sometimes carved the symbol of an anchor onto graves.

Not a skull.

Not a symbol of despair.

An anchor represented hope—something that holds firm even when storms come.

For Christians, the resurrection of Jesus is that anchor.

Because Christ walked out of the grave, believers know the grave is not the end of the story.

Application

The resurrection is not just about the future.

It changes how we live today.

If Jesus defeated death, then fear does not get to control our lives.

Think about how much fear shapes our world.

Fear of rejection.

Fear of failure.

Fear of what people think.

Fear of standing out.

For many students, those fears shape every decision.

But the resurrection reminds us that the worst thing that could ever happen—death itself—has already been defeated by Jesus.

Which means followers of Christ are free to live courageously.

Free to speak about their faith.

Free to stand for truth.

Free to live differently.

Because our hope is not tied to the approval of people.

Our hope is tied to the victory of Christ.

Call to Action

If Jesus truly defeated sin and death, then the resurrection should change how we live right now.

Some of you need to take the step of baptism.

Baptism is the public way we say, “I belong to Jesus.” Romans 6 describes it as being buried with Christ and raised to new life.

Some of you need to step into serving.

The church is not meant to be a place where a few adults do ministry while students sit on the sidelines. God calls young believers to serve His kingdom.

Some of you could start something powerful at your schools.

Imagine what could happen if students in this room started Bible clubs, prayer groups, or small Bible studies during lunch.

You do not need to know everything about the Bible to open it with a friend.

You just need the courage to start.

And some of you may need to respond to the gospel tonight for the first time.

Because the same Jesus who died on that cross and walked out of the grave is alive today.

And if He defeated death—

then He deserves your life.

So the question tonight is simple:

If Christ has conquered the grave,

what will you do with that truth?

Small Group

Head (Understanding / Thinking)

Goal: Help students understand the passage and what it means.

What happened in Matthew 27:52–53?

Prompt: Name one thing that surprised you.

Prompt: Who were the people coming out of the tombs?

Why do you think Matthew included the story of the raised saints when no other Gospel mentions it?

Prompt: How might this story give hope to people who felt like things were hopeless?

Prompt: Think about the “first light before sunrise” image from the sermon.

How do the Old Testament promises (Job 19:25–26, Isaiah 26:19, Daniel 12:2) help us understand this moment?

Prompt: Which promise is being fulfilled here?

Prompt: Why does it matter that God keeps His promises?

Heart (Feeling / Believing)

Goal: Help students connect the truth of the passage to their own lives.

Jesus’ resurrection is like “first light before sunrise.”

Prompt: Can you think of a time when something felt hopeless but changed for the better?

Prompt: How does this give you hope in your life today?

Knowing Jesus has defeated death, how does that change the way you think about fear—like fear of failure, rejection, or the future?

Prompt: Name one fear you have.

Prompt: How could remembering Jesus’ victory help you face that fear?

If Jesus’ victory over death shapes who you are, how does that change how you see yourself at school, with friends, or at home?

Prompt: Share one small way this could make you feel braver or freer.

Hands (Action / Doing)

Goal: Help students think of practical ways to live out the resurrection truth.

The resurrection frees us to live courageously.

Prompt: What is one small step you could take this week to live differently because Jesus has won?

Prompt: Could be inviting someone to read a Bible verse, praying with a friend, or standing up for someone.

Serving others:

Prompt: Name one way you could help or encourage someone this week.

Prompt: Could be at school, at home, or at church—small actions matter.

Responding to Jesus:

Prompt: If you haven’t fully committed to following Him, what is one next step you could take?

Prompt: Could be reading the Bible, praying, asking a friend to pray with you, or talking to a mentor.