When did the saints in Matthew 27:52 come out of the graves?
The saints in Matthew 27:52 came out of the graves after Christ’s resurrection, not while He was on the cross. Although the graves were opened at the crucifixion, the bodies arose afterward, because Christ had to be the first to be resurrected from the dead. This timing makes them part of the first fruits.
Les explains that people often misread Matthew 27, assuming the saints came out while Christ was on the cross. He points to the sequence: in verse 50 Jesus yielded up the ghost; in verse 51 the veil was rent and the earth quaked; then verse 52 says the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints arose and came out after His resurrection. Les emphasizes that Christ had to be the first to be resurrected from the dead, so these believers could not have preceded Him. He notes that earlier raisings, like Lazarus, were not resurrection but a restoring of life, and those people died again. These saints, he teaches, were a sampling—first fruits with Christ—and since Scripture is silent about them, Christ must have taken them on up into glory, not left them in this world.
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
More Questions
Why do some readers think the saints came out of the graves while Jesus was on the cross?
Stopping at Matthew 27:52 gives the impression that the saints came out of the graves while Jesus was on the cross, because the clarifying phrase 'after His resurrection' is in the next verse (Matthew 27:53).
Why did the man in Les's story think the saints came out of their graves while Christ was still on the cross?
If you stop reading at Matthew 27:52, you will get the wrong impression that the saints came out of their graves while Christ was on the cross; you need to read Matthew 27:53, where the phrase "after His resurrection" corrects that impression.