Matthew 27:53 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

Ver. 51-53. Mark, Mark 15:38, mentions only the rending of the veil. No more doth Luke, Luke 23:45. John mentions none of these things. It pleased God to give a testimony against this prodigious piece of wickedness by prodigious signs, both in the heavens and on the earth. In the heavens the sun, as we heard before, suffered an unusual, preternatural eclipse, which lasted three hours. In the earth, there was an earthquake, to that degree, that the rocks were rent by it. Earthquakes were sometimes no more than indications of God's power and majesty, Psalms 68:8 Joel 2:10; and some think, that by this earthquake Christ declared his Divine power. It is certain that the centurion concluded from it, this was the Son of God, Matthew 27:54. But earthquakes were sometimes not only the indications of the Divine majesty and power, but also of his wrath, Psalms 18:7,8 Joe 3:16 Nahum 1:6. And such doubtless was this; to show that the earth abhorred what these men had done. Besides these, the veil of the temple was rent: three of the evangelists mention it. It is not much material whether this were the outward veil, or the inward veil, or hangings, which parted the most holy place from the other part of the temple, though probably it was the inner veil. By this rending of the veil God testified his wrath against the Jews, and that he was leaving his temple amongst them. The veil also was a type of Christ's flesh, Hebrews 10:20: the antitype being rent, it was reasonable that the type should also be so. By this also was showed, that the temple service was now at an end, and to continue no longer, and the partition wall between Jews and Gentiles was pulled down. For what Matthew speaks, Matthew 27:52,53, of the graves opening, and the bodies of the saints arising, &c., probably it was not till Christ's resurrection; only Matthew puts it in here, reckoning up together all the prodigious things that happened, for Matthew himself saith, Matthew 27:53, they came out of the graves after his resurrection, and it is not likely that the graves opened any considerable time before they came out of their graves. These now were the prodigies which attended the death of our Saviour.