You Shall Come Up From Your Graves and . . . .

If there is one universal fact in human life -- it is death. Death has been a major topic in all cultures from the beginning of recorded history. The thing that cultures and religions disagree on about death is what happens after death. I mean different groups in the same religion don’t even agree about what happens after death.

This is was the situation back when the Real Yeshua was preaching and teaching in Galilee and Judea. The Sadducees taught that after death everyone went to Sheol. Job gives us a glimpse of the way the ancient Hebrews viewed Sheol – the abode of the dead -- in Job 10:20-22.

Are not my days few? Cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; a land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.

The author of Psalm 115 (verses 16-17) shared Job’s view -- or Job shared his view -- of Sheol.

The heavens of heavens are for Yahweh, but the earth He has given to the sons of man. The dead do not praise Yah, nor do any that go down into silence.

The Sadducees view of what happens after death reflects the most ancient view in their culture. After the Northern Tribes were conquered by the Assyrians and the Southern Tribes by the Babylonians, a new view about what happens after death appears in the words of the prophet Ezekiel (37:12-14):

Therefore prophesy and say to them, “Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people, and will bring you to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am Yahweh, when I have opened your graves and have brought you out of your graves, O My people. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will put you on your own land. And you shall know that I, Yahweh, have spoken and have done it,’ says Yahweh.”

The Pharisees adopted this view and made belief in the resurrection a primary requirement for membership in their sect. The Jewish Jesus was caught in the crossfire of the conflict over the differing beliefs of the Sadducees and Pharisees about what happens after people die. On some issues he agreed with the Sadducees, while on others he agreed with the Pharisees. When it came to belief in the resurrection, he agreed with the Pharisees.

But don’t assume that what he believed about “the resurrection” includes what you believe about “going to heaven.” Take another look at Ezekiel’s words again.

“. . . when I have opened your graves and have brought you out of your graves . . .

I will put you on your own land . . .”

When we study the words of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), the closest sources we have of the original words of Yeshua, we look for teachings that reflect ideas that were important to people in his culture at that period of time. We know that foreign ideas were inserted by Gentile scribes and they stand out those of his Jewish culture.  But sometimes we discover something in one Gospel that would have been very important to Yeshua and his Jewish audience, but is missing from the other two Gospels. One of the most glaring examples of this is found in Matthew 27:50-53.

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. And, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the holy ones who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

This account contains something that not only would have been very important to the Pharisees (the fulfillment of the words of Ezekiel), it would be “breaking news” around the world today – the graves were opened, people that had been dead came to life and walked into Jerusalem. If a bunch of formerly dead people walked into Jerusalem today, I promise you it would be breaking news on your TV and phones. So, if there is any event in the New Testament that we should expect to find in every account about Jesus -- wouldn’t you think it would this one!

But for a Gentile audience the resurrection would have been an attention getter, but being resurrected to go to Jerusalem simply wouldn’t have made sense. For a member of the Roman upper-class, the idea of an afterlife in remote Jewish town that they had conquered and destroyed would definitely not have been appealing. But, for many Jews, it would have been “a dream come true!”

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