Lesson Four • Graves Opened
Devotion #4: The Future Rising
James Mann
“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.” Matthew 27:52-53
When it comes to the miracles that occur around the time of the cross, this is often one of the ones that I forget about first. It is interesting to say this because this one is a direct sign of things to come. When researching this passage, something that every single person will quickly point out is the phrase “many bodies of the saints.” This concept of many but not all stands out. I view this as a movie trailer or just a tiny snippet of things to come. God is showing us His mighty power and the victory over death and the grave here, but He is also showing us that this is just the beginning of things to come.
I want to encourage you to take a quick moment to read through Revelation 20:4-6, “Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.”
When I read this passage, I see a promise of the rise of those who followed God in their life, just as some of the bodies of the saints that rose during the death of Jesus did. God already established His power of being able to do this in Matthew, so to believe that He can do this once again is not too crazy to believe. The passage in Revelation shows us this idea of reigning in power next to God for those who actively followed after the Lord. I believe the concept of actively following the Lord should be emphasized. This is not crossing off the checklist of things you begrudgingly do for the Lord but for those fighting on the front lines and pursuing the Lord’s plans. I read this passage, and it is a call to action. We should feel a fire stoked inside of us chasing after the promises of God, coming back again, and once again, raising His saints. The final thing to note is that we are not just following the Lord, but in doing so, we are actively turning away from the Beast. We are not falling into his evil claws trying to tear us away from the Lord. This may mean a need to evaluate the priorities you have in your life and make sure that they are focused on the Lord and the future and not the Beast and his temptations.