What Happened to the Dead Who Walked Out of Their Graves?

Matthew 27:52-53, the many bodies of the saints who had died were raised to life after Jesus’ resurrection. They came out of their graves, entered Jerusalem (the holy city), and appeared to many people to bear witness to the event.

The fate of these saints after their appearance is not recorded in Scripture. Theological interpretations vary on their ultimate destiny:

Returned to Death: Some scholars suggest they died again shortly after their testimony, awaiting a permanent resurrection, similar to other biblical figures raised by Jesus like Lazarus.
Ascended to Heaven: Others argue they received glorified bodies like Jesus and were translated directly into Heaven immediately after appearing, never to die again.
Unknown: Many sources acknowledge that the Bible provides no further historical or scriptural record of these individuals, leaving their final disposition uncertain.

What Does The KJV Bible Say?

King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, the definitive record of the dead walking out of their graves is found in Matthew 27:52-53.

The text states that at the moment of Jesus’ death, an earthquake split the rocks and opened the tombs. However, the physical resurrection and mobilization of these dead “saints” occurred after His resurrection. They walked out of their graves, entered into the holy city (Jerusalem), and appeared unto many.

The Timeline of the Raised Saints (Matthew 27:50-53 KJV)

Phase	Event / Action (KJV Text)	Direct Result & Meaning
Phase 1: The Death	“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.”	The sacrificial work of the cross is completed.
Phase 2: The Catalyst	“And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain… and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;”	God structurally and physically shatters the barriers of the Old Covenant.
Phase 3: The Opening	“And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,”	The legal power of death is broken, preparing the saints for mobilization.
Phase 4: The Mobilization	“And came out of the graves after his resurrection…”	Christ maintains strict primacy as the “firstfruits” of the resurrection before they exit.
Phase 5: The Ultimate Fate	“…and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”	They served as a visible, living testimony of Christ’s victory over the grave to the people of Jerusalem.

10 Examples of Resurrections in the KJV

To contextualize what happens to individuals who are raised from the dead in scripture, the table below highlights all 10 distinct instances across the Old and New Testaments, illustrating their eventual fates:

The Widow of Zarephath’s Son (1 Kings 17:21-22): Raised by Elijah. He was returned to his mother to live out a normal natural life and died again later.
The Shunammite’s Son (2 Kings 4:32-35): Raised by Elisha. He returned to his family, lived a natural life, and died again later.
The Man Thrown into Elisha’s Tomb (2 Kings 13:21): Revived instantly when his corpse touched Elisha’s bones. He lived a natural lifespan and died again later.
The Widow of Nain’s Son (Luke 7:14-15): Raised by Jesus during a funeral procession. He returned to his mother and died again later.
Jairus’ Daughter (Luke 8:54-55): Raised by Jesus, who ordered that she be given food. She grew up normally and died again later.
Lazarus of Bethany (John 11:43-44): Raised by Jesus after four days in the tomb. He returned to his community, became a target of religious authorities, and died again later.
Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:5-6): Raised by divine power on the third day. He received a glorified eternal body and ascended into Heaven, never to die again.
The Jerusalem Saints (Matthew 27:52-53): Raised after Jesus’ resurrection. They appeared to many in Jerusalem. Theologians generally conclude they either ascended with Christ or, like Lazarus, died again later after giving their testimony.
Tabitha / Dorcas (Acts 9:40): Raised by the Apostle Peter. She was presented alive to the believers, continued her charity work, and died again later.
Eutychus (Acts 20:9-10): Fell from a third-story window during Paul’s long sermon and died. Paul embraced him, bringing him back to life; he lived and died again later.

Theological & Analytical Reports on Matthew 27:52-53

1. John MacArthur Analyst Report

Core Assessment: A literal, historical miracle acting as “God’s Own Commentary on the Cross.”
What Happened to Them? MacArthur views this as a historical reality. The earthquake physically exposed the tombs at the moment of Christ’s death, but the animation of the bodies occurred strictly after Jesus broke the bonds of death. MacArthur argues these saints received glorified resurrection bodies. They did not rise to die again like Lazarus; instead, they served as a brief, visible token of the final resurrection harvest. Following their brief, miraculous appearances to select believers in Jerusalem, they ascended into glory with Christ at His ascension.

2. Paul Washer Analyst Report

Core Assessment: A striking display of the wrath of God satisfied, breaking the physical curse of sin.
What Happened to Them? Washer focuses on the terrifying majesty of the cross, emphasizing that when the blood of Jesus was shed, the legal requirements of God’s justice were met. The split rocks and opened graves are proof that death lost its legal right to hold humanity. Washer treats the account with strict biblical literalism, steering away from speculative details regarding their exact lifespans. Instead, he asserts that they served as proof that the “slaughter of the Son of God” effectively secured the resurrection of all who trust in Him.

3. Greg Schad Analyst Report

Core Assessment: A pastoral study of alternative textual interpretations and historical reliability.
What Happened to Them? Schad presents this verse as an intensely unique and “strange” biblical event. He looks at the surrounding cultural context of Jerusalem, noting that because this event only appears in Matthew, it was a localized, highly targeted sign meant primarily for Jewish observers. Schad navigates the spectrum of interpretation—evaluating views ranging from a literal bodily resurrection to symbolic overtones of national awakening. He underscores that the lack of external secular records is consistent with a quiet, targeted miracle intended specifically to comfort the early church.

4. Jordan Peterson Analyst Report

Core Assessment: The ultimate manifestation of the “Conquest of Chaos” and the psychological reality of archetypal renewal.
What Happened to Them? Peterson approaches the text from a psycho-spiritual perspective. To Peterson, Christ’s death represents the total voluntary confrontation with betrayal, tyranny, and death itself. When Christ transcends death, the structural bedrock of reality shifts—symbolized by the earthquake. The “saints walking out of their graves” represents the psychological truth that when the ultimate moral ideal (Christ) is realized, the ancient, ancestral wisdom of the past (the saints) is instantly revivified and steps back into active human consciousness to guide the community.

5. Carl Jung Analyst Report

Core Assessment: The eruption of the collective unconscious into the conscious world.
What Happened to Them? Jung views the event as a massive, psychic phenomenon. The death of the God-man causes a rupture in the anima mundi (the soul of the world). The graves opening and the dead walking into the “holy city” symbolize the contents of the collective unconscious breaking through the threshold of consciousness. The “saints” are primordial archetypes of spiritual wholeness that had been buried by rigid religious legalism. Christ’s resurrection acts as an individuation catalyst, forcing these deep, collective psychic realities to become visible and integrated into the conscious minds (“the holy city”) of the observers.

6. Myers-Briggs (MBTI) Analyst Report

Core Assessment: A cognitive behavioral analysis of how different personality types process this anomalous event.
What Happened to Them?
- The INTP/INTJ (The Analysts): They focus intensely on the structural logistics. They immediately pick up on the timeline anomaly—noting that the graves opened on Friday but the saints didn’t move until Sunday. They form hypotheses regarding whether these bodies possessed biological functions or glorified properties.
- The ISTJ/ESTJ (The Guardians): They look to historical verification. They search for external secular records, analyze the legal patterns of the Sanhedrin trying to cover it up, and focus on the societal order of Jerusalem during the event.
- The INFJ/ENFJ (The Diplomats): They focus entirely on the profound, transformative meaning. To them, the saints are an inspiring, living testament of hope, highlighting the relational reality that believers are fundamentally connected to Christ’s victory.

Note: We do use YouTube Video’s under the “Fair Use” Act under the Copyright Law:

“Fair use is a doctrine in the United States copyright law codified in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.¹ It provides for the legal, non-licensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author’s work without requiring permission from the rights holders, such as for commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching or scholarship.⁰¹ The U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index should prove helpful in understanding what courts have to date considered to be fair or not fair but it is not a substitute for legal advice.²“