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John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 27:52

Verse 52 52And graves were opened. This was also a striking miracle, by which God declared that his Son entered into the prison of death, not to continue to be shut up there, but to bring out all who were held captive. For at the very time when the despicable weakness of the flesh was beheld in the person of Christ, the magnificent and divine energy of his death penetrated even to hell. This is the reason why, when he was about to be shut up in a sepulcher, other sepulchers were opened by him.... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 27:53

Verse 53 53.And went into the holy city. When Matthew bestows on Jerusalem the honorable designation of the holy city, he does not intend to applaud the character of its inhabitants, for we know that it was at that time full of all pollution and wickedness, so that it was rather a den of robbers, (Jeremiah 7:11.) But as it had been chosen by God, its holiness, which was founded on God’s adoption, could not be effaced by any corruptions of men, till its rejection was openly declared. Or, to... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 27:54

Verse 54 54.Now the centurion. As Luke mentions the lamentation of the people, the centurion and his soldiers were not the only persons who acknowledged Christ to be the Son of God; but the Evangelists mention this circumstance respecting him for the purpose of heightening their description: for it is wonderful that an irreligious man, who had not been instructed in the Law, and was ignorant of true religion, should form so correct a judgment from the signs which he beheld. This comparison... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 27:55

Verse 55 55.And there were also many women there. I consider this to have been added in order to inform us that, while the disciples had fled and were scattered in every direction, still some of their company were retained by the Lord as witnesses. Now though the Apostle John did not depart from the cross, yet no mention is made of him; but praise is bestowed on the women alone, who accompanied Christ till death, because their extraordinary attachment to their Master was the more strikingly... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:45-54

Prodigy rebuking levity. Levity had diabolical revelry while the blessed Lord Jesus meekly suffered injustice the most outrageous, and cruelty the most refined. At its height it was rebuked— I. BY A HORROR OF DARKNESS . 1 . This was preternatural . 2 . It was portentous . II. BY THE RENDING OF THE TEMPLE 'S VEIL . 1 . This also was preternatural . 2 . This too was portentous . III. BY THE PORTENTS FROM THE EARTH . ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:51-56

Signs following the death of Christ. ( Mark 15:38-41 ; Luke 23:47-49 .) read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:51-56

Witness to the Lord's Divinity. I. THE WITNESS OF PORTENTS . 1 . The rending of the temple veil. "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." It may be that Christ, the Lamb of God, yielded up the ghost on the day and at the hour when they killed the Passover. It was the hour of evening prayer. The priests as they entered into the holy place found the great veil, which hid the holy of holies from the eye of man, rent in twain from the top to the bottom. This had happened at... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:52

The graves were opened. The earthquake tore away the stones that closed the mouths of many of the adjacent tombs. This and the following fact are mentioned only by St. Matthew. Many bodies of the saints which slept ( τῶν κεκοιμημε ì νων , who had fallen asleep ) arose. Matthew anticipates the time of the actual occurrence of the marvel, which took place, not at this moment, but after our Lord's resurrection, who was "the firstfruits of them that slept" (see the next... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:53

Came out of ( ἐξελθο ì ντες ) the graves after his resurrection . The masculine participle, not agreeing with "bodies" ( σω ì ματα ) , denotes the personality of the bodies of the saints, that these arose perfect in soul and body. They could not rise before Christ rose. "Christ the firstfruits, afterwards they that are Christ's." Ewald and others have understood "after his resurrection" to mean "after he raised them from the dead." But the language is against such an... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 27:54

The centurion, and they that were with him. The officer with the small body of soldiers appointed to perform and take charge of the Crucifixion. St. Matthew relates the impression which these events made upon the soldiers' minds. Saw those things that were done. Instead of this reading, which has high authority, Alford, Tischendorf, Westcott and Hort read, "that were being done," as the Vulgate, quae fiebant. This would point especially to the loud cry, in accordance with the words of... read more

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