#7  Other resurrections:  Matthew 27: 50-53  (From the Living Bible)

"Then Jesus shouted out again, dismissed his spirit, and died.  And look! The curtain secluding the Holiest Place in the Temple was split apart from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and rocks broke and tombs opened and many godly men and women who had died came back to life again.  After Jesus' resurrection, they left the cemetery and went into Jerusalem, and appeared to many people there."   It scared the soldiers to death.  They exclaimed that "Surely this was God's Son."  vs. 54

The Holy of Holies had a veil that was a number of stories high.  You couldn't reach the top of it and certainly couldn't tear it from top to bottom.  God tore it.  Up till the moment Christ died, the penalty for sin had not been paid and people didn't have direct access to God.  The Old Testament has many references written about this Holy of Holies.  Once each year, the priests cast lots and one of them was chosen to take their offerings for sin into the mercy seat.  They tied a rope and a bell to him so that if he touched the Ark of the Covenant and died, that the other priests could drag him out.  No one had access to God except this one priest.  No one could touch the Ark and live.

But when the veil was torn, God was saying, "Come on in.  Now you can be with me.  The price for sin has been paid for all time by my Son."  And at that moment, Christ stormed Paradise and "...set captivity captive."  Ephesians 4:8  "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive..."  A similar prophecy is in the book of Psalms.  Those that had been held there after they had died, but before the Messiah had come--who were waiting for redemption--were released from the grave and arose with Christ.   They were seen by many people in Jeresulem.

That must have been quite a day.  And what a testimony to the people who had been waiting for the Messiah--to see that not only Jesus had conquered death, but he had freed those, who had died through the ages, from death as well.  They were held, having been saved by faith in God that Christ was coming.  We are saved the same way.  Faith in God.  Faith in the resurrection.  Faith that Jesus paid the price for us.  Salvation has always been by faith.   Praise God for his unspeakable gift.