Matthew’s crucifixion narrative recounts the opening of tombs, the raising of long-deceased saints and their entrance into Jerusalem. One odd feature of the story is that it contains a strange time gap: the saints are raised when Jesus dies, but they exit their tombs only after his resurrection. Scholars have tried to explain away this time gap in several ways, but none convinces. I advance a new proposal: the time gap is a natural consequence of Matthew’s theological narrative. Drawing on Ezek. 37.1-14, Matthew connects the moment Jesus gives up his breath with the raising of the saints, and he links Jesus’ resurrection with the saints’ entrance into Jerusalem. The time gap, therefore, is a natural and unproblematic result of the way Matthew tells his story.
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