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.

马太的受难记叙述了坟墓的开启、死去已久的圣徒的复活以及他们进入耶路撒冷的过程。这个故事的一个奇怪特点是它包含一个奇怪的时间间隔：当耶稣死后圣徒复活，但他们只有在他复活后才离开坟墓。学者们试图以多种方式来解释这一时间差距，但没有一个令人信服。我提出了一个新的建议：时间间隔是马太神学叙述的自然结果。绘制以西结。37.1-14，马太将耶稣屏息的那一刻与圣徒的复活联系起来，并将耶稣的复活与圣徒进入耶路撒冷联系起来。因此，时间间隔是马修讲述他的故事的方式的自然且没有问题的结果。