Whether Christ Was the First to Rise from the Dead?
Objection 1: It would seem that Christ was not the first to rise from
the dead, because we read in the Old Testament of some persons raised
to life by Elias and Eliseus, according to Heb. 11:35: "Women
received their dead raised to life again": also Christ before His
Passion raised three dead persons to life. Therefore Christ was not
the first to rise from the dead.
Obj. 2: Further, among the other miracles which happened during the
Passion, it is narrated (Matt. 27:52) that "the monuments were
opened, and many bodies of the saints who had slept rose again."
Therefore Christ was not the first to rise from the dead.
Obj. 3: Further, as Christ by His own rising is the cause of our
resurrection, so by His grace He is the cause of our grace, according
to John 1:16: "Of His fulness we all have received." But in point of
time some others had grace previous to Christ--for instance all the
fathers of the Old Testament. Therefore some others came to the
resurrection of the body before Christ.
_On the contrary,_ It is written (1 Cor. 15:20): "Christ is risen
from the dead, the first fruits of them that sleep--because," says
the gloss, "He rose first in point of time and dignity."
_I answer that,_ Resurrection is a restoring from death to life. Now
a man is snatched from death in two ways: first of all, from actual
death, so that he begins in any way to live anew after being actually
dead: in another way, so that he is not only rescued from death, but
from the necessity, nay more, from the possibility of dying again.
Such is a true and perfect resurrection, because so long as a man
lives, subject to the necessity of dying, death has dominion over him
in a measure, according to Rom. 8:10: "The body indeed is dead
because of sin." Furthermore, what has the possibility of existence,
is said to exist in some respect, that is, in potentiality. Thus it
is evident that the resurrection, whereby one is rescued from actual
death only, is but an imperfect one.
Consequently, speaking of perfect resurrection, Christ is the first
of them who rise, because by rising He was the first to attain life
utterly immortal, according to Rom. 6:9: "Christ rising from the dead
dieth now no more." But by an imperfect resurrection, some others
have risen before Christ, so as to be a kind of figure of His
Resurrection.
And thus the answer to the first objection is clear: because both
those raised from the dead in the old Testament, and those raised by
Christ, so returned to life that they had to die again.
Reply Obj. 2: There are two opinions regarding them who rose with
Christ. Some hold that they rose to life so as to die no more,
because it would be a greater torment for them to die a second time
than not to rise at all. According to this view, as Jerome observes
on Matt. 27:52, 53, we must understand that "they had not risen
before our Lord rose." Hence the Evangelist says that "coming out of
the tombs after His Resurrection, they came into the holy city, and
appeared to many." But Augustine (Ep. ad Evod. clxiv) while giving
this opinion, says: "I know that it appears some, that by the death
of Christ the Lord the same resurrection was bestowed upon the
righteous as is promised to us in the end; and if they slept not
again by laying aside their bodies, it remains to be seen how Christ
can be understood to be 'the first-born of the dead,' if so many
preceded Him unto that resurrection. Now if reply be made that this
is said by anticipation, so that the monuments be understood to have
been opened by the earthquake while Christ was still hanging on the
cross, but that the bodies of the just did not rise then but after He
had risen, the difficulty still arises--how is it that Peter asserts
that it was predicted not of David but of Christ, that His body would
not see corruption, since David's tomb was in their midst; and thus
he did not convince them, if David's body was no longer there; for
even if he had risen soon after his death, and his flesh had not seen
corruption, his tomb might nevertheless remain. Now it seems hard
that David from whose seed Christ is descended, was not in that
rising of the just, if an eternal rising was conferred upon them.
Also that saying in the Epistle to the Hebrews (11:40) regarding the
ancient just would be hard to explain, 'that they should not be
perfected without us,' if they were already established in that
incorruption of the resurrection which is promised at the end when we
shall be made perfect": so that Augustine would seem to think that
they rose to die again. In this sense Jerome also in commenting on
Matthew (27:52, 53) says: "As Lazarus rose, so also many of the
bodies of the saints rose, that they might bear witness to the risen
Christ." Nevertheless in a sermon for the Assumption [*Ep. ix ad
Paul. et Eustoch.; among the supposititious works ascribed to St.
Jerome] he seems to leave the matter doubtful. But Augustine's
reasons seem to be much more cogent.
Reply Obj. 3: As everything preceding Christ's coming was preparatory
for Christ, so is grace a disposition for glory. Consequently, it
behooved all things appertaining to glory, whether they regard the
soul, as the perfect fruition of God, or whether they regard the
body, as the glorious resurrection, to be first in Christ as the
author of glory: but that grace should be first in those that were
ordained unto Christ.
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