Seeing the Whole in the Part #

When reading the Bible, we must understand not only what is said, but how it is said. Scripture, though divinely inspired, was delivered through human language, rich with metaphors, symbols, and figures of speech. One such figure, often missed yet deeply significant, is synecdoche, where a part stands for the whole or a whole stands for the part.

This concept becomes especially important when studying resurrection, particularly mysterious verses like Matthew 27:52–53, where saints rise from their tombs following the death and resurrection of Christ. Was this the full resurrection? Were those saints glorified? What does this event reveal about our future hope?

To answer, we must understand how God uses synecdoche to prophetically point to future realities through present signs. The Spirit often declares the end from the beginning—not by stating everything at once, but by revealing a portion that represents the whole.

Let us explore how the Lord, in wisdom, uses synecdoche to communicate the understanding of the resurrection through Matthew 27, the glorification of the saints, and the coming fullness in Christ.

What Is Synecdoche in Scripture? #

Synecdoche (Greek: συνεκδοχή, synekdochē) is a rhetorical device in which a part represents the whole, or the whole represents the part. It allows writers—and the Holy Spirit through them—to communicate layers of meaning in concise form.

Examples in Scripture include:

• “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11): bread stands for all sustenance.
• “All the world has gone after Him” (John 12:19): not literally everyone, but large numbers of people.
• “Israel” sometimes refers to the whole nation, or just the northern tribes.

So too, in passages about resurrection, what is described is sometimes a visible part, standing in for a larger, unfolding reality.

Matthew 27:52–53 – A Fragment with Fullness Inside #

“The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.”
— Matthew 27:52–53 (AMP)

This remarkable scene takes place immediately after Jesus yields up His spirit on the Cross. An earthquake shakes the ground, the temple veil tears, and tombs are opened. But note the timing: these saints emerge from their tombs “after His resurrection.”

A few key observations:

• These were Old Covenant saints, called “holy ones” (Greek: hagion).
• They were bodily raised (Greek: sōmata), not just “seen in vision.”
• Their resurrection was after Christ, placing them after the Firstfruit.

And yet, it was only “many”—not all.

If not the entire resurrection, then what was it?

It was a synecdoche: a part pointing to the whole. A small company, visibly raised, representing the larger cloud of witnesses and the unfolding resurrection of the righteous.

Christ the Firstfruit, They the First Sheaves #

“But now [as things really are], Christ has [in fact] been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:20 (AMP)

In Israel’s temple economy, the Firstfruits Feast (Leviticus 23:10–14) required a small handful of grain to be presented to the Lord. This portion, though small, sanctified the entire harvest. It was a sign of what was coming—a promise in visible form.

Likewise:

• Christ is the Firstfruit of resurrection.
• The Matthew 27 saints are a first sheaf, a visible portion of the harvest to come.
• The greater resurrection of believers is still unfolding (Romans 8:23, Philippians 3:21).

Their appearance wasn’t an end—it was a prophetic preview. A sign. A partial expression of a full reality to come.

This is the heart of synecdoche in redemptive history.

Were These Saints Glorified? Or Merely Revived? #

Some have asked: if “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom” (1 Corinthians 15:50), then how could Old Testament saints be raised? Were they glorified or just brought back to life?

Let us consider:

• The Greek word for “bodies” (sōmata) is identical to that used for glorified bodies in 1 Corinthians 15.
• They emerged after Christ’s resurrection, not before (Matthew 27:53).
• Christ, being the Firstfruit, opened the way for glorification.

This strongly suggests they were not merely revived in Adamic flesh, like Lazarus, who died again. Instead, they were transformed, clothed in incorruptibility—just as Paul says we must be:

“This perishable [part of us] must put on the imperishable, and this mortal [part of us] must put on immortality.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:53 (AMP)

These saints, though once under Adam, were made righteous by faith (Hebrews 11:39–40) and thus able to partake of glorification through Christ’s victory. They likely became part of that heavenly cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1, 23).

The Apostolic Witness: Not Yet Fully Manifest #

Despite this visible sign, Paul and John continue to speak of a future bodily resurrection even after AD70 approaches.

Paul says:

“We… groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons—the redemption and transformation of our body.”
— Romans 8:23 (AMP)

John echoes:

“It has not yet been revealed what we will be. But we know that when He appears, we will be like Him…”
— 1 John 3:2 (AMP)

This proves that Matthew 27 was not the completion of the resurrection, but the initiation of a process—again, a synecdoche.

The Church as a Synecdoche of the New Creation #

Paul says:

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit].”
— 2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMP)

The believer is already a new creation—and yet the world still groans under decay (Romans 8:21–22). Why?

Because the Church herself is a firstfruit, a synecdoche of the new heavens and new earth that Christ is bringing. We are the part that reveals the pattern of the whole.

Likewise, those saints raised in Matthew 27 were a foretaste, not the full feast.

Why Synecdoche Matters in Resurrection? #

If we forget the principle of synecdoche, we fall into two extremes:

• Full preterism: all resurrection is past, and the body means nothing.
• Futurism without fulfilment: resurrection is only for a distant future, ignoring Christ’s present reign.

But when we understand synecdoche:

• We see that resurrection began in Christ and His saints (Matthew 27),
• It is expressed spiritually now (Ephesians 2:5–6),
• And will be consummated bodily at His full appearing (Colossians 3:4).

The resurrection is not an isolated event, but an age, and we live within its unfolding.

Conclusion: A Part, But Not the End #

The saints who walked out of tombs in Matthew 27 were not the last to rise—they were the first. They were a visible sign, a small company speaking of a vast multitude. They are a divine synecdoche—a piece that carries the meaning of the whole.

Let us honour what God has already done, while longing for the glory yet to be revealed. For even now:

“Creation itself also will be freed from its bondage to decay and gain entrance into the glorious freedom of the children of God.”
— Romans 8:21 (AMP)

In Christ,
Shaliach.