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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.
Objection 2: Further, among the other miracles which happened
during the Passion, it is narrated (Mt. 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.
Objection 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 Jn. 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 Rm. 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 Rm. 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 to Objection 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 Mt. 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.] he seems to leave the
matter doubtful. But Augustine's reasons seem to be much more
cogent.
Reply to Objection 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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