There is some question, when reading through the text of
Matthew 27:50-53, as to "which day" (or time-slot) that the bold occurred: "
many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
And came out of their graves
AFTER His resurrection ..."
When you read through those four verses, how are you reading it (to have occurred--in what order)?
Recall,
verse 50 says, "Jesus,
when He had cried again with a loud voice,
yielded up [*G863 - aphiémi ] the spirit" (meaning,
His spirit... whereas, His body would soon be heading to the grave/sepulchre). <--So this part is what occurred on the day of His crucifixion, obviously.
* "
863 aphíēmi (from
575 /apó, "away from" and
hiēmi, "send") – properly,
send away;
release (discharge)." [referring to His spirit... His human spirit]
...but it is difficult to tell
just when (in the chronology) the "many bodies of the saints...
arose" because it goes on to say, "And came out of the graves AFTER His resurrection" (which we know was three days later, not the same day as His crucifixion)... so if they "arose" on a different day than when they "
came out of the graves
AFTER His resurrection" (3 days later), then can they really be considered "
a kind of 'firstfruit' of the resurrection [of the just]," or would they be considered the same as, say, Lazarus having been raised from the dead (which
also took place "before" Jesus' Resurrection on the third day after His crucifixion, see--
He/Jesus Himself being called "
firstfruit of those having fallen asleep"
in 1Cor15:20 -
https://biblehub.com/text/1_corinthians/15-20.htm )? IOW, we do not see "the many bodies of the saints which slept arose" being referred to as "firstfruit," any more than Lazarus was, when he was raised.
I tend believe the text (these 4 verses) are written as they are (as I tried to point out, above),
to make the point that WHILE Jesus did His "I ascend [active]" thing (what He told MM
in John 20:17--which I believe He did THAT VERY DAY, *ON Firstfruit* fulfilling
Lev23:10-12!),
pointing out that which these "many" did, by contrast (-->"went into the holy city, and appeared unto many"--IOW, they
did not do what Jesus Himself DID do,
after His resurrection [i.e.
ascend, bodily]).