If you clicked on this article, there’s a good chance you and I have had a similar experience in the past: you’re reading through the New Testament and get to the resurrection of Jesus. But as you read, you realize the scene you had in your mind of what happened on the resurrection morning differs from what you’re now reading. You’re flipping between all four Gospels hoping for some clarity, but instead you’re left more confused than when you started! There are so many different movements within the narratives that they seem irreconcilable! Who was at the tomb? When did the disciples find out it was empty? Who saw Jesus? And when did they see him?!
In case you just stumbled across this blog, here is a brief overview of each account. A few especially confusing details are bolded. However, this will make the most sense if you first read Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20 for yourself.
In Matthew, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb. An angel appeared saying that Jesus had risen. The women ran away from the tomb to tell the disciples what they saw. They met Jesus as they were running back.
In Mark, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb. An angel appeared with the same message. After the women left, Mark recorded that Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene who then ran to tell the others.
In Luke, two angels appeared with a resurrection message. When Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others came back from the tomb they told the eleven.
In John, Mary Magdalene came to the empty tomb and ran crying and confused to Peter and John. Peter and John ran to the tomb, saw that it was empty, and left. Mary Magdalene stayed at the tomb crying, and Jesus encountered her there.
There are a few variations with the number of women and angels mentioned at the tomb, but those aren’t the most difficult details to synthesize. This is simply because each gospel writer had different eyewitness accounts, and focused on different details of the story. So when John only mentions Mary Magdalene, that doesn’t mean other women weren’t there. It simply shows he was giving the reader specific insight into Mary Magdalene’s experience at the tomb. This is probably why different numbers of angels are mentioned in different locations as well; different women had different perspectives at the tomb, and if one of the angels wasn’t relevant to their story, they didn’t feel a need to share it.
The more difficult information to synthesize, however, is where the women went, who they talked to, and where/when they saw Jesus. Thankfully, Dr. Tim Chaffey mapped out how all the details fit together (add footnote) This is how he explains it: Mary Magdalene and the other women went to the tomb. When Mary Magdalene saw that it was empty, she immediately ran off alone to tell Peter and John. The other women stayed to enter the tomb and they encountered the angel who told them Jesus had risen. Those women then headed back to Bethany to tell the rest of the disciples. Then, Peter, John, and Mary Magdalene ran back to the tomb, and when the disciples found it empty, they left. Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene stayed at the tomb crying and confused. After speaking to two angels, she encountered Jesus in the garden. This was the first post-resurrection appearance of Jesus. Jesus left her and then appeared to the other women who were running back to Bethany. After that, he appeared to Cleopas and his companion, then to Peter, then to ten of the disciples, excluding Thomas.
When we see the resurrection accounts for what they truly are –various true stories from various honest witnesses all sharing their own experiences of what happened on an emotional and confusing resurrection day– we recognize that these differences are exactly what is to be expected in true historical accounts. Clearly, this wasn’t a conspiracy where a group of authors got together to create one flawless story where every detail lined up clearly and perfectly. Instead, we see four men using the testimony of a number of eyewitnesses who noticed and emphasized different details based on the impressions left on them, the questions they were asked, and countless other variables. Because of this, we are left with the most exhaustive and accurate picture of what happened that miraculous morning.
Written by Abbey Harley
Footnote: Christ’s Resurrection—Four Accounts, One Reality, answersingenesis.org.