I'm a researcher- I love the challenge and process in finding the best answer to a problem, or the reason why certain things are done the way they are. For school, i'm often required to research religious topics, submitting 20-25 pages of work with sources cited; and I love it, most of the time. Then, there are the situations when something dumbfounds me and i'm moved to research and figure it out just for knowledge sake- I get this from my father. He inspired my drive for theology and research of religions long ago, particularly in Christianity, but the other religions are fascinating as well.
(scripture taken from the NIV)
Mathew 28
1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” 8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Mark 16
1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robesitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him,just as he told you.’” 8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Luke 24
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightningstood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” 8 Then they remembered his words. 9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
John 20
1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Clearly, to the modern reader the accounts have variation. In my experience, when I seek truth in scripture I often find that i'm asking the wrong question. I started asking, why are the stories not identical? Why are there discrepancies in the gospels?
After reading several scholars' take on the differences, I reworded my question to find the answer to what I actually care about: What are each accounts saying about the Resurrection? Should I be worried about the differences? Are the main facts clear?
What are the accounts saying about the Resurrection?
According to Bible Gateway, "in each Gospel account the core story is the same: Joseph of Arimathea takes the body of Jesus and puts it in a tomb, one or more of Jesus’ female followers visit the tomb early on the Sunday morning following his crucifixion, and they find that the tomb is empty. They see a vision of either one or two angels who say that Jesus is risen. Despite the differences concerning the women’s number and names, the exact time of the morning and the number of angels, we can have great confidence in the shared core story that would be agreed upon by the majority of New Testament scholars today." Jesus was not in the tomb and there was a representative of God stating that Jesus had risen from the grave. Everyone was awe struck and had a hard time believing, but it shouldn't have been a surprised to them for Jesus told them that he would raise from the dead in three days time.
Should I be worried about the differences?
Historians (Christian and secular) who have studies the gospel accounts of the Resurrection are not worried. They claim that the facts that are important to the story are well represented and the discrepancies are merely relegated to secondary details. When I say secondary details, I mean the number of women who came to the tomb, or how early it was in the morning. Bible Gateway sums it all up well saying, "none of the Gospels pretends to give a complete list [of those at the tomb]. They all include Mary Magdalene, and Matthew, Mark and Luke also cite other women, so there was probably a group of these early disciples that included those who were named and probably a couple of others (maybe Mary Magdalene arrived first and that’s why John only mentions her). That’s hardly a contradiction. In terms of whether there were/was one angel (Matthew) or two (John) at Jesus’ tomb, have you ever noticed that whenever you have two of anything, you also have one? It never fails. Matthew didn't say there was only one. John [which he often does] was providing more detail by saying there were two." Secondary details don't make or break the facts, they simple bring the story to life.
Are the main facts clear?
Yes. The known skeptical historian Michael Grant, concedes in his book Jesus: An Historian’s Review of the Gospels, “True, the discovery of the empty tomb is differently described by the various gospels, but if we apply the same sort of criteria that we would apply to any other ancient literary sources, then the evidence is firm and plausible enough to necessitate the conclusion that the tomb was, indeed, found empty.” This means- my Jesus lives! I doesn't really matter how many people were there when it was first discovered, or how many angles told them Jesus rose- what matters is that he did and that means my sins are paid.
1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robesitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him,just as he told you.’” 8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Luke 24
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightningstood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” 8 Then they remembered his words. 9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
John 20
1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Clearly, to the modern reader the accounts have variation. In my experience, when I seek truth in scripture I often find that i'm asking the wrong question. I started asking, why are the stories not identical? Why are there discrepancies in the gospels?
After reading several scholars' take on the differences, I reworded my question to find the answer to what I actually care about: What are each accounts saying about the Resurrection? Should I be worried about the differences? Are the main facts clear?
What are the accounts saying about the Resurrection?
According to Bible Gateway, "in each Gospel account the core story is the same: Joseph of Arimathea takes the body of Jesus and puts it in a tomb, one or more of Jesus’ female followers visit the tomb early on the Sunday morning following his crucifixion, and they find that the tomb is empty. They see a vision of either one or two angels who say that Jesus is risen. Despite the differences concerning the women’s number and names, the exact time of the morning and the number of angels, we can have great confidence in the shared core story that would be agreed upon by the majority of New Testament scholars today." Jesus was not in the tomb and there was a representative of God stating that Jesus had risen from the grave. Everyone was awe struck and had a hard time believing, but it shouldn't have been a surprised to them for Jesus told them that he would raise from the dead in three days time.
Should I be worried about the differences?
Historians (Christian and secular) who have studies the gospel accounts of the Resurrection are not worried. They claim that the facts that are important to the story are well represented and the discrepancies are merely relegated to secondary details. When I say secondary details, I mean the number of women who came to the tomb, or how early it was in the morning. Bible Gateway sums it all up well saying, "none of the Gospels pretends to give a complete list [of those at the tomb]. They all include Mary Magdalene, and Matthew, Mark and Luke also cite other women, so there was probably a group of these early disciples that included those who were named and probably a couple of others (maybe Mary Magdalene arrived first and that’s why John only mentions her). That’s hardly a contradiction. In terms of whether there were/was one angel (Matthew) or two (John) at Jesus’ tomb, have you ever noticed that whenever you have two of anything, you also have one? It never fails. Matthew didn't say there was only one. John [which he often does] was providing more detail by saying there were two." Secondary details don't make or break the facts, they simple bring the story to life.
Are the main facts clear?
Yes. The known skeptical historian Michael Grant, concedes in his book Jesus: An Historian’s Review of the Gospels, “True, the discovery of the empty tomb is differently described by the various gospels, but if we apply the same sort of criteria that we would apply to any other ancient literary sources, then the evidence is firm and plausible enough to necessitate the conclusion that the tomb was, indeed, found empty.” This means- my Jesus lives! I doesn't really matter how many people were there when it was first discovered, or how many angles told them Jesus rose- what matters is that he did and that means my sins are paid.
For the rest of Biblegateway.com's article that simply sums up why the differences aren't really contradictions click here.
