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Are there Contradictions in the Resurrection accounts?

The resurrection accounts given in the four Gospels are commonly attacked as being contradictory. The claims are organized by headings - each of which are where an alleged contradiction occurs:

Which women?

Which women came to the tomb?

  • Matthew says that it was "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary" (Matthew 28:1)
  • Mark says that it was "Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome" (Mark 16:1)
  • Luke says that it was "Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them," (Luke 24:10)
  • John says that it was "Mary Magdalene" (John 20:1)

None of these claims are mutually exclusive. They never say that only so-and-so went. If it did, that would be a genuine contradiction, but it doesn't.

For example, if Mike goes to the basketball game with Scott, would it be a lie if I said that Scott went? What if I only mention Mike going? Of course not.

Omitting someone's name is not the same as stating that they didn't go. None of the authors are obliged to mention every last person that went.

Sun up or down?

Was the sun up or was it down when the women came to the tomb?

  • Matthew says that they arrived "as it began to dawn" (Matthew 28:1)
  • Mark says that they arrived "very early in the morning... at the rising of the sun" (Mark 16:2)
  • Luke says that they arrived "very early in the morning" (Luke 24:1)
  • John says that they arrived "while it was yet dark" (John 20:1)

They arrived at dawn, which is the transition between night and day. Therefore, you could say it was "yet dark", even though "it began to dawn", i.e. the sun began to rise, even though night had not totally passed yet.

Was the stone rolled away?

  • Mark states that the stone was rolled away (Mark 16:4)
  • Luke states that the stone was found rolled away (Luke 24:2)
  • John states that the stone was rolled away (John 20:1)

The confusion arises from the Matthew account:

Matthew 28:1-5

1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

Verses 2-4 recount when the stone was rolled away. It's an aside, with verse 5 continuing directly from verse 1. The 3 verses between are an interjection of backstory that Matthew saw fit to include to explain who rolled away the stone.

So how do we know that the women didn't see the events in verses 2-4? Because the other accounts imply that they didn't. It's simply an explanatory aside. As mentioned in other articles, Matthew is the least "strict" of all four writers when it comes to recounting events in chronological order, often preferring to arrange things topically. Read a Harmony of the Gospels to see many such examples.

Angels or men, and how many?

  • Matthew states that they spoke to "the angel" (Matthew 28:5)
  • Mark states that they spoke to a young man sitting inside the sepulchre (Mark 16:5)
  • Luke states that they spoke to two men standing beside them (Luke 24:4)
  • John states that they spoke to two angels sitting inside the sepulchre (John 20:12)

Note that Matthew 28:2 says that the angel was seated on a stone, but as mentioned before, this took place before the women arrived.

John refers to the second visit to the tomb (John 20:2 is the first visit).

In regard to Mark and Luke, either:

  • The angels were initially seated and the women were not startled until they stood up
  • Some of the women saw them seated, while others did not notice them until they stood up

In regard to the denotation of "angels" as opposed to "men", the "men" in Mark and Luke are obviously meant to be understood to be angels by their apparel (Mark 16:5, Luke 24:4). Angels occasionally appear in the form of men (Daniel 9:21, Genesis 19:1-2, Hebrews 13:2).

As for some accounts saying that they spoke to one rather than two, obviously, if you spoke to two, then it's also true that you spoke to one. The two claims aren't mutually exclusive. None stated that they only ever spoke to one. We just get details from some accounts that others don't record and vice versa.

Did the women tell what happened?

  • Matthew states that they "did run to bring his disciples word" (Matthew 28:8)
  • Luke states that they "returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven," (Luke 24:9)
  • John states that "Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord" (John 20:18)

The confusion arises because the account in Mark says:

Mark 16:8

8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.

However, this is only referring to what the women initially did, as we can tell from the other accounts that eventually they told the others.

Conclusion

There are plausible ways to reconcile all of the accounts. The reason that we have four Gospels is to give us a more complete view of the events that took place without having to rely on a single witness.

All of the accounts are correct, and none of them contradict one another.