CHURCH 19 – Eye Witnesses of the Resurrection
- Many say that the resurrection accounts in the four gospels contradict each other. This is a study to see whether this is so, whether a common time line can be found or how the accounts need to be read.
- The information or quotes are color coded to show which gospel they are from: Matthew – brown, Mark – red, Luke – green, John – blue. Comments are in black.
Reconstructing the approximate time line
Thursday, pm Last Supper
Midnight onward Gethsemane
Friday, wee hours Betrayal and arrest
Friday, very early Trial before Jewish Council, Peter’s denial
Friday, am Trial before Pilate
Friday, am Trial before Herod
Friday, am Trial before Pilate again, flogging, then death sentence
Friday, am Jesus’ tortured, drags cross to Golgotha
These time segments will now be looked at one by one and the gospels that speak to it will be mentioned:
Friday, late morning Crucifixion
Mth 27:56 Women watching: Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James & Joseph, wife of Zebedee the mother of James and John, others.
Mrk 15:40 Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome
Luk 23:49 Women and acquaintances who followed him from Galilee watch
Friday, noon Darkness
Friday, 3 pm Jesus’ death
Friday, 3-6 pm Joseph of Arimathea obtains rights to body
Mth 27:57-58 Joseph of Arimathea obtains rights to body
Mrk 15:42-45 “when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath.” Joseph of Arimathea obtains rights to body
Luk 23:50-53 Joseph of Arimathea obtains rights to the body
Luk 23:54 “It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.”
Jhn 19:38 Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate and obtains permission. “So he came and removed his body.”
Friday, 3-6 pm Joseph of Arimathea buries Jesus’ body
Mth 27:59-60 Jesus’ body taken down, wrapped, laid in tomb, stone
Mrk 15:46 Jesus’ body taken down, wrapped in linen cloth, laid in tomb, stone
Jhn 19:38-41 Joseph of Arimathea takes away body. “Nicodemus …. also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds.”
Jhn 19:42 “So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.”
Mth 27:61 Women witnessing the entombing: Mary Magdalene, other Mary.
Mrk 15:47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
Luk 23:55 “The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid.”
Luk 23:56 Women prepare spices and ointments
Friday, 6pm Sabbath Rest starts
Luk 23:56 Women rest on the Sabbath according to the commandment
Mth 27:62-66 the next day, after the day of Preparation, chief priests and Pharisees obtain permission of Pilate to seal the grave and set a guard
Saturday, 6 pm Sabbath ends, spices bought
Mrk 16:1 Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James and Salome buy spices
Sunday, dawn Women go to tomb
Mth 28:1 “After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.”
Mrk 16:2 “they went to the tomb”… “they” referring to Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James and Salome
Mrk 16:3 “They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”
Luk 24:1 “On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.”
Luk 24:10 “Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles”
Jhn 20:1 “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark.”
- This shows clearly that lists naming women are not to be understood exclusively, meaning that mentioning some women doesn’t necessarily mean that nobody else was there. Luke has a reference to more women.
Sunday, am early Women find the stone rolled away
Mrk 16:4 “looking up they saw that the stone had been rolled back, it was very large”
Jhn 20:1 “and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb”
Luk 24:2 “And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb”
- Over 60 ancient rolling stone tombs can be still seen in Israel and surrounding regions today.
Sunday, am early Women’s encounter with angels and seeing the empty tomb
Mth 28:2-5 “And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women …”
Mrk 16:5-6 “And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them …”
Luk 24:3-5 “but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them …”
- Matthew has an angel outside (stressing the opening of the tomb).
- Mark has an angel inside (stressing the emptiness of the tomb).
- Luke has two angels (presumably one outside and one inside, though not mentioned to be so).
- John like the others mentions the empty tomb at this point, though not the angels. Only when he focuses back on Mary’s story (Jhn 20:11-18) he will mention here upon returning to the tomb and weeping that she sees two angels who (as in the other accounts) address her with ‘why are you weeping?’ She then sees Jesus, mistakes him first for the gardener, then when addressed by Jesus by name, she understands it is him and starts believing.
- These accounts, though different, are not in necessary contradiction.
Sunday, am early Message the angels give
Mth 28:5-7 “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
Mrk 16:6-7 “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, 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 that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
Luk 24:5-7 “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
- There accounts are very parallel and seamlessly complementing each other. John doesn’t mention the angel encounter and also no angel message.
Sunday, am early Women off to tell disciples: empty tomb & message of the angel
Jhn 20:2 Mary Magdalene runs to Peter and John ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’
Mrk 16:8 “fled from tomb, trembling, astonishment, fear … said nothing to anyone”
- This doesn’t mean that they kept silent forever (Mk 16:9 has Mary talking) but Mark explains that the women said nothing to anyone (until they got to the disciples) simply because they were scared stiff.
Luk 24:9,11 “and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.”
Mth 28:8 “So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples”
- John has Mary Magdalene running back to report to the disciples.
- Matthew, Mark and Luke have several women running back to report.
- Again this is not necessarily in contradiction: Mary might have run off first, or run back more quickly.
- John has Mary reporting the fact of the empty tomb.
- Matthew and Luke do not specify what they report, but presumably the empty tomb and the angels’ message.
- John has Mary not yet speaking a message of hope.
- Matthew has the women feeling fear and great joy already.
Mth 28:11-15 Guards report to chief priests > assemble elders > bribe soldiers to say disciples stole the body.
- By the sequence given in Matthew, the guards report after the women, back at the tomb once more, encounter Jesus.
- Most likely, though, the sequence is inverted: The guards go off early morning after the women leave with the empty tomb and angels’ message.
- They must have recovered from the earthquake, the trembling and becoming “like dead men” and now, since there is nothing to guard anymore anyway, quickly go to report the ‘disastrous dawn happenings’ to the chief priests.
Sunday, am Peter and John see the empty tomb
Jhn 20:3-10 Peter & John run to tomb … go in, see linen cloths, face cloth separate. … 9 “for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.”
Luk 24:12 “But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.”
- The result of Mary’s and the women’s words are that Peter and John run to the tomb to verify it being empty.
- Though they do not believe the women’s tale of angel announcements, they still definitely want to find out what happened to Jesus’ body.
- They are not expecting a resurrection, but trying to find out what really happened, why the women are upset, and probably wanting to make sure the body was taken care of respectfully.
Sunday, am Mary (and other women) encounter Jesus
Mrk 16:9 “Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.”
Jhn 20:11-17 “Mary at tomb, weeping, asks the ‘gardener’ about the body. Jesus addresses her, she recognizes him, sends her to tell disciples ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
Mth 28:9-10 “And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
- The exact timing of this event is not stated, it is probably slightly later, after the women’s original report of the empty tomb and the angels has reached the disciples.
- It is very natural for Mary and the others to wander back out to the tomb.
- Why? Probably as in the early morning, a desire to honor the dead.
- But also to go back to the place of the angelic visitation, to find out what is real, not sure anymore what she saw.
- In spite of the earlier angel message Mary is crying and asking for the body.
- Only when meeting Jesus in person, recognizing him, touching him and hearing his voice does Mary find through to an actual faith in resurrection.
Sunday, am Mary off to tell disciples about seeing Jesus
Mrk 16:10 ‘She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.’
Jhn 20:18 ‘Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord” and that he had said these things to her.’
- Mary now fully believes and witnesses to the truth, but can’t inspire faith in the others.
Sunday, later More encounters with Jesus: Emmaus disciples, Peter
Mrk 16:12-13 “After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.”
- The additional witness of the two Emmaus disciples still can’t inspire faith.
Luk 24:13-33 Two disciples walking to Emmaus … they say: “22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning,23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.” … Jesus lets them recognize him.
- Probably these disciples left Jerusalem before Mary came back the 2nd time with her news of seeing Jesus.
Luk 24:34 When they return to Jerusalem the disciples say “The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon!”
- This encounter of Peter with Jesus is not further described in the other gospels. The effect is the same:
- Still the disciples in general don’t believe, though eye witness accounts are collecting fast.
Sunday, evening Jesus appears to the eleven (and probably others present there)
Luk 24:36-49 Jesus appearing among them, eating in front of them, explaining, teaching
Jhn 20:19 “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week”, locked doors > Jesus came …”Peace be with you”... shows hands, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’ 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Mrk 16:14 “Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.”
Eight days later Jesus appears to the disciples and Thomas
Jhn 20:24-29 Thomas was not there and finds it hard to believe, in spite of the united eyewitness testimony of all the other disciples … eight days later Jesus appears, shows scars, encourages Thomas to touch him. Thomas believes.
8-40 days More encounters with Jesus in Galilee
Jhn 21:1-24 Sea of Tiberias: Peter, Thomas, Nathanael of Cana, sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples > fruitless fishing > Jesus commanding, making breakfast, telling Peter to feed his sheep, and not to mind John.
Mth 28:16-17 Disciples to Galilee > mountain to which Jesus directed them. They worship him, some doubt.
40 days later Great commission and ascension in Bethany
Mth 18:18-20 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Mrk 16:15-18 “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Who-ever believes and is baptized will be saved … 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents…”
Mrk 16:19 Jesus taken up
Luk 24:50-52 “Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.”
Mrk 16:20 Disciples preaching everywhere
Authentic, unreflected, un-tampered with eye-witness accounts
- Though the resurrection accounts vary from gospel to gospel, the basic story is the same: an encounter with angels, an announcement of resurrection, an empty tomb, a missing body – and then encounters with the living, resurrected Christ! … with body, scars, fish eating, bread breaking and all.
- The first witness accounts of the resurrection recorded in each of the four gospels tell us the astonishing event of the resurrection in bare, restrained, unadorned prose. They are simply first eye witness accounts by baffled, stunned disciples, not expecting any of this, and not yet understanding what any of this means.
- Only later Peter, Paul and other theologians will interpret and deeply reflect on what the resurrection means, in sentences like “God has made him (Jesus) both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2:36).
- Not a trace of these later reflections, explanations or interpretations are found in the four accounts, speaking for them to be the ‘raw, bare eyewitness accounts’ they claim to be.
- The variations in the stories also suggests that these are un-checked, un-adjusted, un-tampered with eyewitness accounts (like transcripts of witnesses in a police investigation) and were known as such to the early church. Clearly no attempt has been made to harmonize them with each other, which undergirds their authenticity.
- Probably each witness’ account became a ‘known and fixed story’ in the early church (exactly in this form). It can be easily imagined that in the early church’s services or during preachings the speaker would call on Mary to stand and ‘tell her resurrection testimony’ afresh or on John to stand and ‘tell his resurrection morning testimony’ and in this way let seekers or new converts know the essential facts of the resurrection. They were the highly valued eye witnesses of the resurrection, the event that together with Jesus’ death on the cross is the cornerstone of the gospel.