In the New Testament, after the death of Jesus, all four gospel writers – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John give an account on who discovered the empty tomb and the events surrounding that.
None of their accounts match and there are indeed contradictions.
On the day that the empty tomb was discovered, the only consistency is that Mary Magdeline was one of the discoverers. It was always women in all of the stories, but who exactly? The accounts differ in each story. It is one woman, two or three? Even their names of the women do not match up.
Three of the stories have the narrative beginning at dawn but one says it was still dark.
Who did Jesus appear to personally afterward?
In one account, the stone was rolled away by an angel, but in the other three accounts, the stone was already rolled away when the woman (or women) arrived on site.
How many angels greeted them? Was it one or two? Or was it a man or two who greeted her (or them)?
Why does only one account speak of an unusual and certainly magnitudinal event such as an earthquake?
And what did the discoverers do afterward?
Here are the details to see it for yourself.
“As it begins to dawn”, there is a great earthquake and two women, Mary Magdeline and “the other Mary” are met with one angel at the tomb. There was no mistaking that this being was otherworldly. “His countenance was like lightning and his rainment white as snow. And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.”
The angel rolls away the stone, to reveal an empty tomb.
The women run to tell the disciples. On the way, they see Jesus alive. Jesus tells them to tell the disciples.
“At the rising of the sun” three women visit the tomb. Mary Magdeline, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. The stone was already rolled away. No mention of an earthquake or an angel.
They see one young man. They are afraid. The man tells them Jesus is risen. They flee the scene and tell NO ONE because they are afraid.
(Some might argue that where “men” are mentioned at the tomb, these were actually angels. Seems the writer did not articulate that properly – which is a problem to those who want to believe the bible is perfect and inerrant. Obviously that is not the case.)
Jesus appears alone to Mary Magdeline who tells the disciples. They do not believe her.
Jesus then appears to “two of them” who tell the rest, but the “two’ are not believed. Jesus later appears “unto the 11” and chastises them for their disbelief.
“Very early in the morning” three women, Mary Magdeline, Mary the mother of James and Joanna discovered the empty tomb. The stone was already rolled away. No mention of any earthquake. They entered the tomb and saw it was empty and were puzzled. Suddenly, “Two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.” Not one but two, this time.
They came back from the tomb and told the 11 but they were not believed. Peter, however, went to the tomb, saw it ws empty, and saw the linen pieces that were wrapped around Jesus laying there.
On the same day “two of them”, one named Cleopas, were walking on a road and Jesus appeared to them, but they did not recognize him. They have conversations with Jesus, about the recent events surrounding Jesus as they continue to walk. Jesus ends up having a meal with them and once they break bread, they recognize him but he disappears. The two go see the 11 where they compare notes and Jesus appears then to all of them.
While it is still dark, Mary Magdeline went alone to the tomb. No earthquake. The stone was already rolled away. She ran to Peter and “the disciple Jesus loved” who both ran to the tomb to see it empty with pieces of linen laying around.
Mary was outside of the tomb, crying, and two angels appeared to her. As she turned around, Jesus was there, but she did not recognize him. Jesus told her to tell the disciples.
Jesus appears to the 11.
Later Jesus appears alone to Thomas, one of the apostles, because he was not with the disciples when Jesus came. (So who are the 11 if Thomas was not one of them? Judas was already dead.)
Final Reflections
The bottom line here is that there are obviously serious inconsistencies in the story, that, for the sake of truth, need to be acknowledged.
People are going to use all kinds of mental gymnastics to try to dismiss the truth of these inconsistencies. I have already seen it.
However, there is one item that cannot be reconciled. The most clear contradiction is that in one account, Mary Magdeline gets to the tomb, the stone is still there and she witnesses it being rolled away. In the other accounts, when she (or they) arrive, the stone is already rolled away.
You can’t have it both ways – that she witnesses the stone being rolled away and that she gets there and it is already rolled away.
See it for what it is, not for what you want it to be.
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