With Easter Sunday right around the corner, I thought it an excellent time to go over the four gospels in parallel and tell the story of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I’m sure the four gospels in tandem will prove to form a beautiful tapestry.
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tombOur story starts with Mary Magdalene going to the tomb by herself:
John 20:1a
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.My mistake. I Must have overlooked the “other Mary”. Okay, so Mary and Mary got to the tomb--
Matthew 28:1b
“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.”Okay, sorry--Mary, Mary and Salome went to the tomb--
Mark 16:1
Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.Okay [Breathes deeply] Mary and Mary and Joanna and Salome and “the other women” went to the tomb. I’m sure Matthew, Mark, and John just forgot about the other women (hardly surprising in a society which constantly overlooks the achievements of women). So what did they find at the tomb when they got there?
Luke 24:10
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb
Luke 24:2
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb
John 20:1
When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.
Mark 16:4
Yes, the stone was already rolled away when they got there! How miraculous! How mysterious. I guess we’ll never know exactly how it happened since it happened before anyone got there--
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
Matthew 28:1b-2
Umm . . . Maybe Mark, Luke, and John simply forgot to mention the Great Earthquake. . . and the Angel of the Lord descending from heaven . . . rolling the stone . . . and sitting on it. Such a mundane detail was simply not worth mentioning to them. So then the angel sitting on the stone told them all not to be afraid and also told them Jesus was still alive--
As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.
Mark 16:5-6
Okay I guess there was also a guy who told them the same thing.
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. 5 The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen.
Luke 24:2-5
Okay so, there was one angel sitting on the stone, one guy sitting in the tomb (just chilling), and two more guys showed up after they were already inside. (By the time the last two guys showed up Mary must have been like “Let me guess Jesus isn’t dead, and he wants me to tell the disciples?” and then they were like:
“Yeah, pretty much. How did you know?” And then Mary just kinda rolled her eyes and pointed to the guy sitting in the tomb and the angel sitting on the rock. Then the angel and the dude just kinda waved and the two guys who showed up late were so embarrassed.)
Anyways that’s the story of the empty tomb. Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, Joanna, Salome and “the other women” went to the tomb. An angel opened it up and told them Jesus wasn't dead. They went inside the tomb and a guy told them Jesus wasn’t dead. Then two more guys showed up and told them Jesus wasn’t dead. They all told Mary to tell the disciples the good news, and that’s just what she did!
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
John 20:1-2
Wait a damn minute! How did Mary already forget what the angel, and the guys just told her! They told her three separate times for Christ sake!
