All heaven broke loose

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, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.  --Luke 24:11-12

Bible critics have long held that the Bible is untrue because, they say, it contradicts itself.  Today we will look at an event, one of the most critical events in Christian theology, and try to reconcile some of those apparent contradictions.

All four Gospels address this narrative from a different perspective, and the details seem to vary widely.  We have been studying the book of Mark, and in our focal passage today it says that three women brought spices to anoint the body of Jesus early on the first day of the week, just after the sun had risen.  They found the tomb unexpectedly open, and an angel was sitting in the sepulcher.  However, Matthew says it was before dawn that they went, and Luke says there were two angels.  John says Mary Magdalene went by herself while it was still dark.  After finding the stone already rolled away from the tomb, she ran to get Peter and another disciple (probably John) to investigate.

Here is Mark's version of the story.

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices, so that they might go and anoint Him.  And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.  And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back--it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.  And he said to them, "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.  But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you into Galilee.  There you will see Him, just as He told you."  And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  --Mark 16:1-8

Last time we talked about the women, and how they intended to prepare the body of Jesus for burial.  While some of them went to purchase spices and oils, the other women stayed at the cross to see what would happen to the body.  When Joseph of Arimethea and Nicodemus took the body to a new tomb hewn out of a rock, the women who had followed them went back to meet the others to tell them what they had seen.  Then sunset came, marking the beginning of the Sabbath, so they had to wait to go and do what they had intended to do.

Early on Sunday, after the Sabbath ended, they took the spices and oils to anoint the body.  Some commentaries say that they took the spices to cover the smell of the decomposing corpse, assuming that they knew the men had already prepared the body for burial.  I think they didn't know, and were going to perform this very Jewish ritual of respecting the body after death.  In any case, all four Gospel accounts agree that when they arrived, the stone had been rolled away and the tomb was empty.  The devil is in the details.

If we study the details carefully, and don't get caught up in the critics detracting distractions, we may can make sense of it all.  The late David Hocking, radio evangelist, Bible teacher and author, said that all four narratives pick up on little details but don't dwell on them because they are getting to the main point of the story--that Jesus Christ is alive.  The solution to the apparent discrepancies, he says, is to show that all kinds of people were coming and going, to and from the tomb at all hours of the day and night.  This was not a single group of women who all went together at the same time, confronted one or more angels, saw that the tomb was empty, then left together to tell the men, who didn't believe them until Jesus appeared to them in the flesh later.  No, each one of them had their own story to tell, and none of the four Gospel accounts takes time to flesh out each individual story.

Let's start with Mary Magdalene.  She probably went to the tomb first.  John 20:1 says that she was there "early, while it was still dark." Matthew 28:2 says there was an earthquake, and that an angel of the Lord "descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it."  The Roman guard that had been assigned to stay nearby and stand watch were so afraid that they fainted dead away.

Was it the earthquake that woke Mary Magdalene, and caused her to go to the grave and see what was happening?  Perhaps, or maybe she just couldn't sleep.  Maybe she was walking nearby, crying out of guilt or loss or mourning.  She saw the stone rolled away and the empty tomb, but no angel was there to explain to her specifically.  That may be why, when she saw Jesus and assumed Him to be the gardener, she asked "where have they taken Him?"

Matthew goes on to say that more women showed up, and that they were greeted by an angel who said, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here, for He has risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where He lay."  They may have followed the angel into the tomb and found him sitting on the right side, as Mark said in his account.

After the women left, Peter and John ran up.  There is no evidence that they saw the women when they arrived at the tomb.  John said they went back to their homes without talking to any angel.  They may have passed another group of women headed toward the tomb.  Luke tells of some women being greeted by two men "in dazzling apparel."  David Hocking says that these two men may not have been angels at all, but rather the two witnesses spoken of in Revelation.  These two men testified of what Jesus had said: "Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise."

At this point the differing narratives converge, saying that Jesus would go before them to Galilee.  Remember that Galilee was where it all started.  Jesus' ministry began at Cana in Galilee.  Since we were studying Mark's gospel, we will remember that in Mark 1:14 it says, "Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."  Jesus called the disciples back to where they began, where they could start again.

You may be thinking, why does any of this matter?  Either you believe the gospel, or you don't.  Those of us who believe do not need convincing.  1 Peter 3:15 says, "But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect."  If anyone comes to you with a question of why do you believe the Bible, even with all its apparent contradictions, then you should be able to explain the gospel to them in a way that makes sense.  The Scriptures are reliable, and should be taken by faith, but not by blind faith.  We should always be prepared to make a defense, as the skeptic may be persuaded with reason leading to a saving faith.  This is the good news, after all, and it should be presented in a clear and convincing fashion.