Comparative Theology · Internal Contradictions
How Many Women Came to the Tomb?
Handle with care. Do not say the Gospels contradict on whether the tomb was empty — all four agree it was. The disagreement is on the surrounding detail.
In short
- 1.Mark: three named women. Matthew: two. Luke: several, named later. John: Mary Magdalene alone
- 2.One young man, one angel, two men, or two angels — depending on the Gospel
- 3.Mark's original ending has them tell no one; the others have them run and report
The claim being examined
The resurrection is presented as the best-attested event of antiquity. The four accounts cannot agree on who went to the tomb, what they found, or what they did next.
The Islamic position
Islam affirms that God raised Jesus to Himself (Q 4:158). The Islamic position does not depend on the tomb narratives, which is fortunate, because those narratives disagree on nearly every verifiable detail.
Analysis
Each Gospel names a different party, encounters a different number and kind of figure, and ends differently. Mark's earliest ending (16:8) has the women flee and say nothing to anyone, which is impossible to reconcile with Matthew's account of them running to tell the disciples. The variation is exactly what oral transmission over decades produces, and exactly what a controlled eyewitness record would not. The details that vary are the ones a witness would be surest of: how many people were with you, and what you did next.
Side by side
| Mark | 16:1-8 | Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. One young man in a white robe. They tell no one. |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew | 28:1-8 | Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. An angel descends and rolls back the stone. They run to tell the disciples. |
| Luke | 24:1-10 | The women from Galilee, later named as three plus others. Two men in dazzling apparel. They tell the eleven. |
| John | 20:1-2 | Mary Magdalene alone, while it is still dark. She sees no angel yet and runs to Peter. |
From the Qur'an
Qur'an 4:158
بَل رَّفَعَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ
Rather, God raised him to Himself.
From the Bible
Mark 16:8
οὐδενὶ οὐδὲν εἶπαν· ἐφοβοῦντο γάρ
They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Read it in their BibleMatthew 28:8
ἔδραμον ἀπαγγεῖλαι τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ
They ran to tell his disciples.
Read it in their BibleSources
Bart D. Ehrman, Jesus, Interrupted · Dale C. Allison, The Resurrection of Jesus
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