Those who claim the Scriptures have errors or that men have corrupted the Bible are foolish, having built their objections on the sand of the sea.
There is no contradiction in the four gospels concerning the discovery by the women that the tomb of the resurrected Christ was now empty. Let me introduce to you all the Mary’s who knew Jesus.
Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Mary Magdalene.
Mary, the mother of James and John Mark, wife of Zebedee
Mary is the wife of Cleophas and the mother of James. Matthew 28:1, Cleophas and Alpheus are the same man.
Mary, sister of Lazarus
Mary Salome, mother of James the less.
Matthew 28:1: In the morning, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where Jesus lay. With her were Mary, the mother of James, and Mary Salome, the mother of James the less; see Mark 16:1.
Luke tells us that other women went to Jesus’ tomb with these three: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Mary Salome. Matthew mentions only two of the above. There is no mention that they had entered the tomb here. Matthew does not tell us which group of women departed to tell the disciples.
Matthew 28:1; “At the end of the Sabbath as it began to dawn toward the first of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (mother of James) to see the sepulcher.”
In the above, Matthew does not speak of Mary Salome, which Mark mentions. He is referring to “the other Mary,” who was Mary, the wife of Cleopas, the mother of James. She is spoken of in Matthew 25:56.
Matthew has introduced both Mary Magdalene and Mary, the wife of Zebedee and the mother of James and John. But Luke also reports that other women were with them.
Mark 16:1, “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Mary Salome mother of James the less, had brought sweet spices.”
Mark 16:5 tells us they entered into the tomb. We are not told which of them entered. Mark tells us that those who entered the tomb saw a young man who told them about the raised Lord. We know two men were in the tomb, but Mark refers only to the one speaking to the women. Now Matthew tells us the women go to tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus has already gone to Galilee.
Mark 16:9 tells us Jesus first appears to Mary Magdalene;
Luke 24:1, “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they (all the women) came unto the sepulcher, bringing spices which they had prepared.”
Verse 10, “It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna (wife of Chuza) and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.”
The women find the stone rolled away, and several of them enter. Luke does not tell us who they are, but we know Mary Magdalene remained outside the tomb.
Suddenly, two other men were standing by the women who had entered the tomb, and only one of the two spoke. These women left and went to the eleven apostles.
Luke 23:10 sums up that Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women with them had told these things to the apostles. All the women eventually went to the apostles.
John 20:1 Speaks only of Mary Magdalene; what John relates concerning the resurrection is collected from the account Mary Magdalene gave and his personal observation.
John 20:1-2, and 11-18. Mary Magdalene relates she had gone to the tomb early while it was still dark. She makes no mention of the other women she was with. The stone was rolled back; it skips what happened between that moment and her seeing Jesus. She then runs off to tell Simon Peter and the other disciples about Jesus having been resurrected.
But John 20:11 tells the rest of the story. Mary is standing outside the tomb crying. She looks into the tomb where several other women had gone. Those who had gone into the tomb saw two men; one of the men spoke to them.
Mary Magdalene stoops down and looks into the tomb. She sees the two men with the women who had entered the tomb: one man sitting where Jesus’ feet would have been and the other where his head was.
These two men are inside the tomb; one speaks to those in the tomb, the other to Mary standing outside the tomb. When the women entered the tomb, two men were seated and stood once the women had entered. One of the men inside the tomb asks Mary, Why are you crying?
Mary replied, “Because the body of Jesus had been taken away.” Mary Magdalene turned, still standing outside the tomb, and saw a man she thought was in the Gardner. She recognizes Him after He speaks to her. Jesus tells her, “Touch me not.” Then, with the other women, she goes and tells the disciples.
Philip Laspino www.seekfirstwisdom.com