Resurrection
Preaching
Preaching The Miracles
Series II, Cycle A
1. Text
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.1 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."2 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb.3 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.4 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.5 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there,6 and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.7 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;8 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.9 Then the disciples returned to their homes.10
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb;11 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.12 They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."13 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.14 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."15 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher).16 Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"17 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.18
First Point Of Action
Before dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb.
Second Point Of Action
Seeing the stone removed, Mary runs to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. Mary tells them "they" have taken the Lord out of the tomb and "we" do not know where they laid him.
Third Point Of Action
Peter and the other disciple run to the tomb. Outrunning Peter, the other reaches the tomb first, bends down to look in, sees the linen wrappings lying there, but does not enter.
Fourth Point Of Action
Simon Peter enters the tomb. He sees the linen wrappings and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head rolled up.
Fifth Point Of Action
Entering the tomb, the other disciple sees and believes. The disciples had not understood scripture, that Jesus must rise from the dead.
Sixth Point Of Action
Mary stays at the tomb weeping. Bending over to look into the tomb, she sees two angels in white sitting where Jesus' body had been. One is at the head and the other at the feet.
Seventh Point Of Action
They ask Mary why she is weeping. Mary answers that "they" have taken away her Lord. She does not know where they laid him.
Eighth Point Of Action
Mary turns around and sees Jesus standing there but does not know it is Jesus.
Ninth Point Of Action
Jesus asks why she weeps and for whom she looks. She thinks he is the gardener. If he is the one who carried the body of Jesus away, she wants to know where he laid him so she can remove the body.
Tenth Point Of Action
Jesus calls her by name. Mary turns, saying to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus cautions her not to hold on to him because he has not yet ascended to the Father. He instructs her to tell his brothers that he is ascending to his Father and their Father, to his God and theirs.
Eleventh Point Of Action
Mary tells the disciples she has seen the Lord and what he said to her.
3. Connecting Points -- Conversations
Interviewing Mary Magdalene
Asker: What stood out for me in John's telling about the resurrection, Mary Magdalene, is your human reaction. The initial timbre was frantic. Everybody was running. You did not take time to look into the sepulcher. You ran to tell the other disciples. Then they took off, one outrunning the other. Looking into the tomb before Peter arrived, the beloved disciple saw the linen wrappings but went no farther. Peter rushed in. As quickly, the two disciples left you there.
Magdalene: It was a broken time. Our running around mirrored our emotions. Spasms of activity alternated with inactivity. From Friday until Sunday, time stopped.
Asker: You were grieving.
Magdalene: It was more. My alarm at the empty tomb approached panic. Mary, the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome, and I had followed Jesus. We provided for him. We cared for his needs -- funds, food, encouragement. We watched the killing from a distance. We saw where Joseph of Arimathea laid him. Our responsibility was to prepare his body with spices and ointments for burial. There was no time before the sabbath interruption to do this last need properly. This was my Savior. Now, he was gone. I did not know who took his body or where they took it.
Asker: Getting to him before dawn was your goal.
Magdalene: It was more. I worshiped Jesus. If only I could brush his cheek again. How would we carry on without him? I endured the weekend only because I knew I would see him, even his lifeless body. He was gone without my good-bye.
Asker: Then this is your story, too, Mary Magdalene. John reveals it as he tells Jesus' story.
Magdalene: You know that Magdala, my hometown, has a poor reputation. Jesus healed me not of one demon but of seven demons.
Asker: People define you by this healing. Is "seven demons" another way of saying you were extremely ill?
Magdalene: Jesus himself said that after an unclean spirit has left a person, it wanders, then returns sevenfold. (See Luke 11:24-26.)
Asker: As does anyone with a chronic illness, you must wonder now without Jesus if the seven demons will return manyfold.
Magdalene: Is that why Jesus chose me to show himself first? I was most in need of reassurance.
Asker: Unlike the other disciples, you stayed at the tomb.
Magdalene: It was all I had. I could not pull myself away.
Asker: Then you were not waiting for Jesus.
Magdalene: Who is to say what causes us to pause? Is it the distant yet inner awareness of someone reaching out to us? What mysterious, invisible thread attaches us to hope? What presence calls to us to linger just a few minutes? It transcends our senses. How much we miss when we neglect the nearly imperceptible, spiritual nudge. If being healthy is having the capacity to celebrate life with enthusiasm again, then resurrection moves us again toward hope.
Interviewing An Angel
Asker: I have never considered angels real enough to interview one. Biblical writers tell us angels are "angels of the Lord" or "angels of God." I have presumed that angels are messengers, that is, expressions or symbols of God's wanting to connect with us. Angels brought news of a special birth to Zechariah, Joseph, Mary the mother of Jesus, and the shepherds. Did your coming to Magdalene give new meaning to death and resurrection?
Angel: Sometimes angels open the way for good news. Other times we prepare a person for delivering that news to others. The presence of an angel to a believer signals a special event. We prepared Magdalene for a special new birth, Christ's appearance.
Asker: John refrains from calling you angels of God.
Angel: He does say, however, that Magdalene saw "two angels in white." She did not run from us or seem startled but spoke to us.
Asker: No one reported the appearance of you and your supporting angel to Peter and the beloved disciple. John says Peter saw only the linen wrappings and the rolled cloth. Only minutes later, Magdalene saw you.
Angel: Peter and the other disciple did not need to or could not perceive an angel then. Not all people of Jesus' day believed. Sadducees did not. They also judged themselves too cultured to believe in spirit or resurrection. Pharisees, however, were not above acknowledging angels, resurrection, and spirit. (See Matthew 22:23 and Acts 23:6-8.)
Asker: In the synoptic Gospels, you instructed the women to tell the other disciples that Christ was risen. According to John, Mary Magdalene initially looked at the empty tomb. Then, without coaching, she ran to tell the men. Was Magdalene receptive to perceiving an angel because she was vulnerable?
Angel: In her alarm, she did not grasp what she saw. Our aim was to aid her. She could perceive an angel. Our appearance invited her to turn from despair toward hope. We asked her the same question with the same words that Christ spoke. We prepared her for Christ's coming to her.
Asker: Even so, Magdalene distrusted her eyes until Christ called her by name. Believing her ears, she leaped into faith. Resurrection did not seem part of Magdalene's expectation. Would she have seen the risen Christ if the angels had not preceded him? Would history have taken a different direction had you not intervened? Do angels come only when we most need them?
Angel: Hold on, asker. Not so many questions. Just because we comprehend resurrection only partly does not mean we must dismiss it. Can anyone fully understand the mystery of death? Can we appreciate the mystery of life? Can we grasp the surprise of resurrection?
Asker: At death, suddenly only the body remains; the shell of the person is left behind. I feel, "He is not here." Conversely, at birth, suddenly the infant has being. God's heralding angels may be necessary to assure proper connection with the source of our being. Would that we had the presence of angels today.
Angel: Who says you do not? Who is to say what characteristics open a person to see an angel?
Asker: How do we know when we have been in the presence of an angel? How do we know angels are not products of resourceful imaginations? Is an angel another way God comes to us, a sign of God's presence?
Angel: Angels may be one expression of your yearning to connect with God. God communicates in many ways. Have you ever snipped off a winter branch of a shrub that appears dead to find the promise of green cambium layered beneath its bark? Has another person come into your life at a decisive time?
Asker: Might this be why the resurrection story comes in spring? Does it mirror nature's courageous reminder to believe? Or does our yearning to believe send us looking for other evidence of a rebirth?
Angel: In your day, many people collect angel figurines. An awakening of angels accents your television screens. An angel touches an actor's life and then with equal mystery turns into a puff of white flutter in the sky. Is this the fun of participating in a mystery? Are angels a fad?
Asker: In days when having a conscience appears outmoded, are we looking to "concrete" angels to nudge us, guide us, and to whom we can confide? We appear to need the comfort of an angel's presence. We yearn for someone to give us direction. Rather than ponder for ourselves, we wish God's will were clear and instant.
Angel: How ironic in your "show-me" days that you are open to belief in angels. Perhaps in becoming too practical and too earth-rooted, you mistakenly think you can exist in a self-sufficient vacuum. Instead, you find emptiness and need a personal angel.
Asker: How tender and sensitive as an angel is the call toward a deeper spiritual level of greeting life. How timeless are human needs. Maybe God sends an angel for my soul's ear to perceive when nothing else will do to convince me of God's presence. Just because I have never seen an angel does not mean angels must be artistic special effects.
Angel: I would question your certainty that you have never been in the presence of an angel.
Interviewing Christ
Asker: We have heard that Mary Magdalene may have loved you as a life mate.
Jesus: Devotion is a complicated emotion. Love, admiration, and awe become intertwined. Devotion is close to worship. You will notice, however, that when I addressed her as "Mary," she did not answer with my name, as life mates might. Her first word was "Rabbouni," teacher.
Asker: Christ, did you appear first to Mary because she believed or so that she might believe?
Christ: I told Mary to tell the other disciples about my ascension. I showed myself to her, to the other women, to Peter, to those on the Emmaus road, and to others -- at least eleven different appearances. I came to these followers in ways that they would recognize.
Those whom deep grief surrounds also meet a frayed faith. Where a thread of belief exists, however, a wanting to believe exists. I appeared to Mary because she believed and so that she might believe. I gave them evidence for their faith, assurance that "I will be with you always." The first believers weathered the events as they happened. Those coming later will have the benefit of the whole story.
Asker: Jesus, is the resurrection only a story? The only way the resurrection made sense to me as a child would be your coming alive to each of us as Christ when we die and know rebirth to God. I finally had to leap across the river of wondering into faith.
Christ: The resurrection is not a matter of convincing. It is a matter of recognizing God's presence among us. It is evidence that we can trust God to be with us always. God lives among us in many ways. God promised never to desert us during our earthly life.
Faith takes time. Faith needs persistence. Faith is as simple yet intricate and mysterious as belief. Many with doubts presume they cannot be Christian. Doubt is part of choosing active faith for oneself. Then, like tears of sorrow and tears of relief, hope overtakes us. When faith moves beyond the hearsay of parents, church school teachers, and pastors, then children of any age move into hope as children of faith. Hope chooses us.
4. Words
Angel
The usual Hebrew word for angel means one sent to convey God's directives to people, usher in special events, protect the faithful, and show God's disapproval of sinners. Angels kept Abraham from sacrificing Isaac (Genesis 22:11), drew Moses to the burning bush (Exodus 3:2), and guided the Israelites through the wilderness (Exodus 23:20-23; 33:2). Unaware of their identity, Abraham entertained angels appearing as humans (Genesis 18:2ff).
Hebrews also recognized angels as "sons of God" (Genesis 6:4), and "holy ones" (Deuteronomy 33:2, Zechariah 14:5). These celestial beings were "holy myriads" (Deuteronomy 33:21), "sons [or children] of the Most High" (Psalm 82:6, Luke 6:35), and "heavenly beings" (Job 38:7, Psalm 29:1).
Many characteristics of Old Testament angels originated from ancient Near Eastern beliefs.1 Mesopotamians saw angels as "guardians of welfare." Hittites believed some angels are sent for good and others for evil. Stories about angels commuting by ladder between heaven and earth (see Genesis 28:12) have parallels in Egyptian, Greek, and Buddhist literature. Dispatch of two messengers in case of accident was an ancient practice recorded in Ras Shamra texts. The angel concept emerged as a specific, unique answer to common yearnings that bind together all humankind.
New Testament angels announced the coming births of John the Baptist (Luke 1:11-20) and of Jesus (Luke 2:8-14). Angels warned Joseph to flee with Mary and her infant into Egypt (Matthew 2:13). They encouraged Jesus on the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:43). They rolled away the tomb stone (Matthew 28:2-3).
Jesus referred to angels. (See Luke 12:8-9, 15:10, 16:22, and 20:36. See Matthew 13:41, 13:49, 16:27. 18:10, 22:30, 24:36, and 26:53. See also Mark 8:38, 12:25, 13:27, and 13:22.) In Luke, a trinitarian formula suggests an angel is a holy spirit or part of the Holy Spirit of God present with us: "Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels" (Luke 9:26).
Mary Magdalene
Mary of Magdala was a prominent Galilean woman who followed Jesus. Her hometown, Magdala, lies at the south end of the Plain of Gennesaret. The people of this important center of trade, fishing, shipbuilding, and agriculture were mostly Gentile. The town had a poor reputation.
Devoted to Jesus and his cause, Mary Magdalene participated in his itinerant ministry in Galilee and gave financially to it. Although listing her last, John names Magdalene with Jesus' mother and aunt as the women closest to Jesus who stood with him at the cross. (See John 19:25.) In contrast, the Synoptic versions, Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-8, and Luke 24:1-10, give Magdalene's name first among visitors to the tomb.
Other variations occur. At the tomb, Matthew (28:1) records "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary" (i.e., from 27:56, "Mary the mother of James and Joseph"); the Gospel named Mark (16:1) speaks of "Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James [and of Joses (15:40, 47)], and Salome." Luke (24:10) says "Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them." The Gospel named John (20:1) mentions only "Mary Magdalene." However, her words, "We do not know where they have laid him," imply the presence of others. Suggesting great suffering, the healing of Mary Magdalene mentions "seven demons." (See Luke 11:24-26.)
Rabbouni
Rabbi, Rabboni means master, teacher of the Law, a title of respect addressed by pupils to a learned lay person.
Tomb
Tombs were natural or artificial burial caves located in a garden, on an elevation, on the slope of a hill, or underground. Individual graves with family plots were uncommon in biblical times. Most hewn underground chambers contained a vertical shaft in soft stone with an opening at the bottom into a cave-like structure.2 A shaft was from three to ten feet wide and from three to fifteen feet deep. A typical chamber was fifteen feet wide by four feet high. The shaft usually contained a large stone that sealed the tomb's entrance. (See Matthew 27:60, Mark 15:46, Luke 24:2, and John 20:1.) Some tombs contained a single burial, others as many as forty or fifty. Without a box enclosure, the body was placed on a wall ledge that could be sealed on the end from the main chamber by a stone slab.
The tomb for Jesus was new and was in a garden (John 19:41). It belonged to a disciple of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea. (See Luke 23:50.) A rolling stone sealed a chamber large enough for three adults to enter. (See Luke 24:2-3.)
Linen
Flax was raised in Palestine at Jericho. Linen, usually bleached, was used for many items, including clothing, swathing for the dead, bed sheets, curtains, ship sails, and scroll wrappers.
In preparation for burial, Joseph wrapped the body of Jesus in a shroud, a strip of clean linen cloth. (See Matthew 27:59, Mark 15:46, Luke 23:53, and John 19:40.) Mary Magdalene and the disciples noticed the change in these linen wrappings at the empty tomb.
Resurrection
The idea of resurrection was not new. It encompassed three different, but related, beliefs that evolved from several philosophies. Resurrection was considered (1) an individual or a common experience, (2) universal or selective, and (3) an inevitable continuance in eternity or a privileged birth in a new creation.
In ancient thought, where death was regarded as a sleep, resurrection was the waking. Where time was considered cyclic, resurrection answered what would happen to the souls of the dead when the present cycle ended and a new world was brought into being. During periods of religious persecution, resurrection assured the faithful reward in the hereafter with punishment for scoundrels.
Of the 37 resurrection references, twelve are in the Gospels. Jesus spoke of "the resurrection" as repayment of the righteous. (See Luke 14:14.) He described resurrection people as "like angels in heaven" (Mark 12:25). When the Sadducees attempted to entrap Jesus on the notion, he countered that God "is God not of the dead, but of the living" (Mark 12:26-27). According to John, Jesus spoke predictive words about resurrection to those trying to kill him. (See John 5:24-29.)
When Lazarus died, Jesus told Martha her brother "[would] rise again" (John 11:23). Affirming Jesus' words, Martha said, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus spoke of resurrection as "the resurrection." He told Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:23-25).
Hebrews believed no absolute division existed between life and death. At death, a weak form of life, the soul or spirit leaves the body but can be called back into it, if not too far gone. The agents of this healing were human. Jesus had passed beyond the point of return. More than resuscitation of the dead who would die again at some point, the resurrection of Jesus is unique. God acted in history. God raised Jesus as the Christ, as Messiah.
The resurrection is the story of God's victory. Writers of The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible3 suggest that students see the inconsistency of Gospel versions of Easter as evidence of many witnesses who viewed something extraordinary from several perspectives.
The resurrection of Christ on the third day made resurrection concrete in history. The promise became truth. From this point, everything was different.
White
Numerous references to white as a sign of purity or glorification occur in Revelation. White in a garment suggested the glory of its wearer. Glory is one way of describing God's presence. See "glory" in Cycle C, Miracle 5. Angels robed in white garments dazzled. They were surrounded by radiance. (See John 20:12, Luke 24:4, and Mark 16:5.) For references to Jesus' "dazzling white" clothing at the Transfiguration, see Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:3, and Luke 9:29. In Matthew 28:3, the phrase is "white as snow."
5. Gospel Parallels
Time
All four writers say "the first day of the week." Matthew reports, "After the sabbath" (Matthew 28:1). Mark says, "When the sabbath was over" (Mark 16:1).
John says, "[W]hile it was still dark" (John 20:1). Luke writes, "at early dawn" (Luke 24:1). Mark specifies, "And very early ... when the sun had risen" (Mark 16:2). Matthew says, "as the first day of the week was dawning" (Matthew 28:1).
Who Came?
John says Mary Magdalene "came" to the tomb (John 20:1). Both angels and Jesus address only her, saying, "Woman." Then, Jesus calls her "Mary." (See John 20:13 and 20:15.) When Mary tells Peter her findings, she says "we" (John 20:2). Peter and the beloved disciple also came (John 20:3ff).
Mark says that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome "went" to the tomb. (See Mark 15:40-41, 15:47, and 16:1.) At the crucifixion, they had looked on from a distance. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where Joseph laid the body. Mark says, "[N]ow after [Jesus] rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene" (Mark 16:9). Matthew says, "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went" (Matthew 28:1).
Luke reports, "[T]he women who had come with him from Galilee" (Luke 23:53). Later, he names them: "Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles" (Luke 24:10).
Why
In his summary verse, John does not say why Mary goes to the tomb. Matthew says they went "to see the tomb" (Matthew 28:1). Mark adds that they "bought spices, so that they might go and anoint [Jesus]" (Mark 16:1). Luke says they were "taking the spices that they had prepared" (Luke 24:1). See Luke 23:53-56, which explains "the women who had come with him from Galilee" witness the removal of Jesus' body from the cross, the wrapping in linen cloth, and laying in the tomb. They "saw the tomb and how his body was laid." Because of the sabbath rest, the women must wait before bringing the "prepared spices and ointments."
Telling The Disciples
John 20:2-10 tells of Mary's running to Simon Peter and the other disciple. Their visit to the tomb occurs early in John's version. After the two disciples leave the tomb and Mary talks with the angels and with Jesus, she returns to the disciples, announcing, "'I have seen the Lord'; and she told them that he had said these things to her" (John 20:18).
According to Luke, only after the angel do they remember "Jesus' words, and returning from the tomb, they tell all this to the eleven and to all the rest" (Luke 24:8-9). Later on the road to Emmaus, Cleopas tells Jesus, whom he does not recognize, about the empty tomb. (See Luke 24:23-24.)
Matthew says the women start to leave the tomb after talking with the angels: "So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples" (Matthew 28:8). Then, Jesus speaks to them. Mark says, "She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping" (Mark 16:10).
Response Of The Disciples To The Women's Story
Mark says, "But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it" (Mark 16:11). Then Mark tells how Jesus appears to the disciples.
According to Luke, only Peter goes to the tomb: "But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened" (Luke 24:11-12). Luke says Peter stoops to look in and sees the linen cloths by themselves.
John's telling about the disciples requires eight verses. The two disciples go together to the tomb. The beloved disciple outruns Peter. Looking in, he sees the linen wrappings "lying there" but does not go in. (See John 20:5.) Peter arrives, enters the tomb, and sees the wrappings. John describes what Peter sees. (See John 20:6-7.) Then the beloved disciple enters. (See John 20:8.)
The Stone
In his summary, John says when Mary Magdalene came to the tomb, she "saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb" (John 20:1). Matthew alone reports a sudden, "great earthquake" when "an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it" (Matthew 28:2). Mark says the women wondered who would roll away the stone from the tomb's entrance. When they looked up, "they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back" (Mark 16:3-4). Luke says, "[t]hey found the stone rolled away from the tomb" (Luke 24:2).
Angel
John says nothing about an angel until verse 12. He says the weeping Mary looked into the tomb "and saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet." Matthew says, "[A]n angel of the Lord, descending from heaven" rolls back the stone and sits on it. (See Matthew 28:2.) Matthew describes the angel: "His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow" (Matthew 28:3). Matthew alone mentions the guards: "For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men" (Matthew 28:4).
Both Luke and Mark avoid calling the apparition an angel: "As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed" (Mark 16:5). Luke says, "[B]ut when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them" (Luke 24:3-4).
Conversation With Angel(s)
In John, the angels ask Mary, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She answers, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him" (John 20:13). She had said these words to the disciples earlier. (See John 20:2.)
In Mark, the angel says, "Do not be alarmed" (Mark 16:6). In Matthew, he says, "Do not be afraid" (Matthew 28:5). Matthew says, "I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said" (Matthew 28:5-6). Mark says, "[Y]ou are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here" (Mark 16:6). The angels in Luke say, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen" (Luke 24:5).
Conversation With Jesus
Jesus repeats the angel's words: "Do not be afraid" (Matthew 28:10). Matthew reports that "suddenly" Jesus meets the women and speaks to them. His first word is "Greetings!" The women "came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him" (Matthew 28:9).
According to John, after Mary's conversation with the angels, she turns around. She "saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus" (John 20:14). She thinks he is the gardener. He questions, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" (John 20:15). When Jesus addresses her by name, she knows him and answers, "Rabbouni!" (John 20:16).
In Matthew and John, Jesus instructs Mary. "Go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God'" (John 20:17b). He warns her not to hold on to him because he has "not yet ascended to the Father" (John 20:17a).
The Johanine version is Mary Magdalene's story. The Lukan version is the disciples' story. (See Luke 24:13-53.)
Response To The Empty Tomb
The writer of John says the disciples "saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead" (John 20:8-9). Then they return to their homes.
Matthew says the women leave the tomb "quickly with fear and great joy" (Matthew 28:8). They run to tell his disciples. Mark says they flee from the tomb "for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid" (Mark 16:8).
Luke's summary version carries less emotion: "Then [the women] remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest" (Luke 24:8-9). Luke reports that the disciples did not believe the women. Then, deciding to see for himself, Peter checks the tomb and goes home, "amazed at what had happened" (Luke 24:12).
____________
1. See The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 1.
2. See The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 1.
3. See Volume 4.
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.1 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."2 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb.3 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.4 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.5 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there,6 and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.7 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;8 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.9 Then the disciples returned to their homes.10
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb;11 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.12 They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."13 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.14 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."15 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher).16 Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"17 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.18
First Point Of Action
Before dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb.
Second Point Of Action
Seeing the stone removed, Mary runs to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. Mary tells them "they" have taken the Lord out of the tomb and "we" do not know where they laid him.
Third Point Of Action
Peter and the other disciple run to the tomb. Outrunning Peter, the other reaches the tomb first, bends down to look in, sees the linen wrappings lying there, but does not enter.
Fourth Point Of Action
Simon Peter enters the tomb. He sees the linen wrappings and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head rolled up.
Fifth Point Of Action
Entering the tomb, the other disciple sees and believes. The disciples had not understood scripture, that Jesus must rise from the dead.
Sixth Point Of Action
Mary stays at the tomb weeping. Bending over to look into the tomb, she sees two angels in white sitting where Jesus' body had been. One is at the head and the other at the feet.
Seventh Point Of Action
They ask Mary why she is weeping. Mary answers that "they" have taken away her Lord. She does not know where they laid him.
Eighth Point Of Action
Mary turns around and sees Jesus standing there but does not know it is Jesus.
Ninth Point Of Action
Jesus asks why she weeps and for whom she looks. She thinks he is the gardener. If he is the one who carried the body of Jesus away, she wants to know where he laid him so she can remove the body.
Tenth Point Of Action
Jesus calls her by name. Mary turns, saying to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus cautions her not to hold on to him because he has not yet ascended to the Father. He instructs her to tell his brothers that he is ascending to his Father and their Father, to his God and theirs.
Eleventh Point Of Action
Mary tells the disciples she has seen the Lord and what he said to her.
3. Connecting Points -- Conversations
Interviewing Mary Magdalene
Asker: What stood out for me in John's telling about the resurrection, Mary Magdalene, is your human reaction. The initial timbre was frantic. Everybody was running. You did not take time to look into the sepulcher. You ran to tell the other disciples. Then they took off, one outrunning the other. Looking into the tomb before Peter arrived, the beloved disciple saw the linen wrappings but went no farther. Peter rushed in. As quickly, the two disciples left you there.
Magdalene: It was a broken time. Our running around mirrored our emotions. Spasms of activity alternated with inactivity. From Friday until Sunday, time stopped.
Asker: You were grieving.
Magdalene: It was more. My alarm at the empty tomb approached panic. Mary, the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome, and I had followed Jesus. We provided for him. We cared for his needs -- funds, food, encouragement. We watched the killing from a distance. We saw where Joseph of Arimathea laid him. Our responsibility was to prepare his body with spices and ointments for burial. There was no time before the sabbath interruption to do this last need properly. This was my Savior. Now, he was gone. I did not know who took his body or where they took it.
Asker: Getting to him before dawn was your goal.
Magdalene: It was more. I worshiped Jesus. If only I could brush his cheek again. How would we carry on without him? I endured the weekend only because I knew I would see him, even his lifeless body. He was gone without my good-bye.
Asker: Then this is your story, too, Mary Magdalene. John reveals it as he tells Jesus' story.
Magdalene: You know that Magdala, my hometown, has a poor reputation. Jesus healed me not of one demon but of seven demons.
Asker: People define you by this healing. Is "seven demons" another way of saying you were extremely ill?
Magdalene: Jesus himself said that after an unclean spirit has left a person, it wanders, then returns sevenfold. (See Luke 11:24-26.)
Asker: As does anyone with a chronic illness, you must wonder now without Jesus if the seven demons will return manyfold.
Magdalene: Is that why Jesus chose me to show himself first? I was most in need of reassurance.
Asker: Unlike the other disciples, you stayed at the tomb.
Magdalene: It was all I had. I could not pull myself away.
Asker: Then you were not waiting for Jesus.
Magdalene: Who is to say what causes us to pause? Is it the distant yet inner awareness of someone reaching out to us? What mysterious, invisible thread attaches us to hope? What presence calls to us to linger just a few minutes? It transcends our senses. How much we miss when we neglect the nearly imperceptible, spiritual nudge. If being healthy is having the capacity to celebrate life with enthusiasm again, then resurrection moves us again toward hope.
Interviewing An Angel
Asker: I have never considered angels real enough to interview one. Biblical writers tell us angels are "angels of the Lord" or "angels of God." I have presumed that angels are messengers, that is, expressions or symbols of God's wanting to connect with us. Angels brought news of a special birth to Zechariah, Joseph, Mary the mother of Jesus, and the shepherds. Did your coming to Magdalene give new meaning to death and resurrection?
Angel: Sometimes angels open the way for good news. Other times we prepare a person for delivering that news to others. The presence of an angel to a believer signals a special event. We prepared Magdalene for a special new birth, Christ's appearance.
Asker: John refrains from calling you angels of God.
Angel: He does say, however, that Magdalene saw "two angels in white." She did not run from us or seem startled but spoke to us.
Asker: No one reported the appearance of you and your supporting angel to Peter and the beloved disciple. John says Peter saw only the linen wrappings and the rolled cloth. Only minutes later, Magdalene saw you.
Angel: Peter and the other disciple did not need to or could not perceive an angel then. Not all people of Jesus' day believed. Sadducees did not. They also judged themselves too cultured to believe in spirit or resurrection. Pharisees, however, were not above acknowledging angels, resurrection, and spirit. (See Matthew 22:23 and Acts 23:6-8.)
Asker: In the synoptic Gospels, you instructed the women to tell the other disciples that Christ was risen. According to John, Mary Magdalene initially looked at the empty tomb. Then, without coaching, she ran to tell the men. Was Magdalene receptive to perceiving an angel because she was vulnerable?
Angel: In her alarm, she did not grasp what she saw. Our aim was to aid her. She could perceive an angel. Our appearance invited her to turn from despair toward hope. We asked her the same question with the same words that Christ spoke. We prepared her for Christ's coming to her.
Asker: Even so, Magdalene distrusted her eyes until Christ called her by name. Believing her ears, she leaped into faith. Resurrection did not seem part of Magdalene's expectation. Would she have seen the risen Christ if the angels had not preceded him? Would history have taken a different direction had you not intervened? Do angels come only when we most need them?
Angel: Hold on, asker. Not so many questions. Just because we comprehend resurrection only partly does not mean we must dismiss it. Can anyone fully understand the mystery of death? Can we appreciate the mystery of life? Can we grasp the surprise of resurrection?
Asker: At death, suddenly only the body remains; the shell of the person is left behind. I feel, "He is not here." Conversely, at birth, suddenly the infant has being. God's heralding angels may be necessary to assure proper connection with the source of our being. Would that we had the presence of angels today.
Angel: Who says you do not? Who is to say what characteristics open a person to see an angel?
Asker: How do we know when we have been in the presence of an angel? How do we know angels are not products of resourceful imaginations? Is an angel another way God comes to us, a sign of God's presence?
Angel: Angels may be one expression of your yearning to connect with God. God communicates in many ways. Have you ever snipped off a winter branch of a shrub that appears dead to find the promise of green cambium layered beneath its bark? Has another person come into your life at a decisive time?
Asker: Might this be why the resurrection story comes in spring? Does it mirror nature's courageous reminder to believe? Or does our yearning to believe send us looking for other evidence of a rebirth?
Angel: In your day, many people collect angel figurines. An awakening of angels accents your television screens. An angel touches an actor's life and then with equal mystery turns into a puff of white flutter in the sky. Is this the fun of participating in a mystery? Are angels a fad?
Asker: In days when having a conscience appears outmoded, are we looking to "concrete" angels to nudge us, guide us, and to whom we can confide? We appear to need the comfort of an angel's presence. We yearn for someone to give us direction. Rather than ponder for ourselves, we wish God's will were clear and instant.
Angel: How ironic in your "show-me" days that you are open to belief in angels. Perhaps in becoming too practical and too earth-rooted, you mistakenly think you can exist in a self-sufficient vacuum. Instead, you find emptiness and need a personal angel.
Asker: How tender and sensitive as an angel is the call toward a deeper spiritual level of greeting life. How timeless are human needs. Maybe God sends an angel for my soul's ear to perceive when nothing else will do to convince me of God's presence. Just because I have never seen an angel does not mean angels must be artistic special effects.
Angel: I would question your certainty that you have never been in the presence of an angel.
Interviewing Christ
Asker: We have heard that Mary Magdalene may have loved you as a life mate.
Jesus: Devotion is a complicated emotion. Love, admiration, and awe become intertwined. Devotion is close to worship. You will notice, however, that when I addressed her as "Mary," she did not answer with my name, as life mates might. Her first word was "Rabbouni," teacher.
Asker: Christ, did you appear first to Mary because she believed or so that she might believe?
Christ: I told Mary to tell the other disciples about my ascension. I showed myself to her, to the other women, to Peter, to those on the Emmaus road, and to others -- at least eleven different appearances. I came to these followers in ways that they would recognize.
Those whom deep grief surrounds also meet a frayed faith. Where a thread of belief exists, however, a wanting to believe exists. I appeared to Mary because she believed and so that she might believe. I gave them evidence for their faith, assurance that "I will be with you always." The first believers weathered the events as they happened. Those coming later will have the benefit of the whole story.
Asker: Jesus, is the resurrection only a story? The only way the resurrection made sense to me as a child would be your coming alive to each of us as Christ when we die and know rebirth to God. I finally had to leap across the river of wondering into faith.
Christ: The resurrection is not a matter of convincing. It is a matter of recognizing God's presence among us. It is evidence that we can trust God to be with us always. God lives among us in many ways. God promised never to desert us during our earthly life.
Faith takes time. Faith needs persistence. Faith is as simple yet intricate and mysterious as belief. Many with doubts presume they cannot be Christian. Doubt is part of choosing active faith for oneself. Then, like tears of sorrow and tears of relief, hope overtakes us. When faith moves beyond the hearsay of parents, church school teachers, and pastors, then children of any age move into hope as children of faith. Hope chooses us.
4. Words
Angel
The usual Hebrew word for angel means one sent to convey God's directives to people, usher in special events, protect the faithful, and show God's disapproval of sinners. Angels kept Abraham from sacrificing Isaac (Genesis 22:11), drew Moses to the burning bush (Exodus 3:2), and guided the Israelites through the wilderness (Exodus 23:20-23; 33:2). Unaware of their identity, Abraham entertained angels appearing as humans (Genesis 18:2ff).
Hebrews also recognized angels as "sons of God" (Genesis 6:4), and "holy ones" (Deuteronomy 33:2, Zechariah 14:5). These celestial beings were "holy myriads" (Deuteronomy 33:21), "sons [or children] of the Most High" (Psalm 82:6, Luke 6:35), and "heavenly beings" (Job 38:7, Psalm 29:1).
Many characteristics of Old Testament angels originated from ancient Near Eastern beliefs.1 Mesopotamians saw angels as "guardians of welfare." Hittites believed some angels are sent for good and others for evil. Stories about angels commuting by ladder between heaven and earth (see Genesis 28:12) have parallels in Egyptian, Greek, and Buddhist literature. Dispatch of two messengers in case of accident was an ancient practice recorded in Ras Shamra texts. The angel concept emerged as a specific, unique answer to common yearnings that bind together all humankind.
New Testament angels announced the coming births of John the Baptist (Luke 1:11-20) and of Jesus (Luke 2:8-14). Angels warned Joseph to flee with Mary and her infant into Egypt (Matthew 2:13). They encouraged Jesus on the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:43). They rolled away the tomb stone (Matthew 28:2-3).
Jesus referred to angels. (See Luke 12:8-9, 15:10, 16:22, and 20:36. See Matthew 13:41, 13:49, 16:27. 18:10, 22:30, 24:36, and 26:53. See also Mark 8:38, 12:25, 13:27, and 13:22.) In Luke, a trinitarian formula suggests an angel is a holy spirit or part of the Holy Spirit of God present with us: "Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels" (Luke 9:26).
Mary Magdalene
Mary of Magdala was a prominent Galilean woman who followed Jesus. Her hometown, Magdala, lies at the south end of the Plain of Gennesaret. The people of this important center of trade, fishing, shipbuilding, and agriculture were mostly Gentile. The town had a poor reputation.
Devoted to Jesus and his cause, Mary Magdalene participated in his itinerant ministry in Galilee and gave financially to it. Although listing her last, John names Magdalene with Jesus' mother and aunt as the women closest to Jesus who stood with him at the cross. (See John 19:25.) In contrast, the Synoptic versions, Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-8, and Luke 24:1-10, give Magdalene's name first among visitors to the tomb.
Other variations occur. At the tomb, Matthew (28:1) records "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary" (i.e., from 27:56, "Mary the mother of James and Joseph"); the Gospel named Mark (16:1) speaks of "Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James [and of Joses (15:40, 47)], and Salome." Luke (24:10) says "Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them." The Gospel named John (20:1) mentions only "Mary Magdalene." However, her words, "We do not know where they have laid him," imply the presence of others. Suggesting great suffering, the healing of Mary Magdalene mentions "seven demons." (See Luke 11:24-26.)
Rabbouni
Rabbi, Rabboni means master, teacher of the Law, a title of respect addressed by pupils to a learned lay person.
Tomb
Tombs were natural or artificial burial caves located in a garden, on an elevation, on the slope of a hill, or underground. Individual graves with family plots were uncommon in biblical times. Most hewn underground chambers contained a vertical shaft in soft stone with an opening at the bottom into a cave-like structure.2 A shaft was from three to ten feet wide and from three to fifteen feet deep. A typical chamber was fifteen feet wide by four feet high. The shaft usually contained a large stone that sealed the tomb's entrance. (See Matthew 27:60, Mark 15:46, Luke 24:2, and John 20:1.) Some tombs contained a single burial, others as many as forty or fifty. Without a box enclosure, the body was placed on a wall ledge that could be sealed on the end from the main chamber by a stone slab.
The tomb for Jesus was new and was in a garden (John 19:41). It belonged to a disciple of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea. (See Luke 23:50.) A rolling stone sealed a chamber large enough for three adults to enter. (See Luke 24:2-3.)
Linen
Flax was raised in Palestine at Jericho. Linen, usually bleached, was used for many items, including clothing, swathing for the dead, bed sheets, curtains, ship sails, and scroll wrappers.
In preparation for burial, Joseph wrapped the body of Jesus in a shroud, a strip of clean linen cloth. (See Matthew 27:59, Mark 15:46, Luke 23:53, and John 19:40.) Mary Magdalene and the disciples noticed the change in these linen wrappings at the empty tomb.
Resurrection
The idea of resurrection was not new. It encompassed three different, but related, beliefs that evolved from several philosophies. Resurrection was considered (1) an individual or a common experience, (2) universal or selective, and (3) an inevitable continuance in eternity or a privileged birth in a new creation.
In ancient thought, where death was regarded as a sleep, resurrection was the waking. Where time was considered cyclic, resurrection answered what would happen to the souls of the dead when the present cycle ended and a new world was brought into being. During periods of religious persecution, resurrection assured the faithful reward in the hereafter with punishment for scoundrels.
Of the 37 resurrection references, twelve are in the Gospels. Jesus spoke of "the resurrection" as repayment of the righteous. (See Luke 14:14.) He described resurrection people as "like angels in heaven" (Mark 12:25). When the Sadducees attempted to entrap Jesus on the notion, he countered that God "is God not of the dead, but of the living" (Mark 12:26-27). According to John, Jesus spoke predictive words about resurrection to those trying to kill him. (See John 5:24-29.)
When Lazarus died, Jesus told Martha her brother "[would] rise again" (John 11:23). Affirming Jesus' words, Martha said, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus spoke of resurrection as "the resurrection." He told Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:23-25).
Hebrews believed no absolute division existed between life and death. At death, a weak form of life, the soul or spirit leaves the body but can be called back into it, if not too far gone. The agents of this healing were human. Jesus had passed beyond the point of return. More than resuscitation of the dead who would die again at some point, the resurrection of Jesus is unique. God acted in history. God raised Jesus as the Christ, as Messiah.
The resurrection is the story of God's victory. Writers of The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible3 suggest that students see the inconsistency of Gospel versions of Easter as evidence of many witnesses who viewed something extraordinary from several perspectives.
The resurrection of Christ on the third day made resurrection concrete in history. The promise became truth. From this point, everything was different.
White
Numerous references to white as a sign of purity or glorification occur in Revelation. White in a garment suggested the glory of its wearer. Glory is one way of describing God's presence. See "glory" in Cycle C, Miracle 5. Angels robed in white garments dazzled. They were surrounded by radiance. (See John 20:12, Luke 24:4, and Mark 16:5.) For references to Jesus' "dazzling white" clothing at the Transfiguration, see Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:3, and Luke 9:29. In Matthew 28:3, the phrase is "white as snow."
5. Gospel Parallels
Time
All four writers say "the first day of the week." Matthew reports, "After the sabbath" (Matthew 28:1). Mark says, "When the sabbath was over" (Mark 16:1).
John says, "[W]hile it was still dark" (John 20:1). Luke writes, "at early dawn" (Luke 24:1). Mark specifies, "And very early ... when the sun had risen" (Mark 16:2). Matthew says, "as the first day of the week was dawning" (Matthew 28:1).
Who Came?
John says Mary Magdalene "came" to the tomb (John 20:1). Both angels and Jesus address only her, saying, "Woman." Then, Jesus calls her "Mary." (See John 20:13 and 20:15.) When Mary tells Peter her findings, she says "we" (John 20:2). Peter and the beloved disciple also came (John 20:3ff).
Mark says that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome "went" to the tomb. (See Mark 15:40-41, 15:47, and 16:1.) At the crucifixion, they had looked on from a distance. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where Joseph laid the body. Mark says, "[N]ow after [Jesus] rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene" (Mark 16:9). Matthew says, "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went" (Matthew 28:1).
Luke reports, "[T]he women who had come with him from Galilee" (Luke 23:53). Later, he names them: "Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles" (Luke 24:10).
Why
In his summary verse, John does not say why Mary goes to the tomb. Matthew says they went "to see the tomb" (Matthew 28:1). Mark adds that they "bought spices, so that they might go and anoint [Jesus]" (Mark 16:1). Luke says they were "taking the spices that they had prepared" (Luke 24:1). See Luke 23:53-56, which explains "the women who had come with him from Galilee" witness the removal of Jesus' body from the cross, the wrapping in linen cloth, and laying in the tomb. They "saw the tomb and how his body was laid." Because of the sabbath rest, the women must wait before bringing the "prepared spices and ointments."
Telling The Disciples
John 20:2-10 tells of Mary's running to Simon Peter and the other disciple. Their visit to the tomb occurs early in John's version. After the two disciples leave the tomb and Mary talks with the angels and with Jesus, she returns to the disciples, announcing, "'I have seen the Lord'; and she told them that he had said these things to her" (John 20:18).
According to Luke, only after the angel do they remember "Jesus' words, and returning from the tomb, they tell all this to the eleven and to all the rest" (Luke 24:8-9). Later on the road to Emmaus, Cleopas tells Jesus, whom he does not recognize, about the empty tomb. (See Luke 24:23-24.)
Matthew says the women start to leave the tomb after talking with the angels: "So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples" (Matthew 28:8). Then, Jesus speaks to them. Mark says, "She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping" (Mark 16:10).
Response Of The Disciples To The Women's Story
Mark says, "But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it" (Mark 16:11). Then Mark tells how Jesus appears to the disciples.
According to Luke, only Peter goes to the tomb: "But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened" (Luke 24:11-12). Luke says Peter stoops to look in and sees the linen cloths by themselves.
John's telling about the disciples requires eight verses. The two disciples go together to the tomb. The beloved disciple outruns Peter. Looking in, he sees the linen wrappings "lying there" but does not go in. (See John 20:5.) Peter arrives, enters the tomb, and sees the wrappings. John describes what Peter sees. (See John 20:6-7.) Then the beloved disciple enters. (See John 20:8.)
The Stone
In his summary, John says when Mary Magdalene came to the tomb, she "saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb" (John 20:1). Matthew alone reports a sudden, "great earthquake" when "an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it" (Matthew 28:2). Mark says the women wondered who would roll away the stone from the tomb's entrance. When they looked up, "they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back" (Mark 16:3-4). Luke says, "[t]hey found the stone rolled away from the tomb" (Luke 24:2).
Angel
John says nothing about an angel until verse 12. He says the weeping Mary looked into the tomb "and saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet." Matthew says, "[A]n angel of the Lord, descending from heaven" rolls back the stone and sits on it. (See Matthew 28:2.) Matthew describes the angel: "His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow" (Matthew 28:3). Matthew alone mentions the guards: "For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men" (Matthew 28:4).
Both Luke and Mark avoid calling the apparition an angel: "As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed" (Mark 16:5). Luke says, "[B]ut when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them" (Luke 24:3-4).
Conversation With Angel(s)
In John, the angels ask Mary, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She answers, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him" (John 20:13). She had said these words to the disciples earlier. (See John 20:2.)
In Mark, the angel says, "Do not be alarmed" (Mark 16:6). In Matthew, he says, "Do not be afraid" (Matthew 28:5). Matthew says, "I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said" (Matthew 28:5-6). Mark says, "[Y]ou are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here" (Mark 16:6). The angels in Luke say, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen" (Luke 24:5).
Conversation With Jesus
Jesus repeats the angel's words: "Do not be afraid" (Matthew 28:10). Matthew reports that "suddenly" Jesus meets the women and speaks to them. His first word is "Greetings!" The women "came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him" (Matthew 28:9).
According to John, after Mary's conversation with the angels, she turns around. She "saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus" (John 20:14). She thinks he is the gardener. He questions, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" (John 20:15). When Jesus addresses her by name, she knows him and answers, "Rabbouni!" (John 20:16).
In Matthew and John, Jesus instructs Mary. "Go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God'" (John 20:17b). He warns her not to hold on to him because he has "not yet ascended to the Father" (John 20:17a).
The Johanine version is Mary Magdalene's story. The Lukan version is the disciples' story. (See Luke 24:13-53.)
Response To The Empty Tomb
The writer of John says the disciples "saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead" (John 20:8-9). Then they return to their homes.
Matthew says the women leave the tomb "quickly with fear and great joy" (Matthew 28:8). They run to tell his disciples. Mark says they flee from the tomb "for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid" (Mark 16:8).
Luke's summary version carries less emotion: "Then [the women] remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest" (Luke 24:8-9). Luke reports that the disciples did not believe the women. Then, deciding to see for himself, Peter checks the tomb and goes home, "amazed at what had happened" (Luke 24:12).
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1. See The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 1.
2. See The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 1.
3. See Volume 4.
