All four gospels go to great length to record and thereby prove the resurrection of Christ. The reasons for this are at least twofold. First, it is the one defining sign of the Messiah (Luke 11:29-32); and second, it is the proof of God’s acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf (1 Cor 15:17).

Luke 11:29-32  As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.  For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.  The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.  The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.

1 Corinthians 15:17  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

There are many differences between the four accounts of the resurrection of Christ and it is difficult to arrange the events properly in a chronological order, but that was not the purpose of any of the gospel writers nor of the Holy Spirit. They are concerned with showing the various proofs of the resurrection and its relation to the theme of their individual book. The differences themselves prove that there was no collaboration to put forth a false account. Morris elaborates that “The differences between the Gospels amount to no more than a demonstration that here we have the spontaneous evidence of witnesses, not the stereotyped repetition of an official story.”

On that first Easter morning there were several women who came to the tomb with spices, although John only records one, Mary Magdalene. With her were the other Mary (the mother of James), Salome, and Joanna (Matt 28:1, Mark 16:1, Luke 24:10). These women had followed Jesus and cared for His needs during His ministry (Luke 8:1-3) and they probably followed Him even closer as His time on earth had been coming to an end, much as Elisha would not abandon Elijah (2 Kings 2:1-6). Their continual attention to His needs, even after His death, was proof of their love for Him.

Matthew 28:1  After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

Mark 16:1  When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.

Luke 24:10  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.

Luke 8:1-3  After this, Jesus travelled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,  and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;  Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

2 Kings 2:1-6  When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.  The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “but do not speak of it.”  Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” And he replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.  The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied, “but do not speak of it.”  Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” And he replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on.

Some theologians quibble about how God raised Jesus from the dead, and we do not know. But the important point here is not how God did it but that He did it. The procedure used is trivial in comparison with the impact of what it accomplished. For example, Alan Richardson observes that “The bodily resurrection of the Lord is theologically very important in shewing that the whole of creation is to be redeemed, the physical no less than the spiritual.”

Mary Magdalene came very early in the morning after the Sabbath to the tomb of Jesus. John mentions that she came while it was still dark and Mark states that the sun had risen on the way to the tomb (Mark 16:2), so we know that she started out in the dark so as to arrive shortly after dawn. It is not clear why John only mentions Mary, but it may be because he knew that she was the first to see Jesus (John 20:14, Mark 16:9) and he was not concerned with the other women who did not see Him at the same time as Mary. The others also saw Him (Matt 28:8-9) but after Mary who had apparently become separated from them.

Mark 16:2  Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb

John 20:14  At this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus.

Mark 16:9  When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

Matthew 28:8-9  So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.  Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped him.

Note that Mary set out so early that it was still dark. She came as soon as she could. Even though she was in the company of the other women, it was dark and the city was filled with the strangers from all over the world who had come to celebrate Passover and it must have been very frightful to embark on a journey to a gravesite, and yet Mary overcame her fears and went anyway. What does this say to us of her devotion to Christ and her love for Him? Does this have any personal application for you?

She found the stone had been taken away. The Greek verb used here is airo, from which we get airplane and aeronautics. It means “to lift up” or to “take up” and is not the word we would have expected here, which would have been “rolled” away. This seems to imply that the stone was actually lifted out of the groove in which it had rested, which would have taken a great deal of force. The women had been worried about the stone since they knew they could not move it themselves (Mark 16:3) but they had come anyway. Faith and love are not swayed by physical circumstances; they trust and push forward to accomplish that which they must.

Mark 16:3  and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

In fact, the circumstances of removing the stone were worse than the women knew. A guard had been posted and a seal placed on the stone (Matt 27:62-66) for fear that the disciples would steal the body. In their attempts to discredit the teachings of Jesus, the chief priests had inadvertently produced even more proof of His resurrection.

Matthew 27:62-66  The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.  “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’  So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”  “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.”  So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.