Before we conclude our discussion with Jesus’ resurrection, there is one last aspect that need to be addressed.
There are four gospels in the New Testament. Each one of the gospels describes what happened when Jesus was arrested, crucified, and resurrected. However, each description is not exactly the same as the others.
As an example, in the gospel of Matthew, Mary Magdalene and other women go to Jesus’ tomb on the first day of the week after Jesus’ crucifixion. In the gospel of John, only Mary Magdalene was mentioned. Another example is that in Matthew, Jesus appears to the women before they tell the disciples. However, the gospel of John says Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene after she reports to the disciples. Also, the gospel of Matthew and the gospel of Mark say one angel in Jesus’ tomb appears, while the gospel of Luke and the gospel of John say there are two angels.
Does that imply that the resurrection account is fake? What happened historically cannot be described differently by different people, can it?
Actually, it can! On the contrary, some minor differences in the description of the resurrection account indicate authenticity! If two witnesses to the same crime are questioned separately by a detective, do we expect them to give exactly the same description of the crime? Not at all! In fact, if their account perfectly matches, the detective may reasonably suspect that the two witnesses made up a story together.
All four gospels agree on the major storylines of the resurrection. They consistently give the following description of the resurrection:
Jesus was dead and buried in a tomb near Jerusalem. Early on the day after Sabbath, some women followers of Jesus, including Mary Magdalene, went to the tomb. They found it mysteriously empty. They met an angel or angels. They were told or discovered that Jesus had been raised from the dead. Jesus subsequently appeared a number of times to some women followers and some disciples.
The gospels accounts of the death and resurrection of Jesus carry a lot of minute details that indicate authenticity. They do not look like make-up stories.
All gospels agree that the first person or persons who witnessed Jesus’ resurrection are women. To our modern readers, that does not sound unusual. However, we need to understand that women and children’s witness at Jesus’ times carry almost no weight. A make-up story would not let women’s witness to be as important as what the gospels describe, unless that is actually what happened.
All gospels agree that the disciples were too scared to stand up against the authorities when Jesus was arrested and crucified. After Jesus’ death, they hid behind locked doors. Some wanted to go back to their old career of fishing. When they were told that Jesus resurrected, some of them plainly rejected that as impossible. There is absolutely no courage and faith! That can hardly be part of a make-up story as no one like to be portrayed as cowardly and faithless, unless that is the truth.
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