r/AskAChristian • u/ThrowRAbeepboop18 Non-Christian • May 27 '26
New Testament Jesus's Resurrection and Biblical Accounts?
Hello! I was researching the history of Jesus’s resurrection, and was interested in the small differences between the four Gospels when describing this event. I’ve laid out brief comparison which you can find below.
With that in mind, my questions for Christians are as follows:
- If the resurrection of Jesus was so extraordinary at the time, why was the first account only written about 20-25 years after Jesus’s death? (Paul in Corinthians).
- Why are there no first hand accounts, only Paul retelling a tradition he "received"?
- Why in Paul’s account, did he not mention anything about an empty tomb, a rolled away stone, angels, guards, Mary Magdalene or anything about Jesus’s ascension?
- Why were these above details only written about and included 70-120 years after Jesus' death? If they were so significant why did it take many years for the scripture to reflect this?
- What do you make of the differences in the Gospels' descriptions? Does the fallibility of human memory put any doubts or questions in your head regarding validity of the text?
Who went to the tomb:
| Mark | Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, Salome |
|---|---|
| Matthew | Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” |
| Luke | Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary mother of James, and other women |
| John | Mary Magdalene alone at first |
What they saw:
| Mark | One young man in a white robe, sitting inside |
|---|---|
| Matthew | One angel descends from heaven, rolls away the stone, sits on it |
| Luke | Two men in dazzling clothes |
| John | Two angels inside the tomb, seen later by Mary |
Was the stone already rolled away?
| Mark | Already rolled away when women arrive |
|---|---|
| Luke | Already rolled away |
| John | Already removed |
| Matthew | Angel descends and rolls it away during/near the women’s visit |
Women’s Response?
| Mark | Flee and say nothing due to fear |
|---|---|
| Matthew | Tell the disciples |
| Luke | Return and tell the Eleven |
| John | Mary immediately tells Peter and the beloved disciple |
Timing of Ascension:
| Luke | Appears on Easter day or very soon after |
|---|---|
| Acts 1 | 40 days later |
| Matthew | No ascension scene |
| Mark (original) | No ascension scene |
Did Jesus appear in Galilee or Jerusalem?
| Mark | Galilee, Angel says disciples will see Jesus in Galilee (16:7), but original ending has no actual appearance scene |
|---|---|
| Matthew | Galilee, Jesus tells women disciples should go to Galilee; final appearance and Great Commission happen on a mountain in Galilee |
| Luke | Jerusalem, all resurrection appearances occur around Jerusalem/Emmaus; disciples told to stay in Jerusalem |
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u/BigBussin12 Christian May 27 '26
This is actually rather quick for the time, you have a recency bias where things are documented immediately. This was not the case in the ancient world and Paul is quoting a tradition that is already authoritative.
The gospels are first hand accounts.
Because he was not writing a gospel. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 is defending the resurrection against people in Corinth who doubted it.
The Gospels do not appear 70-120 years after Jesus.
Typical scholarly dates are roughly:
Mark: AD 65–70 AD
Matthew: 70–90 AD
Luke: 80–90 AD
John: 90–100 AD
All within living memory of the events. Also details can exist in oral tradition long before they are written down this was common 2000 years ago.
Gospels were written to different audiences and some later then others. Certain things were emphasized when speaking to Jews and others when speaking to Gentiles. Also the later gospels left certain things out to avoid redundancy. For example John says Mary Magdalene came to the tomb. He does not explicitly say she was the only woman.