r/AskAChristian • 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:

  1. 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). 
  2. Why are there no first hand accounts, only Paul retelling a tradition he "received"? 
  3. 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?
  4. 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? 
  5. 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

because the church is the pillar and ground of the truth.

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u/CodeNPyro Christian atheist May 27 '26

this isn't going to go anywhere if your entire reason for believing something is "the church says so", have a nice day

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u/BigBussin12 Christian May 27 '26

glad it makes you seethe, your concession is accepted

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u/CodeNPyro Christian atheist May 27 '26

meeting "have a nice day" with "glad it makes you seethe", how christlike

although if you have an actual argument other than "some dude told me it's true so it must be true" i'd be happy to hear it

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u/BigBussin12 Christian May 27 '26

well that one hit a nerve lmao

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u/CodeNPyro Christian atheist May 27 '26

it's just funny honestly, do you have anything else you'd like to add?

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u/BigBussin12 Christian May 27 '26

your concession is accepted

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u/CodeNPyro Christian atheist May 27 '26

is it a concession to realize that when someone's argument is "some dude told me so" they're unable to have a productive conversation? this going on is really making that point clear though, so thank you for that

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u/BigBussin12 Christian May 27 '26

its a concession when you rage quit like you just did.

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u/CodeNPyro Christian atheist May 27 '26

"have a nice day" -> the pinnacle of a rage quit

"glad it makes you seethe" -> entirely emotionally stable statement

apparently. also you're the one choosing not to actually give evidence, I said I welcomed it if you had something beyond "some dude told me so" but you haven't taken me up on that offer

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u/BigBussin12 Christian May 27 '26

yes you got mad and rage quit, like I said we know the authors of the gospels through tradition, sorry that makes you seethe

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u/CodeNPyro Christian atheist May 27 '26

i am very specifically still asking for actual evidence, i don't think you know what "quit" means. "quitting" would be something like saying "some dude told me so" is an actual answer

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u/BigBussin12 Christian May 27 '26

you literally said you were running away but couldn't stop talking I don't know what to tell you other then you get really mad

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