Table That Lays Out Contradictions in the Resurrection Acnts

[Jagella]

Below is a table that lays out some of the resurrection events as reported in the four gospels. The first column describes the event, and the last four columns describe the particular circumstances of that event in each of the four gospels. I have included chapter and verse references in parentheses ().

[mrow]Event[mcol]Matthew[mcol]Mark[mcol]Luke[mcol]John [row]Guards at the Tomb?[col]Yes (28:4)[col]Not Mentioned[col]Not Mentioned[col]Not Mentioned [row]Time Of First Arrival At the Tomb[col]At Dawn (28:1)[col]At Dawn (16:2)[col]At Dawn (24:1)[col]Before Dawn(20:1) [row]Who arrives first at the tomb?[col]Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary� (28:1)[col]Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome (16:1)[col]Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women (24:10)[col]Only Mary Magdalene is named, but others are alluded to. (20:1-3) [row]Is the stone already rolled away at arrival?[col]No (28:2)[col]Yes (16:4)[col]Yes (24:2)[col]Yes (20:1) [row]Who rolls the stone away?[col]An Angel (28:2)[col]Not Mentioned[col]Not Mentioned[col]Not Mentioned [row]Number of Men in the Tomb At First Arrival[col]Not Mentioned[col]One (16:5)[col]Two (24:4)[col]None, but two are later seen by Mary Magdalene. (20:11-12) [row]Where and when does Jesus first appear to Mary Magdalene?[col]On the way to tell the disciples that Jesus was raised. (28:9)[col]Early Sunday morning before she told the disciples. No location mentioned. (16:9)[col]Not Mentioned[col]Outside the empty tomb after Peter was there to inspect it. (20:11,14) [row]Where are the disciples to meet Jesus?[col]Galilee (28:7)[col]Galilee (16:7)[col]Not Mentioned[col]Not Mentioned [row]Which disciples does Jesus meet first?[col]The eleven in Galilee are the first mentioned. (28:16-17)[col]Two Walking in the Country (16:12)[col]Cleopas and Another Disciple Walking to Emmaus (24:13-18)[col]The Disciples in a House in Jerusalem (20:19) [row]Does Jesus ascend to heaven?[col]Not Mentioned[col]Yes (16:19)[col]Yes (24:50)[col]Not Mentioned

As you can see, this table reveals some very serious discrepancies between the four gospel accounts of the resurrection. Can any of you apologists explain how the "inerrant word of God" can contradict itself like this?

[Divine Insight]

I would suggest that the following differences are the most significant. If Matthew's account is true then it most certainly should have been mentioned by the others.

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[mrow]Event[mcol]Matthew[mcol]Mark[mcol]Luke[mcol]John [row]Is the stone already rolled away at arrival?[col]No (28:2)[col]Yes (16:4)[col]Yes (24:2)[col]Yes (20:1) [row]Who rolls the stone away?[col]An Angel (28:2)[col]Not Mentioned[col]Not Mentioned[col]Not Mentioned

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Not only this, but it is well-known that Matthew was recounting Mark's original tale, therefore this suggests that Matthew was adding superfluous additions. This fits in with Matthew's writings because there are several other "whoppers" told by Matthew that appear nowhere else by any other authors including Mark.

~~~~~~

Just as an added comment, these specifics that you have pointed out are the least of my concerns with this tale. The Gospel of John has Thomas doubting that this is truly Jesus after the resurrection, and Jesus asks Thomas to poke his fingers in his wounds thus proving that it's truly him.

First off this account only occurs in John and no one else mentions it.

Secondly, why would a God resurrect his Son from a grave and not simultaneously heal his body restoring it to pristine condition?

For me, there are things that don't add up no matter how many people might have repeated a particular rumor.

These are the types of 'contradictions' that cause me to doubt these tales. Not so much contradictions between the rumors (which occur often enough), but contradictions that occur with respect to what a supposedly omnipotent God would actually do if one had genuinely been involved in this drama.

In other words, even consistent rumors can still be "contradictory" relative to what they are claiming to be about. These are the types of things that raise red flags for me.

[Inigo Montoya]

Plot holes exist in even the finest fictions. If you're a fan of the genre, they're easily forgiven, more so when you consider who the stories were written for, and with no regard to heavy scrutiny thousands of years later. 10/10, would read again.

[dio9]

[Replying to post 1 by Jagella]

The listings are a great work. Honestly this kind of stuff , discrepancies keeps me interested. Anyone who studies the bible seriously would know this stuff. It is a great question for discussion. I suspect a lot of believers aren't aware of these differences. Bottom line for me is Jesus taught God forgives our sins. And that is the point of Christianity. The hows and whys are incidentals .

[Jagella]

[Replying to post 2 by Divine Insight]

Not only this, but it is well-known that Matthew was recounting Mark's original tale, therefore this suggests that Matthew was adding superfluous additions. This fits in with Matthew's writings because there are several other "whoppers" told by Matthew that appear nowhere else by any other authors including Mark.

Matthew was determined to present a Jesus as the promised Messiah. He said what he needed to to make Jesus' life out to be a "fulfillment of prophecy." I have to laugh at apologists when they take these so-called prophecies as evidence for Jesus.

[Jagella]

[Replying to post 4 by dio9]

The listings are a great work. Honestly this kind of stuff , discrepancies keeps me interested. Anyone who studies the bible seriously would know this stuff. It is a great question for discussion.

Thanks. If this table doesn't demonstrate Biblical contradictions, then nothing will.

I suspect a lot of believers aren't aware of these differences.

I meet with a Jehovah's Witness. I asked him to do these comparisons, and he probably never bothered. I will show him my table the next time we meet.

Bottom line for me is Jesus taught God forgives our sins. And that is the point of Christianity. The hows and whys are incidentals .

If we wish to look at your faith that way, then it may preserve your faith. sometimes the truth is just too harsh to face up to.

[polonius]

Matthew, Mark, and Luke have Jesus crucified on the Passover and instituting the Eucharist at the Passover meal.

John has Jesus crucified a day earlier, the Day of Preparation, and say nothing of the institution of a Eucharist.

(Evidently John wasn't a witness)

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 1 by Jagella]

Click on picture to enlarge




**FORWARD: WHICH CAME FIRST: A Word on Sequencing.

Many critiques are rather liberal with the word "first"; it should be noted that this expression is rarely employed in the description of the resurrection events and even when it is, is not necessarily used in an absolute sense. It is not possible to give a definitive answer as to which events happened FIRST although an appraisal of all four gospels can provide a probable sequence of events. It's reported Jesus appeared on multiple occassions over a period of over a month to many different individuals and none of the accounts explicitly state nothing happened PRIOR (or FOLLOWING) or state the date and time of events, thus questions as to which event came "first" are largely redundant.

click on picture to enlarge



#Who were the women that visited the tomb?

Matthew: Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (28:1)
Mark: Mary Magdalene, the mother of James, and Salome (16:1)
Luke: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women (24:10)
John: Mary Magdalene (20:1)

#ANSWER: All of the above





#Was the tomb open when they arrived?
Matthew: No (28:2) *
Mark: Yes (16:4)
Luke: Yes (24:2)
John: Yes (20:1)

# [Matthew 28:2 says that [quote] "Jehovah's angel had descended form heaven and [...] rolled away the stone" the past perfect use in many English translations depicting an earlier event

Full list & explanations:
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 142#357142

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 8 by JehovahsWitness]

Cont./ ...

See note above on sequencing.

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#Who was at the tomb when they arrived?
Matthew: One angel (28:2-7)
Mark: One young man (16:5)
Luke: Two men (24:4)
John: Two angels (20:12)

#ANSWER: Depends on who "they" are and what time is being referred to - there was a lot of coming and going that morning

# Where were these messengers (angels) situated?

Matthew: Angel sitting on the stone (28:2)
Mark: Young man sitting inside, on the right (16:5)
Luke: Two men standing inside (24:4)
John: Two angels sitting on each end of the bed (20:12)

#ANSWER: Angels are not immobile; where they were depends on what moment of the day it was; and who was witnessing the event

click on the picture to enlarge

COMBINING THE VARIOUS ACCOUNTS: Combining all the information from the various accounts, here is what we can deduce about THE WOMEN

• The women start out just before dawn (Sunday morning) and got there as the sun was rising (they being all the women including Mary Magdeline)
• On the way the wonder how they will roll the stone away inaware that the during the night the stone had been rolled by an angel, terrifying the guards who had fled as the angel sat on the stone watching them run.
• Arriving at the tomb they see the stone has been rolled and Mary, perhaps looking inside and seeing it empty immediately leaves the group running back to tell Peter and John
• An angel then appears to the remaining "the women" (Mary is not specifically mentioned in connection with this appearance; her absence during this event would explain why she reports only the missing body not angelic appearances or the ressurection message). The angel invites them to see inside the tomb empty except for a second angel. The angels tell the women of the ressurection and sends them to inform the disciples.
• On their way to deliver this message, it is these women (EXCLUDING Mary) who meet Jesus himself(28:8 .).
• Meanwhile Mary reports the empty tomb to John and Peter and her conclusion that the body has been stolen. All three head back to inspect. When Mary gets back with Peter and John they inspect the empty tomb and the men leave perplexed. Mary, however stays behind alone weeping.
• Looking again inside the tomb she sees two men (angels) who ask her why she is so distressed. Turning from them she sees a third man who she mistakes for the gardener who is in fact the resurrected Jesus.
• She is sent to add her report to those of the other women

THE MEN

click on picture to enlarge


Jesus is reported as appearing to his disciples over a period of 40 days, in at least 3 towns and dozens of locations to various sized group or to individuals.



For full list of explanations to all the further questions that will be asked on this topic please see my earlier post (LINK HERE - scoll down a little)
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 671#375671





RELATED POSTS

How to identify a true contradiction
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 941#336941




Further reading: The resurrection of Jesus: Did it really happen?
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/maga ... -of-jesus/

[polonius]

Let’s look at the historicity of the four gospel accounts of the Resurrection.

1. Jesus was crucified in 33 AD. The Gospel accounts were written in 70 AD, 80 AD, and about 95 AD.

2. Those writing the accounts were not witnesses.

3. The first account was written by Mark, a Syrian convert. Matthew and Luke copied from Mark’s account.

4. Mark’s original account (the shorter form) doesn’t have an Ascension. This was added (in the longer form) in the second century.

5. The Ascension occurred on Easter Sunday according to Luke’s Gospel or 40 days later according to Acts of the Apostles.

But perhaps the most amazing fact is that for about 25 years after the Resurrection, there is no written account. Then Paul, also a non-witness, claimed that 500 people saw the risen Christ, but none of them, nor the thousands of people who can be expected to hear of this event, left a written record.

And the Evangelists make no mention of such an event.

Matthew is the only writer that claims there were guards at the tomb and to tell us there was a mass resurrection of the dead who visited downtown Jerusalem after Jesus was crucified.

From the common sense point of view is all this credible history?