Easter Sunday: Jesus’ Resurrection in the Gospels

The four Gospels end with an explosion of life. The angel announces, “He has risen!” Mary Magdalene says, “I have seen the Lord.” And the disciples declare, “We have seen the Lord!” Life bursts forth from the tomb. After Good Friday and Holy Saturday comes Easter Sunday.

According to Luke, after Jesus died, he appeared for 40 days and “gave many convincing proofs that he was alive” (Acts 1:3). But Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John do not place Jesus’ appearances in chronological order so many have attempted to harmonize these accounts.

Below is my attempt to place the events in chronological order. Since John’s account is the most unique, I decided to leave it as is then offer ideas for harmonizing it with the others afterwards. Also, I have excluded Mark 16:9-20 since it is not found in the earliest manuscripts, and therefore, unlikely to be original to Mark’s Gospel.

The Resurrection in Matthew, Mark, and Luke

1. On Saturday evening (after the Sabbath had ended), Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices to anoint Jesus’ body (Mk. 16:1).
2. “Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise” (Mk. 16:2) or “at dawn” (Matt. 28:1) the women set out for Jesus’ tomb. On their way they asked, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb” (Mk. 16:2-3). They had watched as Joseph “rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb” (Matt. 27:60). This corresponds with Luke’s account: “Just after sunrise” on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and others took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb (Lk. 24:1-10).
3. When they arrived “they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away” (Mk. 16:4). According to Matthew, an angel had rolled back the stone, probably before they arrived (28:2).
4. They entered the tomb, but didn’t “find the body of the Lord Jesus” (Lk. 24:3).
5. Inside the tomb, they “saw a young man dressed in a white robe,” who said “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here” (Mk. 16:5-7). In Luke’s account, while the women were wondering about Jesus’ missing body, “suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!’” (24:4-8). In Matthew’s version, “the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said” (28:5-7). Note: First, while Mark and Luke call the messenger “a young man” or “two men,” Matthew calls him an angel. Second, Luke and Matthew do not explicitly say that the women were in the tomb when they had this encounter, but I am assuming that to be the case. Third, the primary message in all three accounts is the same: “He is not here; he has risen!”
6. The women fled from the tomb, saying “nothing to anyone because they were afraid” (Mk. 16:8). Matthew writes, “the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples” (28:8).
7. “Suddenly Jesus met them. ‘Greetings,’ he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me’” (Matt. 28:8-10).
8. The women returned from the tomb and “told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others” (Lk. 24:9).
9. The men did not believe the women, “because their words seemed to them like nonsense” (Lk. 24:11).
10. But Peter ran to the tomb and “saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened” (Lk. 24:12).
11. The same day “two of them” were walking to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. During their journey “Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him” (Lk. 24:15-16). As they walked the two talked about their disappointment with Jesus’ death: “we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel” (v. 21). When they arrived in Emmaus, the three sat down for a meal. Jesus broke bread and gave it to them. “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him” but “he disappeared from their sight” (v. 31).
12. Immediately the two men returned to Jerusalem. When they arrived the Eleven and others told them, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told about their encounter with Jesus (vv. 33-35). We don’t know what happened between the Lord and Simon, but Paul also refers to it: “he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve” (1 Cor. 15:4-5). (Simon was also called Peter or Cephas.) The idea of a private encounter between Jesus and Peter is fascinating because Peter had recently denied knowing him three times.
13. While the disciples and the two from Emmaus were talking about this, “Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were frightened, thinking he was a ghost, but he said, “Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” Then he showed them his hands and feet, asked for something to eat, and ate a piece of broiled fish (Lk. 24:36-43).

The Resurrection in John

1. “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb” (20:1). It appears that Mary didn’t go by herself because she uses the plural pronoun “we” in verse 2.
2. When they arrived they saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance (20:1).
3. Mary Magdalene ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple and told them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” (20:2).
4. Simon Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb (20:3-4).
5. They entered the tomb and saw the strips of linen lying there (20:5-10).
6. Mary Magdalene had also returned to the tomb and she stood outside crying (20:11).
7. When she looked into the tomb she saw two angels in white seated where Jesus’ body had been (20:12).
8. They talked with her and then “she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus” (20:14). She thought he was the gardener.
9. She asked where he had put Jesus’ body then Jesus said, “Mary.” She cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni” (which means “Teacher”) (20:16).
10. Mary Magdalene went to the disciples and said, “I have seen the Lord!” (20:18).
11. That evening Jesus appeared to the disciples while they were in a home behind locked doors. He said, “Peace be with you!” and then showed them his hands and side (20:19-23).
12. Thomas wasn’t there so when he heard about Jesus’ appearance he said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (20:24-25).
13. A week later, the disciples were again in a home with locked doors when Jesus appeared. He said “Peace be with you” then he spoke to Thomas (20:26-29).
14. The disciples returned to Galilee (northern part of Israel).
15. Seven disciples went out fishing on the Sea of Galilee, but they caught nothing.
16. “Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus” (21:4).
17. After he told them to throw their net on the right side of the boat they caught a large number of fish and then they realized that it was the Lord.
18. They brought the fish to shore and Jesus invited them to have breakfast.
19. He served them bread and fish.
20. Jesus spoke directly to Simon Peter, asking him three times, “Do you love me?” and telling him to take care of his sheep (21:15-23).

Harmonizing All Four

The accounts contain different details, but many do not pose a significant challenge to harmonization. For example, the identity and number of messengers at the tomb varies:

• “a young man” (Mark)
• “two men” (Luke)
• “an angel” (Matthew)
• “two angels” (John)

Angels often appear as men in the Bible so I don’t see a major issue between calling the messenger an angel or a man. They also do not contradict each other on the number of messengers because none assert “only one” appeared. Perhaps the biggest challenge is correlating Mary Magdalene’s movements early Sunday morning. Here’s what we know.

• She carried spices to the tomb with other women.
• When they arrived, they saw that the stone was rolled away then entered the tomb but didn’t find Jesus’ body.

And here’s what we know mixed with speculation. Let me emphasize the speculation part: no one knows for certain.

• After discovering that Jesus’ body was missing, Mary Magdalene immediately began running to tell Peter and the other disciple. It’s implied that she took off running before seeing angels because her message to the men is that someone took Jesus’ body. She didn’t mention any special messengers.
• The other women remained at the tomb.
• The women who remained saw the angels or young men then left.
• After Peter and the other disciple entered the tomb, they departed. Then Mary Magdalene arrived and stood outside the tomb weeping.
• Mary looked into the tomb and saw two angels then turned around and saw Jesus, but thought he was the gardener.

Striking Features

Let’s conclude by noting the striking features in these resurrection accounts.

• Women were the first to hear the announcement, “He has risen!” And women were the first to see the risen Lord. At this time, the testimony of women was not accepted in courts of law so if someone made up these stories it’s unlikely that they would have given women such a prominent role.
• According to Luke, the disciples did not initially believe. They were not expecting Jesus to rise from the dead. Understandably, they assumed Jesus would remain dead.
• Jesus’ body was not in the tomb. The women and men who went to the tomb did not see his body. Strips of linen were found, but his body was gone (Jn. 20:5-7).
• Peter is highlighted. The young man told the women, “But go, tell his disciples and Peter” (Mk. 16:7); Mary Magdalene “came running to Simon Peter” (Jn. 20:2) and Peter ran to the tomb (Lk. 24:12; Jn. 20:3-10); the disciples told the two from Emmaus, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon” (Lk. 24:34). Peter decided to go fishing and the others followed (Jn. 20:3), then he jumped into the water and swam to Jesus (Jn. 20:7). Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” then told him, “Follow me!” (Jn. 21:15-19).
• Galilee is highlighted. Jesus began his ministry in Galilee and that’s where he told his disciples they would see him after his resurrection. Jesus told the women, “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me . . . Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go” and saw him (Matt. 28:10-17). The young man told the women, “He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you” (Mk. 16:7). And Jesus’ final appearance in John occurs by the Sea of Galilee (Jn. 21). Galilee was a hotspot for resurrection appearances.
• Jesus looked like a regular guy. On three occasions, the people who saw Jesus didn’t realize that it was him. For instance, Mary thought he was the gardener. Wouldn’t you expect him to be radiating light or have some other special appearance?
• Jesus talked like a regular guy. He said, “Greetings” (Matt. 28:9) or “Good morning!” (HCSB), “What are you talking about as you walk along?” (Lk. 24:17 CEB), “Do you have anything here to eat?” (Lk. 24:41), “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” (Jn. 21:5), and “Come and have breakfast” (Jn. 21:12). Wouldn’t you expect someone who rises from the dead not to be so down-to-earth? In addition, Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” four times, which was a typical Jewish greeting (shalom) (Lk. 24:36; Jn. 20:19, 21, 26).
• Jesus’ resurrection body was a body like ours: He said, “Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have” then he ate a piece of broiled fish (Lk. 24:39-43). Also, “he showed them his hands and feet” (Lk. 24:40), “he showed them his hands and side” (Jn. 20:20), and he told Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side” (Jn. 20:27).
• Jesus resurrection body was not a body like ours: he appeared in a room with locked doors, and disappeared suddenly.

Finally, Jesus’ resurrection is so vital to the Christian faith that if it didn’t occur, Christianity is a waste of time. In the words of Paul, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile” (1 Cor. 15:17).

*Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture verses are quoted from the NIV (2011).

Les Bridgeman

After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. For a deep dive into church history and the character of God, see my book Surprised by Hell.