Mat 28:1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
Mat 28:2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
Mat 28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
Mat 28:4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
Mat 28:5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
Mat 28:6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Mat 28:7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
Mat 28:8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
** The angel of the Lord rolled back the stone and sat upon it and urged the women (Mary Magdalene and the other Mary) to go inside and see that there was no body in the tomb.
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Luk 23:54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
Luk 23:55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
Luk 23:56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
Luk 24:1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
Luk 24:2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
Luk 24:3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
Luk 24:4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
Luk 24:5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
Luk 24:6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
Luk 24:7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
Luk 24:8 And they remembered his words,
Luk 24:9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.
Luk 24:10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.
** The women (which came with him from Galilee) along with others found the stone already removed from the tomb. They entered and didn't find the body. As they were standing perplexed, 2 men in shining garments stood by them.
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Mar 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
Mar 16:2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
Mar 16:3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
Mar 16:4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
Mar 16:5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
Mar 16:6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
Mar 16:7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
Mar 16:8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
Mar 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
Mar 16:10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
Mar 16:11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
** Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome came to the tomb to only see the stone already removed. They entered into the tomb and saw a young man sitting on the right side clothed in a long white garment.
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The main observation to make is to note that all three accounts have different versions which should not be simply dismissed as contradictions since these are three different observations and should have differences in explanations thereof. It is most likely that each person gave some different details without there being a contradiction. Let me explain.
Matthew only mentions an earthquake. Would that mean that Mark and Luke were wrong in their accounts because they didn't mention it? No! Not at all since varying details doesn't make a contradiction unless those details somehow contradict other information given. So, let's see if this is the case. All three accounts agree that the stone was removed from the tomb and that the women went inside to verify that the body wasn't there. Now here comes the most important parts in this discussion--the differences in what was seen.
Luke presents 2 men while Matthew-0nly one angel and Mark says a man. Are these contradictions? Not necessarily, since the angels could have appeared as men. If there were in fact 2 angels, both could have said different things and presented themselves in different places. What I mean is this: Matthew presented one angel, but notice this angel is said to have sat on a stone outside of the tomb when he spoke. There is no indication that the angel went inside. This could mean that this particular angel was not with the other angel at this point, which could clear the contradiction. The two men in Luke were only said to have been inside the tomb. It is possible at that point that these two men may have stated different things so that in Mark, only one of them was quoted at a different time. Therefore the two could have spoken together and then at least one of the spoke separately to give the two different accounts. This is all reasonable, but I am also inclined to believe that the angel in Matthew was not a man which is supported by the fact that he spoke outside and was responsible for removing the stone and didn't go inside and appear with the two men or was manifested as a man. Notice that the men were only reported as being inside the tomb; so, I contend that there were probably two men and they spoke together and then at least one of them spoke apart from the other, thus the differences in Mark and Luke. Whatever combination of things that could have happened, I just presented plausible explanations for the differences in the three accounts that are very reasonable if understood in context of discussion.
