Angelic Encounters at the Tomb – a Gospel Conflict?
Descriptions in the Gospels of angelic encounters at the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth seem to vary posing a potential conflict. One Gospel describes two angels and two Gospels describe one angel at the empty tomb.
Statements of those witnessing the same event are expected to vary and, as long as they are consistent on key information, it is a hallmark of truthful authenticity and credibility. If two statements vary too much or are very nearly or exactly the same, it is a strong indication of deception.
Witness statements must be evaluated based on their own merit using longstanding investigative principals to decipher credible and truthful statements from deceptive ones. Using of a form of literary analysis and comparing other statements is part of the investigative process.
Investigations must factor in any hard evidence, such as the empty tomb and abandoned burial cloths, and key facts, information, perspective, sequence of events, etc. To determine what happened, the scene must be recreated.
All three Gospels’ descriptions vary, yet they are all tightly consistent on the main details – there was an angelic presence; the tomb was empty; the body of Jesus was gone; and the angelic pronouncement that Jesus is alive, just as he had predicted.
Setting the scene, earlier that afternoon Jesus of Nazareth had been executed by crucifixion requiring a hasty burial before Jewish Sabbath Law restricted various activities. By Jewish day-reckoning, the Sabbath began at sunset that evening.
When Sabbath restrictions were no longer a concern, the chronicles of the Resurrection of Jesus begins. The three synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke – join the story line at different points.
Mark’s account establishes the earliest timeline identifying Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome purchasing burial spices as soon as the Sabbath ended.[1] The women worried about how they would move the stone from the entrance clearly indicating they were not aware the tomb was sealed and guarded.
Matthew’s account begins at the tomb as sunrise approached Sunday morning. The joint-contingent of armed koustodia, established by the command of Pilate at the behest of the Jewish council, were on-duty guarding the sealed tomb to prevent the theft of the body. Arriving at the tomb were the two Marys, Salome, Joanna and other unnamed women where they encountered the koustodia.[2]
Suddenly a great earthquake struck when the women witnessed an angel rolling away the stone from the entrance to the tomb. Matthew described the angel:
MT 28:2-3 “And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.” (NKJV)
At this point Mark and Luke join the story line at the tomb with each describing, differently though consistently, the physical attire of the angels:
MK 16:5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side…” (NKJV)
LK 24:4 “… behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.” (NKJV)
Luke, written after Matthew and Mark, unambiguously says there were two angels. Consistently, Luke quotes Cleopas’ witness account that he unwittingly gave to the resurrected Jesus. Cleopas said, “they [women] came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.” The statement is plural – more than one person witnessed the empty tomb and there was more than one angel later corroborated by John’s account.[3]
Matthew and Mark only refer to one angel with unnecessary and unexpected information, yet personifying and specific detail that adds authentic realism. Such descriptive details are typically absent from a deceptive statement.
After an angel rolled away the large stone, Matthew reports he did a curious and unusual thing – he sat on it. Not standing or hovering in the air like the stereotypical image of an angel. In dazzling array there he sat, perhaps with his legs draped over the side of the stone.
Mark describes an angel inside the tomb specifically on the right side also sitting, not standing – details typically absent from a deceptive statement. Logically, this angel cannot be the same one sitting outside on the rolled-away stone.
Body language of the angles indicates they were waiting, relaxed and inviting in demeanor. According to Matthew, the angel who was sitting on the stone at the tomb’s entrance spoke to the women inviting them to go inside:
MT 28:5-6 “”Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.”(NASB)
At the angel’s invitation, at least some of the women entered the tomb. While inside, Mark describes another angel who spoke to the women, his message similar to Matthew:
MK 16:5-6 “Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.’””(NASB)
Pointed out to the very same witnesses – the two Marys, Salome and perhaps other unnamed women – was the same spot where the dead body of Jesus had lain as they watched Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus preparing it for burial.[4] Had the angel’s statement been untrue about the crucified body of Jesus, the women would be expected to refute it… they didn’t.
Corroborating information is provided by the eyewitness Gospel of John’s account. His personal knowledge begins where he and Peter were mourning when terrified women burst into the room and Mary Magdalene excitedly announced the empty tomb.[5] They raced to see it for themselves followed by Mary Magdalene.[6]
Marveling at finding the tomb empty with only the burial cloths used to wrap the body, John and Peter decided to go home leaving Mary behind. Standing outside the tomb crying, Mary stooped and looked back inside where she saw two angels who spoke to her:
JN 20:12-13 “And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”(NKJV)
John’s source, Mary Magdalene, consistently described two angels dressed in white sitting on each end of the stone slab.[7] Mary Magdalene’s reaction, or lack of one, to the supernatural beings indicates familiarity with them.
Mary had a previous engagement with angels earlier that morning when all the terrified women did not speak to the angels and ran. This time she is not alarmed and she spoke with the angels.
One other detail, one not called out by the Gospels, is a Jewish legal fact that, if not in met, could diminish the credibility of the Resurrection event. God’s Law required two witnesses to corroborate the same point of evidence to establish a fact. Two angels as witnesses to the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth met that requirement.[8]
Are the Gospels accounts in conflict in their accounts of angels who witnessed the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth?
Updated February 18, 2024.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
REFERENCES:
[1] Mark 16.
[2] Luke 24.
[3] Luke 24:34. NRSV. Kirby, Peter. “Gospel of Luke.” EarlyChristianWritings.com. 2019. <http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/luke.html> “The Book of Luke.” . Quartz Hill School of Theology. n.d. <http://www.theology.edu/biblesurvey/luke.htm> Tzaferis, Vassilios. Bible Archaeology Society. “Crucifixion – the Archaelogical Evidence.” n.d. <https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/crucifixion/a-tomb-in-jerusalem-reveals-the-history-of-crucifixion-and-roman-crucifixion-methods>
[4] Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23. Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.1883. Book 5, Chapter XV. pp 1419-1420. <http://www.ntslibrary.com/PDF%20Books/The%20Life%20and%20Times%20of%20Jesus%20the%20Messiah.pdf> “Centuries later, archaeologists opened the tomb of Jesus.” News24hours. photo. 2016. <https://news24hours.in/2016/10/31/centuries-later-archaeologists-opened-the-tomb-of-jesus-christ>
[5] John 20.
[6] Luke 24; John 20.
[7] Shanks, Hershel. “Crucifixion Bone Fragment, 21 CE” The Center for Online Judaic Studies. 2004. <http://cojs.org/crucifixion_bone_fragment-_21_ce> Romey, Kristin. “Unsealing of Christ’s Reputed Tomb Turns Up New Revelations.” National Geographic. 2016. <https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/jesus-christ-tomb-burial-church-holy-sepulchre>
[8] Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:15; Numbers 35:30. Soncino Babylonian Talmud.Sanhedrin. 9a; 30a; 56a, footnote #1. <https://israelect.com/Come-and-Hear/sanhedrin/index.html> Resnicoff, Steven H. “Criminal Confessions in Jewish Law .“ Project Genesis. 2007. <https://web.archive.org/web/20160122222638/http://www.torah.org/features/secondlook/criminal.html>