Rejection of Pascal's Wager: The Empty Tomb

Details	Mark	Matthew	Luke	John
Who discovered the empty tomb?	1. Mary Magdalene 2. The Mother of James 3. Salome	1. Mary Magdalene 2. The Other Mary	1. Mary Magdalene 2. Joanna 3. Mary the Mother of James 4. "other" women	1. Mary Magdalene
What time did the women visit tomb?	After sunrise	"at dawn"	"very early in the morning"	"while it was still dark" (i.e. before sunrise)
What was their purpose?	Brought spices to annoint the body	To look at the tomb	Brought spices (to annoint the body)	No reason given but body already annointed earlier
Was the Tomb Open When They Arrived?	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Who Was at the Tomb When They Arrived?	One young man	One angel	Two men	Two angels
Where were the messengers situated?	Sitting inside on the right in the tomb	On the stone outside the tomb	Two men standing inside	Two angels sitting on each side of the bed
What did the messengers say?	See link	See link	See link	See link
Did the women tell what happened?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Was Peter At the Empty Tomb?	No	No	Yes	Yes with "the beloved disciple"

Contradictions in the Account of the Empty Tomb[1]

In fact, the only statement the gospels have in common is this: the tomb in which Jesus was laid on the night of his death was found empty on Sunday morning. [2] All the other details contradict each other so blatantly that we have no reason whatsoever to believe any of them to be historically true. Guignebert's observations form an apt summary of the situation:

In fact everything leads us to believe that the first evangelist [Mark] who related the discovery of the empty tomb said all he knew or thought he knew, and that the others took their point of departure from his account with no new sources at their disposal. They followed him, not faithfully, nor with the idea of elucidating his account by a commentary which respected its integrity, but with that of arranging -or disarranging-it in order to render it more convincing, of embellishing it or merely of altering it, in order to produce an appearance of independent information, for after all none of the discrepancies have any apparent meaning. [3]

Mark said that there were three women, namely Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome who saw the tomb empty. Matthew however said that only the two Marys were . Luke simply said "the women" he later identified their number as more than three, but the only three names he gave does not coincide with Mark's. According to Luke they were the two Marys and Joanna. John contradicts all these when he mentioned that only one woman witnessed the empty tomb, Mary Magdalene. Thus we have different names and no agreement as to the number of women who witnessed the empty tomb.

What Time Did the Women Visit the Tomb?

There is no agreement among the evangelists as to the exact time the tomb was visited. John obviously stated it was "still dark", i.e. before sunrise. Yet Mark said it was after the sun had risen. Matthew and Luke said "very early" but not whether it was before or after sunrise.

Why Did the Women Visit the Tomb?

This contradiction is probably the most glaring example of how each evangelists twist the story to suit their respective plots. In Mark and in Luke, the women brought spices to anoint Jesus body. Note that this option was not possible for Matthew has had added his little interlude about the soldiers sealing and guarding the tomb, thus he mentioned that the women simply went to look at the tomb. John already had the body anointed two days ago by Joseph of Arimathea and Nocidemus (John 19:40), thus there was no mention of what Mary Magdalene was doing by visiting the tomb.

Was the Tomb Open When They Arrived?

Mark says that the stone at the tomb was already rolled away when the women arrived (Mark 16:4). Luke is in agreement with Mark (Luke 24:2). John, too, said that the stone was already removed when Mary Magdalene arrived (John 20:1). Matthew who, if you remember, had the tomb guarded by sentries narrated the accounts in such a way that would lead an impartial reader to conclude that the women witnessed the stoned being rolled away by an earthquake and an angel from heaven (Matthew 28:1-5).

Who was at the Tomb When They Arrived?

Here the evangelists couldn't agree on what the women saw. Mark said it was one young man dressed in white. Matthew said it was an angel. Luke said there were two young man. John said there were two angels.

Where were the Messengers Situated?

It looks like the evangelists couldn't even agree on where the messenger(s was (were). Mark said the young man was in the tomb sitting on the right side. Matthew made the angel sat on the stone that was rolled away, which is outside the tomb. Luke said the two men were standing in the tomb. John said the two angels were sitting on both ends of the bed.

For a biblical inerranist, the only way to reconcile this is to assume there was one man dressed in white sitting in the tomb, two angels sitting on both ends of the bed, two men standing inside and an angel sitting on the rolled stone outside the tomb. Sounds like the tomb on that Sunday morning was a pretty crowded place!

What did the Messengers Say?

Note that the gospels cannot agree as to what command was given to the women. Mark and Matthew made the angel tell the women to inform Jesus' disciples to meet him in Galilee (Mark 16:7;Matthew 28:10). Luke did not concur with them on this but retained the word Galilee in a different context (Luke 24:6). In John, the two beings did not more than ask Mary Magdelene why she is crying. The actual announcement of the resurrection was made by Jesus himself (highlighted in blue above).

Did the Women Tell What Happened?

The message of the angel was not forwarded, according to Mark, for the women did not tell anyone of their experience (Mark 16:8). In Matthew the opposite is the case, for the women were reported to have told the disciples who duly went to Galilee to meet their risen Lord (Matthew 28:8,16).

The Empty Tomb

Who Discovered the Empty Tomb?