The empty tomb is the hinge of the entire Christian claim. All four Gospels record that the tomb was found empty on the first day of the week. Each one tells the story differently. This page lays them side by side.
Where All Four Agree
The Common Tradition
These are the facts on which all four Gospels agree. They are also the facts on which the earliest Jewish counter-claim is built — the claim that the disciples stole the body, recorded in Matthew 28:11–15, presumes that the tomb was in fact empty.
The Four Accounts
Mark — The Abrupt Ending
“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. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 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. 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. 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. 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.”
Mark is the earliest Gospel. His account ends abruptly, with the women fleeing and saying nothing. The longer ending (16:9–20) was added later and is not in the earliest manuscripts.
Matthew — The Guards and the Angel
“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. 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. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 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. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.”
Matthew adds the guards, the earthquake, and the meeting with the risen Jesus on the way back. He also records that the priests bribed the guards to say the disciples stole the body (28:11–15).
Luke — The Two Men in Shining Garments
“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. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 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? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. 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. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was done.”
Luke names additional women (Joanna), has two angels instead of one, and records that the male disciples did not believe the women’s report. He also gives Peter’s visit to the tomb in detail.
John — Mary Magdalene Alone
“The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. … But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. … Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.”
John gives the most detailed account. He records Mary Magdalene going alone to the tomb, then running to tell Peter and the beloved disciple, then returning. He describes the linen cloths and the head cloth in detail, and gives the encounter between Mary and the risen Jesus in the garden.
What the Differences Show
The Variations
The variations are exactly what independent testimony looks like. If the four Gospels had been collated from a single source, they would not differ on whether one angel or two were present, or on whether three women or two went to the tomb. The differences show that the four evangelists were preserving independent traditions.
The Detail No One Would Invent
In first-century Jewish and Roman courts, women’s testimony was not accepted as legal evidence. If the Gospel writers had been inventing a story that would convince their contemporaries, they would not have placed women at the tomb first. They would have placed Peter or John there.
The fact that all four Gospels agree that women were the first witnesses — and that Mark and Luke both record that the male disciples did not believe them — is the strongest possible evidence that they were telling the truth.
What the Pattern Means
All four Gospels place women at the empty tomb. All four describe an empty tomb, an angelic announcement, and the women running to tell the disciples. All four differ on the details.
This is not what fabricated accounts look like. It is what real testimony looks like. And it is the pattern the historian expects to find when the underlying events are real.
