- An angel comes & rolls back the stone from the tomb (Mt. 28:2). The guards are frozen with fear (Mt. 28:4).
- Mary Magdalene and another Mary (Mt. 28:1) come before dawn while it is still dark (Jn. 20:1) and find the stone rolled away.
- Other women (including Joanna and Salome) come at or after sunrise (Mk. 16:2; Lk. 24:1).
- Angels (young men) appear to the women (Mk. 16:5; Lk. 24:4).
- Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James leave to tell the apostles (Mt. 28:8; Mk. 16:8; Lk. 24:9-10; Jn. 20:2). Some women report the vision of angels to the disciples (Lk. 24:24).Some say nothing out of fear (Mk. 16:8).
- Peter and John start for the tomb; Mary and other women follow.
- Peter and John arrive at the tomb and find it empty (Lk. 24:12; Jn. 20:3-9).
- Peter and John go home (Jn. 20:10) and report findings (Lk. 24:24).
- Mary Magdalene stays and sees Jesus (Jn. 20:11-17; Mk. 16:9). Jesus also appears to other women (Mt. 28:9-10).
- Cleopas and his companion leave (Lk. 24:13-14).
- Women, including Mary Magdalene, go to tell the disciples about the risen Lord, but the disciples do not believe them (Mt. 28:11; Mk. 16:10-11; Lk. 24:11; Jn. 20:18).
- Some of the guards go to the chief priests and tell them what happened. The Jewish council pays them money to say that the disciples stole the body while they were asleep (Mt. 28:11-15).
The order of thirteen and fourteen is uncertain.
- Jesus appears to Peter, who reports it to the disciples (Lk. 24:34).
- Jesus appears to Cleopas and companion (Lk. 24:15-32; Mk. 16:12)
- They return to Jerusalem to report it to the disciples (Lk. 24:33) but are not believed (Mk. 16:13).
- Jesus appears to the disciples in a locked room that evening (Mk. 16:14-18; Lk. 24:36-43; Jn. 20:19-23).
EVIDENCE FOR THE RESURRECTION
How to Explain:
The Empty Tomb: What happened to the missing body?
Jesus Rose from the dead
His disciples stole His body
How did they get past the guards?
Why would they do it? They were afraid!
The Romans took it
Why? They were guarding it to prevent this from happening!
All they had to do was produce the body!
The chief priests took it
Why? same comments as above
Grave Robbers took it
They don’t take bodies!
There was no jewelry on the body.
How did they get past the guards?
The Resurrection Appearances:
Jesus Rose from the dead
Mass Hallucination
Different people saw Him at different times.
Once 500 people saw Him at the same time.
Fabrication by apostles and others
Why? They were afraid.
They later died for their story; no one recanted!
The Rise of the Church:
The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus:
Bruce Terry
