Empty Tomb Puzzle

[Neo-Scholastic]

So essentially what you're saying is that Mark and Matthew complement each other? As in, what Mark didn't say about the boulder and guards Matthew said?

Correct. Each of the gospel accounts describes what each believed was essential to convey the same message. Each based their message on the same set of circumstances filtered through the lens of each writers understanding. I can accept the ideas that 1) the gospels were not actually written by apostles after which they are named and 2) they were written many years after the fact.

I don’t image each woman speaking in turn before a quiet audience of disciples. Most likely, the events of the resurrection day were frantic and confused. Mary Magdalene could have excitedly spoken directly only to Peter and John. The other women simultaneously told their frantic accounts to anyone that would listen. I sure there were lots of questions, back and forth, etc. The disciples may have compared notes. They might not have. Either way they didn’t feel compelled to write it all down for posterity at that exact moment. As the original disciples approached the end of their days, some of the followers decided it was a good idea to write down the disciple’s stories. At that point the selective memory of the disciples took over and each skipped various details. But no one included something wildly different from any of the others. Of course, this is all speculation on my part but I find such a scenario plausible.

So what's it going to be? Angel or young man? Matthew's writing style just doesn't make him reliable.

In most biblical accounts angels appear as humans.You consider Matthew’s writing style unreliable because he writes about a miraculous event and feels comfortable calling an angel that appeared as a youth, an angel. Mark writes a more restrained account and describes only the way the angel appeared. I don’t see that as a clear and obvious contradiction, but then again I am inclined in that direction.

I acknowledge that scholars can and do vigorously debate all this. If you require every particular to match exactly, then you will find the gospel accounts inadequate. As for myself, I am satisfied that the accounts are sufficiently consistent.