Introduction
After countless hours of reading
and rereading the Gospel accounts, this is the chronological sequence of events
which took place on that first Easter morning nearly two thousand years ago!
*The following information is
taken from: Matthew 28:1-15; Mark
16:1-14; Luke 24:1-49; John 20:1-29
Recap of Events
Thursday Night
– Jesus was arrested.
Friday Morning
– Jesus was crucified.
Saturday –
Jesus was in the tomb.
Sunday Morning
– Jesus rose from the grave.
Here’s What Happened on Resurrection Sunday
These are the
events which took place early Sunday morning (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1), just after sunrise (Mark 16:2), while it was still dark (John 20:1).
An angel came
down from Heaven, caused a violent earthquake, rolled the stone away from the
tomb, and sat down on top of the rock. His appearance was like lightning and
his clothes were white as snow. The guards that Pilate had appointed to secure
the tomb during the night (Matt.
27:62-66) were terrified when they saw the angel (Matt. 28:2-4) and they ended up running to their employers,
telling them what had occurred, and being paid to keep quiet (Matt. 28:11-15).
Just after the
guards were so terrified that they ran away (and probably questioned their
career choice), some women [Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome (Mark 16:1), Joanna (Luke 24:10), and others] came with spices to anoint the body of
Jesus (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1;
John 20:1).
On the way
there they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance to
the tomb?” (Mark 16:3).
However, when
the women arrived they found that the stone had already been removed and set
aside (Mark 16:4; Luke 24:2; John 20:1).
Upon seeing
this, and that Christ’s body was not in the tomb, Mary Magdalene ran as fast as
she could to get help (John 20:2).
After Mary
Magdalene had left to get help, the other women who had stayed entered the tomb
and saw an angel, appearing like a man, dressed in a white robe sitting on the
right side, and they were afraid (Mark
16:5).
The angel told
them to not fear but to be encouraged because of the good news – that Jesus had
risen! He told them to go and tell the disciples what they had seen and heard,
and that Jesus was going before them into Galilee (Matt. 28:5-7; Mark 16:6-7).
While the women
were still in the tomb listening to the angel, two more angels, who also
resembled men, suddenly appeared standing next to them. In fear, they all bowed
their faces to the ground as the angels continued to proclaim Christ’s
resurrection by reminding them of His words to them (Luke 24:3-8).
Mostly afraid
and very confused, the women ran out of the tomb and said nothing to anyone (Mark 16:8).
When Mary
Magdalene finally found Peter and John she said, “They have taken the Lord out
of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him!” (John 20:2).
Upon hearing Mary
Magdalene’s report, the three of them [Peter, John, and Mary Magdalene] made a
bee-line to the tomb. John was the first to arrive but was hesitant to go inside.
Peter, on the other hand, ran in head first. They found the tomb to be
completely empty. The only thing left in the grave were the cloths that had
been wrapped around Christ’s body (John
20:3-7). After Peter had quickly entered the tomb, John mustered up the
courage to enter in as well. At that moment, John believed, though they still
did not completely understand that Jesus had to rise from the dead. At this
point, Peter and John left to go back home (John
20:8-10)…
…but Mary
Magdalene remained outside the tomb and wept. While she was there, she bent
over to look inside the tomb and she saw two angels, who likely resembled men,
seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and one at the foot (John 20:11-12).
The angels
asked Mary Magdalene why she was crying. With tears streaming down her face,
she said she was crying because someone had stolen the body of her Lord and she
wasn’t sure where they had taken Him. Upon turning around, she noticed that there
was a Man behind her. Due to the early morning darkness, tears in her eyes, and
depending upon the distance between Him and her, she mistook Him to be a
gardener. The Man behind her asked why she was crying and for whom she was
looking. Mary Magdalene then questioned the man by asking if He took the Lord’s
body. She said she was willing to go get His body herself if He would only tell
her where she could find Him. Then, Jesus [the Gardener] called her by name and,
at that moment, Mary realized who He was. Jesus then told her to go and tell His
disciples the good news (John 20:13-17).
Mary Magdalene was the first one to see
the resurrected Christ (Mark 16:9).
At about the
same time, the group of women, who earlier had left the tomb in fear because of
the angels, still had not said anything because they were afraid and confused (Mark 16:8). However, it seems that
after some time of reflection, the joy in these women grew stronger than their
fear and, mustering up the courage, they went to inform the disciples what the
angels had told them (Matt. 28:8).
On their way to
find the disciples, Jesus met them. Thus, the entire group of women fell on the
ground before Him and grabbed His feet to worship Him. Jesus told them to not
be afraid but to go and tell His disciples that they will all see Him in
Galilee (Matt. 28:9-10).
Mary Magdalene
had met up with the other women on the way (Luke
24:9-10) and went to the
disciples with the news, saying, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that
He had said these things to her (John
20:18).
After the women
had told the disciples and those who had been with Jesus during His earthly
ministry what had happened, they did not believe them (Mark 16:10-11; Luke 24:11).
Peter, however,
got up and ran to the tomb a second time. This time he did not run straight in
but bent at the entrance to gain a glimpse inside. Yet he still only saw the
cloths lying by themselves in the darkness of the tomb, so he went away,
wondering to himself (Luke 24:12).
Afterward, two
disciples were walking on the road to Emmaus and Jesus came alongside them. He
spoke with them, explained the Scriptures and broke bread with them but, as
soon as the disciples recognized that it was Jesus, He vanished. They ran seven
miles back to Jerusalem and told the disciples what had happened, but they did
not believe them (Mark 16:12-13; Luke
24:13-35).
Finally, as the
disciples were talking about these things, Jesus Himself stood among them and
rebuked them for their unbelief (Mark
16:14; Luke 24:36-49; John 20:19-23). Thomas, however, was absent and did
not believe the report of the other disciples. It was then that he stated that
he would not believe unless he touched where the nails had pierced His hands
and where the spear had been driven into His side (John 20:24-29).
After this….
Eight days
later Jesus appeared again to the disciples. This time “Doubting Thomas” was
there to witness the resurrected King and he believed (John 20:24-29).
The Apostle
Paul, upon discussing the order of men
that Jesus was revealed to, stated: Peter was first (Luke 24:34), the disciples followed, then over 500 people, next
was James and, last but not least, Paul (1
Cor. 15:1-11).
Last Minute Information
It is important to remember that,
apart from scaring the guards in the wee hours of the morning, the angels
almost always presented themselves at first glance as resembling men. The
second thing to note is that Mary Magdalene was still looking for the body of
Jesus because she was not with the other women at the time the angels first revealed
themselves. Thus, she had not heard the good news yet. Finally, in John 20:2, “…the other disciple, the one
Jesus loved…” is referring to John (cf.
John 13:23).
Conclusion
Why do the four Gospel accounts
seem to be jumbled up at the end? It is because each of the authors had a
different purpose for writing and were choosing to emphasize different portions
of the same account. I recognize that the chronology of that first Easter
morning can be extremely difficult to maneuver through, and that I myself may
not have everything perfectly aligned, but this is a breakdown of how it all flows
chronologically according to each passage and a tool for you to use in your own
studies. Remember, God’s Word is Truth and it is worth us spending our time and
energy to know it more. Again, the chronology of the Gospels can be tricky to
navigate, but if you put in the effort to lay out the chronology, then you will
find that all of the pieces fit together in perfect harmony.
