by Stuart H. Gray
Are the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection hopelessly contradictory or not?
Part 1 of this series is – https://shorturl.at/D5ExT.
Before we look at the first possible contradiction, here’s some more background information.
Which Women Are Described In These Accounts?
The New Testament accounts name various female friends of Jesus. They attended his crucifixion, his burial, and then finally visited his tomb on the Sunday morning. Three specific individuals are mentioned by Matthew, Mark, and John. Luke adds a fourth. These people are reportedly the first witnesses to the empty tomb, so their identities are important.
Mary Magdalene / Mary of Magdala:
Matthew and Mark’s accounts place this Mary at both the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. All the gospel writers identify her as one of the women who visits Jesus’ tomb on Sunday morning. For example, Mt. 28:1, Mk. 16:1, Lk. 24:10, and Jn. 20:11.
Salome:
This lady is referred to by name by Mark (Mk. 15:40). Matthew describes her as the mother of the sons of Zebedee (Mt 27:56). John identifies her as Jesus’ mother’s sister (Jn 19:25). Luke’s account does not mention her by name.
It seems reasonable to conclude Mark, Matthew, and John are referring to the same person here. John Wenham argues these are all the same person. She was Jesus’ aunt.[1]
The Other Mary:
No-one names this lady. John says she is married to Cleopas (Jn 19:25). Mark describes her as the mother of James the younger and Joses (Mk 15:40). Matthew says she is the mother of James and Joseph (Mt. 27:55). Luke says she is Mary the mother of James (Lk. 24:10).
Joanna:
Joanna is only mentioned by Luke (Lk 24:10). Luke describes Joanna as a manager of Herod’s household (Lk 8:3). She would have been a prominent member of Jewish society.
Where Were the Ladies on the Friday?
It is likely that Jesus’ crucifixion occurred on the Day of Preparation, which was always the Friday. (Jn 19:31) The gospels agree Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus body on the day he died. Jn. 19:31 states the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies on the crosses during the Sabbath day. Joseph asked Pilate for the body, retrieved it, and laid it in his family tomb before the Sabbath began. The accounts agree this was rushed through on the Friday afternoon after Jesus had died.
Matthew’s account:
Mary Magdalene, Salome, and the other Mary attended Jesus’ crucifixion with others. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were present at Jesus’ burial later that afternoon. (Mt. 27:55 – 61)
Mark’s account:
It agrees with Matthew on the names of the women at Jesus’ crucifixion and burial. He says many other women were present. (Mk. 15:40 – 47)
Luke’s account:
He says female followers of Jesus from Galilee (Lk. 23:49) were present at the crucifixion and the burial. He doesn’t name some of them until Lk. 24:9, and he notes the group was larger than just the people he names.
John’s account:
John says that Jesus’ mother Mary, Salome, the other Mary, and Mary Magdalene were present at the crucifixion. (Jn 19:25) John says people were present at Jesus burial, but he does not mention the women explicitly. He only mentions Nicodemus, and the owner of the tomb – Joseph of Arimathea. (Jn. 19:38-41)
Where Were the Male Disciples on the Friday?
The only male disciple identified at Jesus’ crucifixion is John. (Jn 19:26) It is plausible that the other male disciples were staying nearby in Bethany, near the Mount of Olives.. John Wenham argues that John had a house in Jerusalem. He took Jesus’ mother there on Friday evening after her son’s death.[2]
What Happened on Saturday?
The Sabbath began at sundown on the Friday night and lasted till sundown on the Saturday. Jesus is now dead and buried. During the Sabbath, Jewish people were restricted by law. However, the accounts inform us some important things happened during this period.
Matthew’s account:
The chief priests and Pharisees met with Roman Governor Pilate. They feared that Jesus body could be stolen to give the impression that Jesus had risen from the dead. They decide to post Roman guards at Jesus’ tomb. (Mt. 27:62-66)
This is plausible as we read in all the gospels that Jesus was arrested by an armed group in the Garden of Gethsemane. John identifies soldiers as being among this arresting group. (Jn.18:2) If the authorities employed Roman guards when arresting Jesus a few days previously, it is possible they would use them again when enforcing order around Jesus’ tomb after his death.
Mark’s account:
Mark tells us that when the Sabbath was over on Saturday evening, Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, and Salome bought spices so they might be able to anoint Jesus’ body. (Mk. 16:1) It is plausible that they would have to buy them as they were visiting Jerusalem from Galilee. They were away from their own homes, where they might have had these materials available.
Luke’s account:
Luke tells us they prepared spices and perfumes and rested on the sabbath. (Lk. 23:56)
John’s account:
John does not refer to the events of the Sabbath or immediately following on the Saturday evening.
Did the Women Prepare Spices Before or After the Sabbath?
At last we have reached our first possible contradiction.
A possible dispute arises between Mark and Luke’s account over when the women prepared these spices. Mark explicitly tells us that on the Saturday evening, after sundown, the women purchased the spices they would use the following day:
“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.” (Mk. 16:1, NIV)
In Luke, we read:
“Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.” (Lk. 23:56, NIV)
By “they”, Luke is referring to the women from Galilee who were present when Jesus’ body was laid in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb.
What is the problem here?
Did the women prepare the spices before or after the Sabbath? Mark explicitly states that they bought them after the Sabbath. However, Luke’s account is much less explicit than Mark’s. He is clear that the women rested according to Jewish law on Saturday. But he is less clear exactly when the spices were prepared.
Plausibly, Lk. 23:56a is a summary statement about what the women achieved in the time between Jesus’ burial, and their return to his tomb on the Sunday morning. But he leaves it ambiguous as to precisely when the spices were prepared. Is he saying they were prepared before or after the Sabbath?
The Visiting Galilean Women and a Time Crunch
Sometimes people will claim Luke says the women prepared the spices before resting on the Sabbath. This is possible from Luke’s account, but I don’t find it very likely. Why? Because I doubt the women had time to attend Jesus’ burial on Friday afternoon and then also prepare the spices on the Friday afternoon as well. I also doubt that Luke would have intended to communicate such an unlikely idea.
It seems to me that the Galilean women could not attend the burial and also prepare the spices at the same time. What is this time crunch actually caused by? The approach of sun down and the arrival of the Jewish Sabbath.
Notice that in Lk. 23:54 he has already stated:
“It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.” (Lk. 23:54, NIV)
The Sabbath began at sundown on Friday. In Mt. 27:57 and Mk. 15:42 we hear that evening was already approaching. Luke knew the sun was going down as the Galilean women attended Jesus’ burial. While they were doing that, they could not also be buying and preparing spices to anoint Jesus’ body. But could they purchase the spaces after the burial?
To obtain the spices, they would have had to walk to the market before the shops closed at sun down. They would have to purchase them and take them home to work on them. This would have taken time that they probably did not have.
Also, they are facing a long walk back home as well. If they were lodging in Bethany, this was 2 km away from Jerusalem. Even if they had managed to buy the spices, they would not have had the time to walk home before sundown after the burial. It is more likely that, as Mark says, they returned home after the burial and waited until the Saturday evening. Then they bought and prepared the spices.
Is there a problem in Luke’s account then? I think that it is unlikely there’s a problem here. Unlike mark, Luke doesn’t state the time of spice preparation explicitly. He prefers to give an overall summary instead.
Joanna’s Preparations on the Friday
However, one of the named women might have prepared her spices on the Friday before the Sabbath. Jonathan McLatchie and John Wenham both note that Joanna was wealthy and lived in Jerusalem. She may already have had spices at her home.
Perhaps, as the other women attended Jesus’ burial on the Friday afternoon, Joanna was at home preparing the spices.[3] She is not mentioned at the burial. Luke explicitly names Joanna as one of the women who visited the tomb on Sunday morning. (Lk. 24:10)
When Luke says that “They went home and prepared the spices and perfumes,” it is possible he is summarising what the whole group did. He includes what Joanna and the Galilean women, did between Friday afternoon and early Sunday morning.
One way or another, they all prepared spices to anoint Jesus body before Sunday morning rolled around.
Conclusion
Mark and Luke’s description does not seem particularly difficult to harmonize on the issue of spice preparation. I don’t find a genuine contradiction here between the accounts.
Next time – how many women arrived at the tomb on Sunday morning? Do we have a disagreement between the accounts?
[1] John Wenham, Easter Enigma Do the Resurrection stories contradict each other?, (Exeter:Paternoster Press, 1984), 35.
[2] Wenham, 15.
[3] See Wenham, 69, and Jonathan McLatchie, “Do the Resurrection Narratives Contradict? A Reply to Dan McClennan”, March 10th, 2025, accessed April 13th, 2025, https://jonathanmclatchie.com/do-the-resurrection-narratives-contradict-a-reply-to-dan-mcclellan/
