Christians: So what really happened? Why are there so many versions?

Question

How Long Was Jesus in the Tomb?:
Jesus is portrayed as being dead and in the tomb for a given length time, but how long?

Mark 10:34 - Jesus says he will “rise again” after “three days.”
Matthew 12:40 - Jesus says he will be in the earth “three days and three nights...”

No resurrection narrative describes Jesus as being in a tomb for three full days, or for three days and three nights.
Guarding the Tomb:
Would the Romans have guarded Jesus’ tomb? The gospels disagree on what happened.

Matthew 27:62-66 - A guard is stationed outside the tomb the day after Jesus’ burial
Mark, Luke, John - No guard is mentioned. In Mark and Luke, the women who approach the tomb do not appear to expect to see any guards

Jesus is Anointed Before Burial:
It was tradition to anoint a person’s body after they died. Who anointed Jesus and when?

Mark 16:1-3, Luke 23:55-56 - A group of women who were at Jesus’ burial come back later to anoint his body

Matthew - Joseph wraps the body and the women come the next morning, but no mention is made of anointing Jesus
John 19:39-40 - Joseph of Arimathea anoints Jesus’ body before burial
Who Visited Jesus’ Tomb?:
The women visiting Jesus’ tomb is central to the resurrection story, but who visited?

Mark 16:1 - Three women visit Jesus’ tomb: Mary Magdalene, a second Mary, and Salome
Matthew 28:1 - Two women visit Jesus’ tomb: Mary Magdalene and another Mary
Luke 24:10 - At least five women visit Jesus’ tomb: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, and “other women.”
John 20:1 - One woman visits Jesus’ tomb: Mary Magdalene. She later fetches Peter and another disciple

When Did the Women Visit the Tomb?:
Whoever visited and however many there were, it’s also not clear when they arrived.

Mark 16:2 - They arrive after sunrise
Matthew 28:1 - They arrive at about dawn
Luke 24:1 - It is early dawn when they arrive
John 20:1 - It is dark when they arrive
What Was the Tomb Like?:
It’s not clear what the women saw when they arrived at the tomb.

Mark 16:4, Luke 24:2, John 20:1 - The stone in front of Jesus’ tomb had been rolled away
Matthew 28:1-2 - The stone in front of Jesus’ tomb was still in place and would be rolled away later

Who Greets the Women?:
The women aren’t alone for long, but it’s not clear who greets them.

Mark 16:5 - The women enter the tomb and meet one young man in there
Matthew 28:2 - An angel arrives during an earthquake, rolls away the stone, and sits on it outside. Pilate’s guards are also there
Luke 24:2-4 - The women enter the tomb and two men suddenly appear — it’s not clear if they are inside or outside
John 20:12 - The women do not enter the tomb, but there are two angels sitting inside
What Do the Women Do?:
Whatever happened, it must have been pretty amazing. The gospels are inconsistent in how the women react, though.

Mark 16:8 - The women keep quiet, despite being told to spread the word
Matthew 28:8 - The women go tell the disciples
Luke 24:9 - The women tell “the eleven and to all the rest.”
John 20:10-11 - Mary stays to cry while the two disciples just go home

SO WHAT REALLY HAPPENED? Why 4 TOTALLY DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS?

Sorry, Not my words it came from the bible. But what say you is the story?

Answer 1

Because it’s not GOD words, if it is God’s word it would have been perfect.

Answer 2

Lemme tell you a small story about three blind men and an elephant, honey.

One felt the leg and declared "It's a tree! I can feel it's trunk!"

The other, felt the belly and said "You are wrong! It's a reservoir! I can feel it's curved wall!"

While the third exclaimed "You're both wrong! It's a drain pipe! I can feel it!" because he had the trunk.

Now, the moral of the story is that you can see the same thing in a different light and see something else.

The Testaments that make the Bible were written by people who did not consider little details like who anointed the body and so on as important. I guess they didn't think that over a millennium later, a young Muslimah would ask this question, so they didn't bother to write about it. Maybe when Matthew went there the guard was actually posted there; but he left seeing no cause for concern, before the others came.

Attention to detail does not make it a contradiction.

If you consider that, then there are probably many regarding the Koran, too.

Unfortunately, you missed out on my question regarding the Wives of Muhammad. Click on my profile and see the Question and Answers there. You'll see contradictions galore by Muslims themselves, regarding this subject.

Like I said, honey, it's like the three blind men and the elephant. All of them are correct in their own view and perspective.

I think we should respect them for it.

Have a nice day!

Answer 3

The same reason there were so many different versions of the Quran. Another version is being used in N. Africa now. Although is rapidly being replaced by the most current version. Versions that didn't meet Islamic criteria have been discarded.
Just because no guard is mentioned in some of the scriptures, doesn't mean they weren't there. Jesus was entombed in the evening, just before night. Could that be the reason for 3 nights and three days? Even the Quran suggests that Jesus's body went to Heaven. Although Muslims do not believe he died on the cross.

Answer 4

The Bible is Written in 3-D.
The more Views you have of What you are Studying, the Better the Picture (Fuller).

If one Persons describes a Tree, you get One Picture from One Angle (that Persons View of it).
If 100 People describes the Same Tree, you get a Fuller Picture. Every Individual sees a "Little Differently".

GOD Inspired the Bible.
It is Totallly Accurate.

The Trouble comes from the Darkness in Our Minds, when we go to "Draw HIS Pictures in Our Minds".
GOD is LIght, the more you Read the Bible, the more the "Darkness" will be Flushed Out of Our Minds, and the More we will Understand it.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

While looking at the differnt times/days have added some confusion to the text one only needs to read the end of Luke to see it WAS three days and nights.

Luke 24:13

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles[d] from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.
17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”[e]
18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”
19 And He said to them, “What things?”
So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 22 Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”

Answer 6

Lady study the Bible you are making controversy where their isn't any...If I said Jim came by and my friend said Joe came by and another friend said Joe and Jim came by would you find controversy there? because all are true. Can I ask you a real question? Why do Muslims say the Bible is corrupt when without the Bible their would be no Quran? If I wrote a book that used the Quran as evidence of my faith and the called the Quran corrupt what would that say about my book? If Abraham said that God would provide himself a lamb and knew Jesus was the savior why wouldn't Abrahams followers believe what Abraham taught? Did you ever consider the only way to know Abraham is from scripture you call corrupt? Why would any religion call a man a prophet and deny his teachings?

Answer 7

the christians will say that there is 2 sides to every story and thats true but seeing as how jesus is a fictional character and that guy who said islam is also taken from zorastanisim so was judaism and christianity its all perspective if we had seen the same car accident we would both give two different versions i just say edit out all the mistakes in it who cares? why do people spend so much time worring over religion just go out live your life have fun you only live once

Answer 8

I suppose any such factor could sound well. But, in all honesty, you might have certainly no strategy to be certain that Christians most effective might take part. And, right here within the US, you can get sued for retaining men and women with option perspectives of the religion out of it.

Answer 9

People want to pick and choose what they believe. The reason why there are so many different versions of accounts is that no one was an eyewitness. The books were written decades after Jesus died and Biblical scholars are skeptical that any of Jesus' disciples were still around at the time they were written. It is believed that certain things are embellished to make them sound more intriguing, while others skip over the events as if they never occurred.

Answer 10

One of the reasons why I believe that Christianity is that there are so many variations - the devil knows that it is the true religion and thus he tries his best to distort it in so many different ways. Yet, no matter how messed up and confused it is now there is in it a true form of what God expects but it his for us to search for it and read our Bibles so that we will try them and see which is right from the scriptures.

Answer 11

i cannot pretend to know the answers of your questions, but it is important to realise that the gospels were not written the day after jesus died. Stories were told, some aspects forgotton, others remembered, emphasis placed on other things and not on others so that when people started writing the gospels out they were drawing their information from different pools.