2015 Easter Sunday Dialogue Part One.. Yes the four gospels accounts of the Easter story DO contradict one another!

Jim: Good Morning Val, Happy Easter!

Val: Happy Easter to you as well.

Jim: Sure glad you were able to help me out this morning. I wasn’t sure where exactly to begin an Easter message for Easter Sunday 2015. You know Val, I just felt we needed to do something a little different this year. I wanted to release Easter from the restraints which the Church has placed upon it over 100’s of years. I wanted to try and set Easter FREE from its restricted and limited understandings – but it was really hard to know where to begin.

Val: Maybe Jim, we can begin by hearing the traditional Easter story.  We’re so familiar with the story that sometimes we don’t really hear it anymore.  How about we first read a couple of versions of the New Testament Easter story?

Jim: Good idea. Let’s read first from Mark’s gospel, written some 40 years after the death of Jesus.

The Resurrection of Jesus (Mark 16: 1-8) RSV Translation

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ² And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³ They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” ⁴ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. ⁶ But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” ⁸ So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Val: Now I think we should read the resurrection story again from the gospel of John, written in the 10^th decade – some 60-70 years after the death of Jesus.

The Resurrection of Jesus (John 20: 1-18) RSV Translation

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. ² So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” ³ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. ⁴ The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, ⁷ and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. ⁸ Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; ⁹ for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the disciples returned to their homes.¹¹ But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; ¹² and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. ¹³ They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” ¹⁴ When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). ¹⁷ Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Val: Now there you have two gospels written about the very same event, but with some interesting differences.  In both readings, the stone has been already rolled away.  Both gospels agree that women went to the tomb, but in Mark’s gospel he notes 3 women – Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and then Salome. Now in John’s gospel, written another 20-30 years after Mark, John has only Mary Magdalene being present at the tomb.  Did you also notice how the messenger in the tomb is different – in Mark it is a young man in white, while in John it is 2 angels.  Also, where will the disciples find Jesus – in Mark, they are to go to Galilee while in John we hear later in the gospel that they remain in Jerusalem.  If we focus on the events of the day – it can become very confusing, especially when we add in the other two gospels (Matthew and Luke) complete with their differing details.  Bottom line: We don’t really know what happened to the followers of Jesus, either that day or in the days that followed, but something did happen, something that changed their lives.

Jim: Val, I would like to share an alternative reading for this Easter Sunday 2015 for everyone’s consideration and reflection. I believe this alternative reading can help us appreciate the metaphorical value of the traditional Easter story.

Val: I look forward to your alternative reading but first I think we should provide a little more of ‘the traditional’ Easter Sunday experience. Let us join together in singing the first two verses of a familiar Easter Hymn – Jesus Christ is Risen Today

Hymn: Jesus Christ Is Risen Today VU155 verse 1and 2

Note from Val: You may be ‘surprised’ to hear Jim’s reaction to the singing of this old favourite. See 2015 Easter Dialogue Part two next week.

One more thing, you might be interested in the following Comparative Chart offered to the congregation of Central United Church to help spot the differences in the New Testament Easter stories recorded in four different gospels.