The resurrection is central to the Christian claim about Jesus. Paul makes that clear in 1 Corinthians 15:1–20: if Jesus has not been raised, Christian faith has failed at its foundation.
The four Gospels give us accounts of the empty tomb and the announcement that Jesus had risen. They have different emphases and details. These readings let you explore what each one actually says.
Matthew 28:1–20 — The women meet Jesus
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary go to the tomb. They hear that Jesus has risen, then meet him as they leave to tell his disciples. Matthew describes them taking hold of his feet and worshipping him.
The account gives the women a central role as witnesses and messengers. It also records the claim that the disciples stole the body, and ends with Jesus sending his followers to make disciples.
Mark 16:1–8 — An empty tomb and an unexpected announcement
Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bring spices to anoint Jesus’ body. They are expecting to find him dead.
Instead, they find the stone moved and hear that he has risen. Mark describes their fear and bewilderment. This account does not present the women as people confidently expecting a resurrection.
Many Bibles include Mark 16:9–20 with a note explaining that these verses are absent from the earliest surviving manuscripts. The reading above uses verses 1–8, which already contain the announcement of Jesus’ resurrection.
Read Mark 16 and its manuscript note
Luke 24:1–49 — Disbelief, questions and a bodily resurrection
The women find the tomb empty and report what they have heard. The apostles initially dismiss their words as nonsense.
Luke then describes Jesus meeting two followers on the road to Emmaus and appearing to the gathered disciples. He shows them his hands and feet and eats in their presence.
Luke is describing someone alive in a body. This is more than the comforting idea that Jesus’ influence lived on after his death.
John 20:1–31 — Mary Magdalene, the disciples and Thomas
Mary Magdalene initially thinks someone has moved Jesus’ body. Later, she recognises Jesus when he calls her by name and goes to tell the disciples she has seen him.
John also records Jesus appearing to the disciples and later to Thomas, who had wanted evidence before believing.
The chapter ends by explaining why John has written: so that readers may believe who Jesus is and have life through him. The account invites a response to a claim about something that happened.
John’s account continues with a further appearance beside the Sea of Galilee in John 21.
These accounts place women at the discovery of the empty tomb, and Matthew and John also describe women encountering Jesus alive. Their testimony belongs at the centre of our investigation.
And the Christian claim goes beyond Jesus being brought back to life temporarily. Romans 6:9 says that, having been raised, he cannot die again. That is the claim we are exploring: Jesus rose from the dead and is still alive today.