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Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

Matthew 28:1

 

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.

Mark 16:1-2

 

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.

Luke 24:1

 

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone has been taken away from the tomb.

John 20:1

 

The Claim: Matthew claims there were 2 women that went to the tomb, Mark claims 3, Luke is general and says women, and John claims 1. All four contradict each other.

 

The Explanation: First, one piece of background information to keep in mind. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John weren't the first ones to visit the empty tomb, the women were, meaning that none of the 4 were actually there to count the number of women.

 

Now, let's take a closer look at John 20:1, which says Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. However, John 20:1 does not claim that there were no other women that went with her to the tomb. The same is true of Matthew and Mark, and Luke is just being general here and saying "they went to the tomb," although Luke 24:9 does go on to list some specific women. However, out of all four gospel accounts, none of them claim that the women listed are the only ones that went to the tomb.

 

If I said Sarah went to the store, and my friend said that Sarah went to the store with Kevin, there isn't a contradiction here. Both of us agree that Sarah went to the store. Also, I never claimed Kevin didn't go to the store with Sarah. There's no contradiction with this Sarah and Kevin example, and likewise, there's no contradiction in the four gospel accounts.