Reconciling the different resurrection accounts

Just wondering if anyone has a good view on this? This is something I struggle with, reconciling the different resurrection accounts. Matthew 28 and John 20 for instance present two different accounts which are seemingly contradictory. I have trouble harmonizing them or reconciling them, though I still think both accounts are true. Maybe someone has something to share that they've discovered in the text that lets them reconcile the different accounts? I'd be happy to hear.

You may find this page (<= link) helpful.

This is typical of eyewitness accounts. To me, it proves that the accounts are genuine. If it was concocted, the conspirators would be careful to ensure that all the accounts matched.

It's about perspective. For example, if you talk to witnesses to a car accident, one will see a different aspect from another. Someone sees from behind, another sees from the side. That's why the police want all witnesses to speak up.

I have written a harmony of the resurrection accounts, the passion week accounts and the entire four gospels that keep all the events in all the gospels in the same chronological order as they occur in each gospel. It can be done. There are some false assumptions that stump people trying to do this.

There have been claims made by some posters here, and many opponents of Christianity throughout history, that there are contradictions between the four gospels accounts reports concerning the events surrounding Jesus' resurrection. However, according to sources available to Eusebius in the fourth century BC, but no longer available to us, John the Evangelist reportedly saw no errors in any of the other three gospel accounts before writing his own gospel record. So according to John, all four gospels harmonise with one single series of historical events. And having made an in depth evaluation of the four gospels I would concur with John.

There are several keys to weighing the testimony of diverse witnesses that need to be kept in mind.

Sometimes, two or more events may sound similar but may nevertheless have occurred at different times and/or at different places.

Witnesses select and report only some of the details that pertain to any particular event, and neglect others, and those editorial decisions are determined by how much some matters bear heavily on the author's experience or message versus those that happen to be incidental to their experience or extraneous to their message.

Before arbitrarily declaring witnesses to be contradicting one another, there needs to be some cross-examination of each witness, giving them an opportunity to account for their omissions or ellipses that may have created a first impression of discrepancy.

The absence in the report by one of a detail provided by another does not imply proof that the first writer would deny that the unreported detail of the other ever occurred.

So, what really happened?

Mary Magdalene, Salome, Mary wife of Cleopas, and other women, began to make their way to the tomb before day-break. While they were on their way, there was an earthquake. At the grave-site the stone sealing the tomb rolled away and a fearsome angel sat on it. This terrified the Jewish temple-guards Pilate had allowed to make the tomb secure, so that they fainted. Our Lord revived and was unraveled from his swaddling-cloths by the first-mentioned angel and a second one, who dropped the windings in a pile. Freed from his bandages, Jesus removed the napkin from his head, folded it, placed it apart from the other pile of rags and exited the tomb. The angels disappeared.

The guards awoke, saw no angels, found the tomb empty, could not find Jesus in the garden because He was hidden from their eyes, so headed off to the sanhedrin to report what had happened.

The women arrived to find the guards gone, and looking into the tomb, saw that Jesus' body was gone. They assumed that the guards had taken the body away, and sent Mary Magdalene to report this to Peter and the rest. Mary assumed it was gone because the Jews have taken and hidden it, and told the disciples so. Peter and John ran back to the tomb, while Mary was perhaps being treated for shock in the house. Peter and John found it as Mary had said and believed what she had told them (that the Jews had taken Him away) because they did not yet understand that Jesus was going to rise from the dead. Then Peter and John returned home. However, the women remained at the tomb, confused and wondering what had happened.

The women noticed a man in white seated inside the tomb, the angel which had terrified the guards, but in a dimmed down and human form, who told them not to be afraid, Jesus was not there because He had risen, and invited them to inspect the inside. They entered the tomb and the angel added that they should go and tell His disciples that he is alive and will meet them in Galilee. The women were not convinced by this white-garmented young man and were still confused and wondering what the truth is, when suddenly the angel transfigured, and another appeared transfigured with him. This was to convinced the women of their trustworthiness. As messengers from heaven. The women fell down, faces to the ground. The angels asked them why they were looking for the living among the dead, and reminded them that in Galilee Jesus had predicted his crucifixion and resurrection. They remembered this prediction and were convinced and headed off to tell the disciples, but were so afraid that they spoke to no one on their way. They missed meeting Mary Magdalene, who was at that time returning from Peter's to the garden.

Ironically, as the women were heading off to the disciples to tell them the truth about what had happened to Jesus' body, the guards were being bribed to publish a lie about the same.

Mary Magdalene arrived to an empty garden, looked inside and saw the two angels, again in muted form so as not to frighten her, who asked her why she was crying. She turns around and sees Jesus, but thinks He's the gardener. She recognises who He is when he calls her by name. She would like to hug Him but he prevents her because he has not yet presented Himself to the Father in Heaven, which He is about to do to fulfil the vision of Zec 3, and spiritually fulfil the type of the wave-offering of the feast of firstfruits. Mary went off to report all this to the disciples, while Jesus ascended to the Father, as He had just said He would.

While Mary was on her way back to Peter, and after His presentation to the Father, Jesus appeared to the older women still on their way to Peter's. They grasped Jesus' feet without any objection from Him at this time. Jesus instructed them to tell His brothers to go to Galilee where they would see Him.

The older women arrived at the disciples' place synchronously with younger Mary, and together, Mary first and then the others, reported seeing angels and Jesus Himself. Peter ran off to the tomb again, but saw only the empty tomb and returned home, still wondering what happened.

We all are in the one time willing death of Son, we all are reconciled as forgiven, Given perfection to trust in risen Son unto Father, the two as Won (One). The risen Son is the new life offered to us all. Either believe this or not, without any doubts. Having doubts keeps people from getting established, gives us all troubles, at least did me.
Make your mind up, if believe God and Continue to believe God in risen Son, you will one day see truth and continue
Or you won't by giving up, if it takes a long time for you, many have and others have left it too, by others claiming belief, that do not see to plainly believe, are out for themselves,
Evil is very good at deception acting as if good and is not at all ever. Learn Matt 10:16-29 please, if you are in with Father and Son, Father will reveal this truth to you too, thank you