Arrival of the Women Myrrhbearers at the Tomb.

(Mat. 28:1-8; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12 and John 20:1-10).

To the women that were present at Golgotha and then at the Lord’s burial, it seemed that His priceless Body was too hastily prepared for burial, and they were grief-stricken because they were not involved in the Jewish custom of anointing His body. That’s why in accordance with the law, after spending all of Saturday at rest, on the first day of the week — at sunrise — they hurried to the tomb in order to fulfill their wish and final obligation of love to their Beloved Teacher. At the head of these deeply committed women to Christ, who entered into history with the name “myrrhbearers,” (as testified by all four Evangelists) was Mary Magdalene; followed by the “other Mary” or Mary, mother of James, Salome and others that followed the Lord from Galilee (Luke 23:55). It was a whole host of women among who, some walked fast, nearly running while maybe others walked slowly, without any great haste. Therefore, it is not surprising that at first glance, the time of their arrival at the tomb as determined by the Evangelists varies, creating a feeling of contradiction between them, which in reality there is none.

Before going further: who is this “other Mary,” twice referred to as such by Saint Matthew in his narration on the Lord’s burial (Mat. 27:61), and then — on the resurrection (Mat. 28:1). According to ancient Church tradition, enunciated in the Sinarksis for the day of Passover, it was non other than the Mother of God. Why isn’t this enunciated unequivocally? As the Sinarksis explains, “so that it would not appear questionable” (that the witness to such an enormous event was appropriated by His Mother), the Evangelists says: the Lord appeared first to Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9), who saw the Angel sitting on the stone.

Salome was the mother of the “sons of Zebedee” — Apostles James and John. Joanna, mentioned by Saint Luke (24:10), was the wife of Chuza, king Herod’s steward. The other women-myrrh-bearers are not mentioned by name, but Saint Luke clearly states that there were “other women with them” (Luke 24:10). Among these “others,” Church tradition also indicates: Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus who was resurrected by the Lord, Mary, wife of Clopas and Susanna, and many others, “As God-filled Luke narrates: serving Christ and the disciples with their possessions” (Sinarksis in the week of the Women-Myrrhbearers).

The women-myrrhbearers were awaiting the end of the Sabbath rest. Moreover, as Saint Luke states that some of them had purchased some aromatic spices on Friday evening (23:56), while others — “when the Sabbath was passed,” i.e. Saturday evening (Mark 16:1).

The Evangelists express themselves in different ways about the time of arrival at the tomb by the myrrhbearers.

Saint Matthew — “Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn…”

Saint Mark — “Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week... when the sun had risen”

Saint Luke — “Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning…”

Saint John — “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while

It was still dark…”

Thus, all these indications of time coincide, only that they speak of different moments of the advancing morning, from which can be seen that the women-myrrhbearers didn’t all arrive at one and the same time. Saint John is the one that differs most in his description from the other Evangelists, which is understandable. As usual, he omits what had been narrated by the first three Evangelists, but complements them with what relates to Mary Magdalene and two disciples. In amalgamating the narratives of the four Evangelists, a full picture emerges of everything that transpired. As described by Saint Matthew only, the earthquake that occurred when the Angel rolled the stone, naturally took place before the arrival of the women-myrrhbearers. The purpose to this was to send the guards fleeing and reveal the tomb empty. The Lord resurrected prior to this, just as it is sung in our church: “From the sealed tomb.” I don’t have the Troparion, and hence didn’t put these sections in). That’s why the depiction of Christ, (spread even among our faithful in recent times under the influence of the West) — emerging from the tomb, with the stone rolled open and the guards falling on the ground from fear, doesn’t address reality. The Angel descended and rolled the stone, after Christ had risen. This caused the guards, palpitating and numb with fear, to flee to Jerusalem.

By juxtaposing the four Evangelists’ narratives, a clear picture of the sequential events is created. As can be seen by Saint John’s narrative, the first to arrive at the tomb was Mary Magdalene, “while it was still dark” (John 20:1). She wasn’t alone in coming, but a whole host of myrrhbearers was following, as narrated by the first three Evangelists. Because of her especial love for the Lord and her lively temperament, she headed the other women and arrived while it was still dark. Whereas the other women approached the tomb when it was becoming light. That she was not alone can be seen in John’s writing, because when she had returned to Apostles Peter and John, she spoke in a plural and not singular tense: “We do not know where they have laid Him” (John 20:2). Thus, it is clearly evident in the Greek text, and that’s the way it was translated into the Russian language. Seeing the stone had been moved from the entrance (she did not see the Angel that later appeared to the women), she thought that the Lord’s Body had been carried away, and immediately runs to inform Apostles Peter and John about this. On the way back, she of course met the other women (whose minds were occupied with the idea as to who will move the stone for them (Mark 16:3)), and told them of her fears. While she was going to the Apostles, the rest of the women-myrrhbearers neared the tomb, saw the Angels, heard the good news of Christ’s resurrection, and hastened back to the Apostles to share the great joy with them. All of this is narrated in detail by the first three Evangelists (Mat. 28:5-8; Mark 16:4-8 and Luke 24:3-8).

Meanwhile, as a result of the news brought to them by Mary Magdalene, (and perhaps by the other myrrhbearers, whom they didn’t believe — “And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them” Luke 24:11) the two Apostles — Peter and John — hastily went, or even ran to the tomb. Being younger than Peter, John ran faster and therefore arrived at the tomb sooner, when the women had left, but did not go inside. Perhaps, it was because of his apprehension at the garden’s isolation that held him back. However, hunched over and peering into the opened tomb, he saw some swaddling-cloth lying on the ground.

Immediately after, Simon Peter arrives who, being bolder and more courageous, decides to enter the tomb and sees just swaddling-cloth lying on the ground and a purificator that was wrapped around the Lord’s head, “not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself” (John 20:3-7). “Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first,” i.e. John, “and he saw and believed,” i.e. believed in the truth of Christ’s resurrection, because with the removal of the Body, there would have been no need to unwind and divest the swaddling-cloth from it and then leave them in such a neat order. “For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead” — until the Lord “opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures” (Luke 24:25), there was much that they didn’t understand clearly: they didn’t comprehend the Lord’s narratives on His forthcoming sufferings and resurrection (as can be seen, as an example, in Luke 18:34 and Mark 9:10), and therefore were in need of corporeal proof. To John, the carefully folded swaddling-cloth and purificator served as such proof of the truth of Christ’s resurrection. However, this served as proof to John only as to the veracity of what transpired. On Peter, Saint Luke states that “he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened” (Luke 24:12). After his triple rejection of Christ, the state of his spirit was very heavy and was not inclined toward a living belief. And thus, apparently with his return from the tomb, the merciful Lord appeared to Peter in order to console him and pacify his heart. This is mentioned briefly by Saint Luke 24:34 and Saint Apostle Paul 1 Cor. 15:5. As can be seen from these segments, the Lord appeared to Peter alone, before the other Apostles.