they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared.1500 And they
found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the
body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold,
two men stood by them in shining garments; and as they were afraid, and bowed down their
faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not
here, but is risen: remember how He spake unto you when He was yet in Galilee, saying,
The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the
third day rise again. And they remembered His words. And they returned from the sepulchre,
and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.”1501 The question, therefore, is
this, how can these angels have been seen sitting each one separately,—namely, one outside
upon the stone, according to Matthew, and another within upon the right side, according
to Mark,—if Luke’s report of the same bears that the two stood beside those women, although
the words ascribed to them are similar? Well, it is still possible for us to suppose that one
angel was seen by the women in the position assigned by Matthew, and in the circumstances
indicated by Mark, as we have already explained. In this way, we may understand the said
women to have entered into the sepulchre, that is to say, into a certain space which had been
fenced off within a kind of enclosure, in such a manner that an entrance might be said to
be made when they came in front of the rocky place in which the sepulchre was constructed;
and there we may take them to have beheld the angel sitting upon the stone which had been
rolled away from the tomb, as Matthew tells us, or in other words, the angel sitting on the
right side, as Mark expresses it.1502 And then we may further surmise that the said women,
after they had gone within, and when they were looking at the place where the body of the
Lord lay, saw other two angels standing, as Luke informs us, by whom they were addressed
in similar terms, with a view to animate their minds and edify their faith.1503
68. But let us also examine John’s version, and see whether or in what manner its con-
212
sistency with these others is apparent. John, then, narrates these incidents as follows: “Now
the first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sep-
ulchre, and saw the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh
to Simon Peter, and to the other disciples whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They
have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid Him.
Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and they came to the sepulchre. So they
1500 The words, “and certain others with them,” are omitted here. [So the Greek text, according to the best
authorities. Comp. Revised Version.—R.]
1501 Luke xxiii. 54-xxiv. 12.
1502 [Matthew tells nothing of their entering the tomb; but Mark distinctly affirms this, as does Luke.—R.]
1503 [The view that there were two parties of women is not noticed by Augustin. His explanations are in the
main pertinent, though harmonists and commentators still disagree in regard to the details.—R.]
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Of the Absence of All Discrepancies in the Narratives Constructed by the…