The Empty Tomb
Basic Info
Matthew 28:1–7, Mark 16:1–8, Luke 24:1–8, John 20:1–9
The Gospels offer 4 different accounts of finding the empty tomb. Matthew says Mary Magdalene and another Mary arrived to tend to the body and encountered an earthquake and an angel who rolled away the stone that had been over the tomb, causing the guards to pass out in fear (Matthew is the only Gospel that reports guards’ being placed at the tomb). Mark says that the tomb was open when Mary Magdalene and two other women arrived and that a man clothed in white greeted them when they went into the tomb. Luke is not clear how many women were there but names Mary Magdalene and two others. Luke says there were two men in dazzling garments in the tomb. John tells of Mary Magdalene’s going to the tomb by herself, finding the stone rolled away and finding Peter and John, who run back and enter the tomb to find the linens rolled up and no one there. After they leave, Mary looks into the tomb and sees two angels in white, one where Jesus’ head had been and one where his feet had been. All four of the Gospels report that the man, men, or angels express wonder that the women are looking for Jesus in the tomb. They tell the women that Jesus has risen. Artworks of the empty tomb can include any or all of these people or combinations from the different Gospels.
For the disciples at the tomb (men and women), this is like a crime scene. Their first thought is that someone took Jesus’ body. Guards knocked out, linens in a pile, this all looks like evidence that they need to make sense of. They pay attention because this is so serious. Later their testimony about the details contributes to convincing people that Jesus really was risen, not just stolen in the night. Matthew’s guards are there for the same reason.
What to Look For
- The empty tomb itself (like a cave, like a sarcophagus, etc.)
- The stone rolled away or the cover of the tomb pushed to one side
- Soldiers knocked out / passed out
- An angel or angels, or a man or men in bright garments, and their emotions / attitudes
- The pile of linens
- Mary Magdalene, with or without other women, and her or their emotions / attitudes
- John and Peter and their emotions / attitudes
Questions to Focus a General Interpretation
What do the emotions and attitudes of the figures reveal about what the artist was trying to emphasize in this artwork (incredulity, anger, fear, awe, etc.)?
Questions to Guide a Personal Interpretation
History and science television producers are big on creating programming around the “facts” related to Jesus Christ. They ask the questions that lots of people ask. If you could have a set of facts from that event, would the details depicted in this artwork satisfy your curiosity?
Questions to Suggest a Historical Interpretation
The 21st century isn’t the first era to question the historical truth of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection. Does this artwork seem to be trying to convince the viewer of the historical reality of the event? What was going on in the artist’s time and place that may have lead to doubts (plague, famine, discovery that the world is round, the Enlightenment, etc.)?
