Early in the morning while it was still dark I arrived at the tomb. To my astonishment the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. The body of Jesus was gone! I ran away to tell Peter and John.

After Peter and John had left the tomb I stayed and wept. Suddenly I looked up and saw two angels sitting where Jesus’ body had laid. “ Why are you weeping?” They asked me.“ Because they have taken my Lord away,” I replied.

As I spoke I turned around and saw a man standing in the shadows. “Why are you weeping?” Asked the man. I thought it was the gardener so I asked him he knew where Jesus’ body had been taken.

“Mary, it is I!” I then realised it was Jesus Christ himself! “My Lord!” I cried, full of joy.

Jesus then told me to tell my friends that I had seen him and that he would soon be in Heaven with his Father.

I ran back to the disciples telling them I had seen the Lord with my own eyes!

Eye witness account of Mary Magdalene.

After Mary told us that Jesus’ body was no longer in the tomb, we immediately ran to the tomb.

John: “ I ran ahead of Peter and arrived at the tomb first. I didn’t want to go inside the tomb so I stooped my head down to take a quick look. From my position I could see the linen clothes lying in place.”

Peter: “ I arrived at the doorway of the tomb to see John waiting outside, he said he could see the linen clothes. I went right into the tomb and closely examined the linen clothes lying there. John then joined me inside to inspect closer”

John: “ I immediately realised what had happened, and I believed. I knew about resurrections happening and I had faith that this is what had happened to Jesus”.

Peter: “ I just couldn’t comprehend what had happened. We left the tomb and went back to the town, all the while I was contemplating what I had seen. Mary then arrived telling us what she had witnessed. It was only then that I started to believe in Jesus’ resurrection.”

Eye witness account of Peter and John(Jesus’ disciples)

Theory 1: The swoon theory

Jesus did not die, he swooned (fainted); he only became unconscious on the cross. He was removed by a few of his followers, laid in the tomb, and left. He recovered

there, and later appeared to his followers. Afterwards, he might have sneaked away and continued to live on in secret. He would have feared persecution from

Jewish groups or the Roman authorities if he were discovered to be still alive. Most of his followers may not have been aware of his recovery. They may may have

adopted the story of his resurrection as the most likely explanation of his apparent death and reappearance.

Theory 2: The Vision Theory

The empty tomb, Jesus' appearance to his female followers, and his later meeting with his male disciples and others were individual visions or mass hallucinations.

The disciples were familiar with the concept of resurrection from the grave, because of certain passages in the Hebrew Scriptures. So, as observant Jews, they

would have been anticipating Jesus return from the dead. His death would have come as a shock to them; they might not have been willing to accept it as a

permanent fact. Perhaps Mary Magdalene had a vision or hallucination in which she mistook Jesus for the gardener.

Theory 3: The Wrong tomb

It was early in the morning, Mary Magdalene was exhausted with grief. There was nothing on the outside of the tombs to identify who was inside

the tomb, maybe Mary Magdalene stumbled into the wrong tomb, delirious with grief and exhaustion she may have hallucinated Jesus, or

thought the gardener was Jesus.

Theory 4: The Theft theory

Jesus’ body was stolen, either by someone who is unknown, or by the disciples.