About the myrrh-bearing women

And that there is no disagreement or contradiction between the evangelists in the story of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ 1. Now I want to talk a little with you, beloved, about the Gospel account of the holy resurrection of Christ and show that in this regard there is no disagreement or contradiction between the evangelists. Since each of the evangelists has some peculiarities in the depiction of this event, unreasonable people are ready to see a contradiction in Scripture and even a lie. But our holy fathers reflected their madness in a few words, establishing that each of the evangelists describes a special visit of wives and apostles to the divine tomb, that there were several of these visits at different times, and that none of the evangelists touches on what has already been told by others. This is how the All-Holy Spirit, who inspired the evangelists, arranged it so that, on the one hand, none of the events of that time would be consigned to oblivion, and on the other, to eliminate any cause for disagreement, thanks to the fact that each one talks about a special event. So, we accept the difference in time and in the visits of the wives to the tomb, according to the instructions of the fathers. But since some, possessed by a demon, claim that there is disagreement and contradiction in Scripture regarding wives, we will try, with the help of the All-Holy Spirit, to explain these events as best we can. I am confident, with God's help, that since, despite the difference in time and in the visits of persons, agreement between the evangelists really exists, our word will not be unsuccessful. So, first of all, let us briefly remember the sufferings of the Lord. We read how the Lord was betrayed to Pilate, how then, being crucified, He tasted death according to humanity and was buried, how a large stone was rolled onto the tomb, how the Jews sealed the tomb and assigned a guard of soldiers to it. When was this? On Friday evening: “Saturday came,” as the evangelist says (Luke 23:54). Many good and beautiful women who accompanied the Lord from Galilee observed everything that happened, saw the coffin and were present at the position of the body. Then they spent the Sabbath, as it is written, in rest according to the commandment, but bought spices and ointment to anoint Jesus (Luke 23:56). Notice in this case, beloved, how the circumstances of the case agree. Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Salome and the rest of the women prepared incense on the Sabbath, so that on the first day after the Sabbath, that is, on the Lord's Day, they could anoint Him. And Mary of Jacob - this was the Mother of God (that’s what she was called then, as the stepmother of Jacob, who is called the brother of the Lord) - due to grief, she could not wait out the whole night after Saturday, but immediately, late on Saturday evening, she came to the tomb, that is, late after Saturday. Without a doubt, some of the evangelists use the expression “after the Sabbath” (Matthew 28:1) in the sense of ordinary expressions: at a late hour, at a late time. It was not Saturday evening in the truest sense, but late hours of Saturday, late on Saturday. And this means midnight, or a little later. Where can you see this? From the fact that the Lord, according to His promise, was to rise on the third day, i.e. on the day of the Lord. This will be the third day, counting from Friday, when He was crucified. The Day of the Lord begins at the seventh hour of the night and continues until the sixth hour of the next night. And in this very way, counting every day, you will not contradict the words of the writer of everyday life about the creation of peace: “and there was evening, and there was morning” (Gen. 1:5). After all, as soon as midnight passes, the sun, flowing around the earth, immediately illuminates the countries facing the east, although it has not yet shown itself, and produces the so-called early morning for those living there. So, for us, dawn occurs at different hours, as the sun approaches, and not for everyone at the same time. After midnight, until the dawn of the Lord's day, the Lord rose from the dead, precisely on the third day, according to the scriptures. So, the Most Holy Virgin Theotokos, overwhelmed by grief more than anyone else, having found a companion for herself in the person of Mary Magdalene [she was a most zealous woman, which is why she is remembered by all four evangelists (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10; John 20:1)], came immediately after midnight, i.e. at a late hour on Saturday, to the coffin - not with incense (the time has not yet come for this), but just to look at the coffin. This is the first coming of the saints and worthy women that the Evangelist Matthew talks about. When they arrived at the tomb, suddenly an earthquake occurred - at the exact time when the angel rolled away the stone from the tomb and sat on it. The Lord had already risen at that time. In fact, the evangelist did not say that when the stone was rolled away, then the Savior came out of the tomb, but that an angel rolled away the stone and sat on it. After all, the body of the Lord had already shone with incorruption and He, as God, came out of the tomb while the stone was still lying on it, just as on the evening of the Lord’s day He entered His disciples with the doors closed (John 20:19). These two women, namely the Most Holy Virgin Mother of God and Mary Magdalene, went with fear and great joy to tell the apostles that the Lord had risen, as the angel told them, and that they should go to Galilee, where they would see Him. On the way they met the Word incarnate of God himself. And when He said to them: “Rejoice”! - They fell and grabbed His feet and worshiped Him. The Lord did not forbid them to touch Him (because they saw Him for the first time), but, on the contrary, encouraged them with the words: “Do not be afraid; go, tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me” (Matthew 28:9-10). 2. This story about the myrrh-bearing women belongs to the Evangelist Matthew. The women went to the disciples and conveyed to them and those who were with them the words of the angel and the words of the Lord and what they had seen Him; and not only that, but they also said that they worshiped Him. But the Lord’s disciples, from the strong and inexpressible grief that took possession of them after His suffering on the cross, could not even listen to them. Regarding Mary Magdalene, I think that they did not even pay attention to her words, but regarding the Mother of the Lord, out of respect for her and reverence for her, they decided among themselves that excessive grief clouded her mind and gave rise to her disturbance of vision, hearing, and touch. The pure and enlightened soul of the Virgin, firmly convinced of what she saw and touched, closed in on herself, without entering into any arguments with her disciples; She did not go to the coffin again, unshakably confident in what she saw there. Mary Magdalene, at first yielding to the apostles, then collected her thoughts somewhat and, not relying on her impressions, but thinking that she had a vision, takes with her a certain Joanna and another Mary and other women with incense (Luke 24:10) and at night again goes to the tomb. In the very early morning, that is, long before dawn, when the morning dawn was just breaking over the earth, Mary and her companions come to the tomb. The stone had already been rolled away - and they did not find the body of the Lord (where could it be found?). While they were perplexed among themselves, two men appeared before them (these were holy angels) in shining clothes. They were afraid - not only because the angels instilled fear in them, but also because they turned to them with reproach: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here: He has risen” (Luke 24:5–6). Pay attention, beloved, how it is confirmed that this arrival of women to the tomb was not the first: it would not make sense, if women had not seen or heard anything about the resurrection of the Lord, for the angels to reproach them with the words: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” Obviously, they had all already heard from those who had personally seen the Lord and heard from Him the answer to the disciples and did not believe, which is why the angels now reproach them; There were some men with the women listed. Who says this? Evangelist Luke. “When the Sabbath was over, very early, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared, and some others with them.” Then the angels not only reproached them, but also shamed them, saying: “Remember how He spoke to you while he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. And they remembered His words” (Luke 24:1, 6–8). Then, returning again, these men and women, together with Mary Magdalene, told the disciples about everything that had happened, and Magdalene saw the coffin twice, and the rest - once. “And their words seemed empty to them, and they did not believe them” (Luke 24:11). If anyone is confused why the evangelist did not mention by name those men who, together with the women, took part in the second visit, then regarding them I believe that they were not among the famous, but either slaves of those women, or in general one of their subordinates. Of course, when Peter, excited by the fact that he had already heard a second time and, moreover, from many witnesses, that the Lord had risen, immediately went alone to the tomb, the evangelist definitely mentioned him, adding an indication of his name in the following words: “Peter, getting up, ran to the tomb and, bending down, saw only the linens lying, and went back, marveling at what had happened to himself” (Luke 24:12). Notice, beloved, that when he was one of the first to arrive immediately and alone, he did not dare to enter the tomb, but only looked in and saw the clothes lying there. Thus, he did not make an accurate inspection of the entire place. However, I will remind you of this later. 3. This is how the Evangelist Luke describes the second arrival of women to the tomb. What happened next? The soul of Mary Magdalene was inflamed that even now the disciples did not believe either her or those who were with her, but considered their words false. And so, with the onset of morning, that is, when the day began to dawn and the dawn had already arrived, but the twilight still lingered, she alone comes to the tomb - this is the third time - “and sees that the stone has been rolled away from the tomb” (John 20:1). “He runs and comes to Simon Peter” and John (John 20:2). And note the prudence of this woman. She grieved in her soul that they did not believe her when, on her first return, she, together with the Mother of God, announced to the disciples about the resurrection of the Lord, and that again, when early in the morning she announced the same thing with other wives and husbands, and then her words were considered a lie. She grieved not only that they did not believe her, but also that even none of them wanted to go to the tomb and look, but either because of fear of the Jews, or suppressed by strong and inexpressible grief, they almost all sat as if dead; Only Peter seemed to awaken after the second message from the women and went to the tomb, but he too limited himself to only looking into the tomb, not daring to even enter there, as we said. All this inflamed her spirit, and so, full of divine inspiration, she went again, as said, in the morning for the third time alone and, finding the stone taken from the tomb, hurried to return to the disciples. Along the way, she reasoned with herself along these lines: if I tell everyone, I’ll make a fuss again and bring suspicion upon myself as to whether I’m of sound mind. After all, if they didn’t believe me along with others, how will they believe me alone now? I’d rather talk separately with His closest and most ardent friends – Peter and John. But they too had already heard about the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and reacted to such a wonderful thing with complete disbelief, as if they had never heard anything. How can I encourage them to at least just come to the tomb and see what is there? This is what I will do: I will not tell them that the Lord has risen, otherwise nothing will come of it again; I will tell them the most probable and plausible news. And so Magdalene Mary comes, as it is said, to Peter and John and says to them: “They have taken the Lord away from the tomb, and we do not know where they laid Him” (John 20:2). She seemed to be saying this: listen to me, servants of God: whether the Lord rose from the dead or not, I will not prove this to you; but I tell you one thing with certainty, that His body is not in the tomb; So, you must try to find out who took His body from the tomb and where they laid It. Do you see the woman's wisdom? After all, if we did not assume that she was guided by such considerations, then we would fall into nonsense. How, in fact, could she, who touched the feet of the Lord together with the Holy Mother of God Mary and twice heard from the angels the news of His resurrection, again speak of Him as if he were dead, that “they took the Lord away from the tomb, and we do not know where they laid Him”? On the contrary, now we must admit how skillfully and cleverly she acted in this case. Her words had an immediate effect: there was nothing incredible about the body being stolen from the coffin. And so both of these disciples immediately hurried to the tomb. This amazing woman followed them. The two disciples entered the tomb and saw “only the linen cloths lying, and the cloth that was on His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but especially rolled up in another place” (John 20:6–7), but the body was nowhere to be found. Then, says the evangelist, they saw and believed that the Lord was taken from the tomb. Before this, there was only Peter there, and, moreover, out of fear and because of the darkness that was still there at that time, he could not see the place as clearly as he does now in the morning. Now they both saw and were convinced that the body of the Lord was taken from the tomb, according to the words of Mary Magdalene. But they still did not believe in His resurrection. Where can you see this? The Evangelist himself points to this: having spoken about how Peter entered the tomb, he adds about himself: “and he saw and believed. For they did not yet know from the Scriptures that He had to rise from the dead." “The disciples returned to themselves again,” not believing the resurrection (John 20:8–10). Even this Mary, despite the fact that she had seen and heard so much, was brought into doubt by them; in great confusion, she thought like this: until now I was completely sure that the apostles did not see the tomb and therefore did not believe in the resurrection; and now, having seen that there is no body here, they remain with the same conviction; Obviously, I, as a woman, fantasize and don’t see or hear anything positive, and they, enlightened from above, do not succumb to delusion and are not deceived as easily as we women. Shocked by this thought, Mary Magdalene remained at the tomb and cried. After Peter and John had left, she again looked into the tomb and “sees two angels sitting in a white robe” (John 20:12). To their question: “wife! Why are you crying? - she answered them: “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him” (John 20:13). Then turning around, as the angels stood at the Lord's entrance there, and seeing Him, she did not recognize Him. Why didn't you find out? Because after the resurrection the Lord was already clothed with an incorruptible body and was not recognizable except to those to whom He wanted to reveal Himself and when He wanted to. And to His question: “wife! Why are you crying? Who are you looking for? – she answered in the same way as she answered the angels. Thinking that this was the gardener of the garden in which the coffin was, she said to Him: “Sir! if you have carried Him out, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away” (John 20:15). This Mary, obviously, spoke without a ulterior motive or any hypocrisy, as was the case in relation to the disciples: she answered them this way because they really did not know, and in order to encourage them all to go to the tomb; and then, when they came and saw that there really was no body, but still did not believe in the resurrection, then she herself wavered in her conviction, and recognized the opinion of the apostles as more solid than her own. Under the influence of this change that took place in her, she answered the Lord and the angels, truly convinced that the body had been taken from the tomb by someone. Of course, Jesus, who saw her heart like God, exclaimed reproachfully to her: “Mary”! When, finally, she recognized His voice (after all, this was the second time she had seen Him) and fell again, as the first time, at His feet, she was no longer received by Him as favorably as then, but was removed by Him with the words: “don’t touch Me”! That time, two women hugged and kissed His honest and pure feet and did not hear anything like that from Him. You see that the Savior rightly removes her who did not believe from Himself, saying: “Do not touch Me”! At His first appearance, He freely allowed them to touch His feet and kiss them, in order to certify to them through touch, even more than through sight and hearing, that He, crucified and buried, had risen. And now He is already removing Magdalene from Himself; After such strong confirmation, having abandoned her conviction, she hears: “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father.” These words contain both a rebuke to her for her unbelief, and a stimulation of her mind with a reminder of the heavenly Father and the conviction not to think that He is only what she sees, i.e. a man raised from the dead, but that He is also God, as the true Son of God, who became man for our sake. “Go to my brothers and say to them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God” (John 20:16–17). Having heard and seen this, Magdalene goes to all the disciples. Now she no longer tells them that “they took away my Lord,” but with complete confidence and determination she announces to them that she saw the Lord, and this is what He told her. 4. Here is an image of the women's third visit to the tomb, a visit that took place in the morning, when there was still darkness. This image belongs to the Evangelist John the Theologian, who justly and godly enjoyed the love of Jesus for many reasons. There remains a fourth journey to the tomb of women, which, according to the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, was described by the Evangelist Mark. How can we see that the journey described by Mark is exactly the fourth? It shows the time. After all, Mark alone writes that the women came to the tomb when the sun rose. What exactly is he saying? “Mary Magdalene, - (all four evangelists, as already said, remember her) with other women who had prepared incense, - after the Sabbath... came to the tomb at sunrise" (Mark 16:1-2). Now let's see why Magdalene, having already been to the tomb three times, goes there again with other women, and they carry myrrh and incense and think that they will find the body in the tomb. Listen, beloved, carefully. After the third vision of God, being completely confident in the resurrection of the Lord and loudly testifying before the disciples that she saw the Lord and that He told her this and that, Mary Magdalene, as we said earlier, no longer doubted. But when she saw Mary, the mother of James the Younger and Josiah, and Salome and the other women going to the tomb and having incense, and learned that they wished to go at sunrise, she also went with them, not as doubting, but as a leader, and with joy that many times she saw the tomb empty and hell devoid of spoils. Other wives either did not hear, or if they heard, it was in the form of simple rumors, but did not have detailed information. Of course, they “talk to each other,” as the evangelist says, i.e. They spoke not with Mary Magdalene, but among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” And, looking, they see that the stone has been rolled away; and he was very great” (Mark 16:3–4). You see that they still knew nothing about the stone, while the women about whom the evangelists Matthew and Luke spoke, as well as the apostles Peter and John, saw the rolled away stone with their own eyes. Then, “entering,” says the evangelist, “into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were horrified” (Mark 16:5). But he did not reproach them, as in the Evangelist Luke the angel, and in John the Lord himself, because he knew that they had come for the first time. He did not reproach Magdalene either, since from her joyful face he saw that it was not doubt about the resurrection of the Lord that prompted her to come again to the tomb, but joy and admiration about what happened. Therefore, he not only did not reproach them, as I said, but also encouraged them with fear, like the first angel in Matthew. “Do not be afraid. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, He is not here. But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is there before you in Galilee. you will see as He said to you” (Mark 16:6–7). It is well added here: “and to Peter.” After all, if it had not been directly announced that he too should go to Galilee along with the other disciples, I think he would not have believed that the Lord had forgiven him for his renunciation. “And they went out and ran from the tomb; they were seized with trembling and horror, and they did not say anything to anyone, because they were afraid” (Mark 16:8). Here again, from here - from the fact that they did not say anything to anyone, it is clear that with the exception of Mary Magdalene these were other women, different from the first, and that this visit to the tomb must be distinguished from the three described by other evangelists, and not as the godless and polytheistic former tyrants and criminals say - as if there was only one journey of women to the tomb and as if in the description of it the evangelists greatly contradict each other. Meanwhile, both in time, and in persons, and in the nature of the announcement to the disciples or omission, it is obvious that both the women and the journey to the tomb are different. So, let's put everything that has been said together. First of all, according to the story of the Evangelist Matthew, Mary Magdalene and Mary called James, whom I take to be the Mother of God, alone came to the tomb late on Saturday, before the dawn of the Lord's Day, that is, at the end of the Saturday, as we said. According to Luke, Mary Magdalene again went along with Joanna and Mary of Jacob and some others. I distinguish this Mary of Jacob from the Mother of God, although the Gospel also calls this last one the same way. this Mary or some other James, or really was the mother of James the Younger and Josiah - that’s how the Evangelist Mark mentioned her. So, these women mentioned by Luke were no longer late on Saturday, but early in the morning they came to the tomb. John depicts the journey of Mary Magdalene alone, and not late on Saturday, and not early in the morning - but when? In the morning, however, when there was still darkness: this is exactly how some understood it. With her were the apostles Peter and John, who then, with their unbelief, forced her not to believe along with them. According to Mark, Magdalene again walked - this courageous woman who labored four times - and Mary, the mother of James the Younger and Josiah. Notice, beloved, James the Younger. After all, the Mother of God was called mother, i.e. stepmother of Jacob the elder. Salome and some others were with them on this fourth journey. They came to the tomb not late on Saturday, but early in the morning, and not even in the morning, when there was still darkness, but already in the morning - at sunrise, as the evangelist said. From this it can be seen that the so-called morning is closer to sunrise, not like early in the morning. I say this, beloved, because some previously said that the second journey should be considered the one described by the Evangelist John and what happened in the morning, when there was still darkness, and the third is what Luke described, in the early morning, as if the so-called morning happened first and the early morning was already connected to it. At first glance, this seems absurd to me, and it is refuted by the fact that the Evangelist Mark says that simply “after the Sabbath” the women came to the tomb, “at sunrise” (Mark 16:2). If earlier the morning was after a simple morning, then, of course, the first would be connected with the rising of the sun, and not the last. And Daniel, speaking about Darius, put it this way: “In the morning the king arose at dawn and hastened to the lion’s den” (Dan. 6:19). But most importantly, if the visit described by John had been the second, and Luke’s the third, then many other absurdities would have been revealed besides this. If Peter and John already went to the tomb and saw with their own eyes what was inside the tomb, as John himself says, then how could they later, when the women - according to Luke - proclaimed to them the words of the angels, consider what they were telling to be a lie? Or why did Peter go alone to the tomb, and, moreover, as if in amazement and fear, and limit himself to just an external examination of the tomb, if he had already gone there with John, penetrated into the tomb itself and examined everything in detail? So, I consider it completely absurd to put what John tells before what is conveyed by Luke. It now remains to explain how many Marys are there that the evangelists mention? There was a lot of controversy about this. I think there are five. However, consider my words with all care. There is, of course, Mary Magdalene, from whom the Lord cast out seven demons, which is why she was so zealous, in gratitude for such a good deed. Then, Mary of Jacob: the Mother of God is known by this name, as we have already said. Since, due to the greatness and incredibleness of the miracle, the truth of the seedless birth could not immediately be revealed (otherwise the Virgin would have been in danger of being stoned if the rumor had spread that Christ was not the son of Joseph), for this reason, in the eyes of everyone, she was considered the wife of Joseph and, therefore, was the stepmother of Jacob, the son of Joseph. If anyone would like to object to why she was called not by the name of Joseph as a husband, but by the name of Jacob as his stepmother, then it is not difficult to answer. Jacob enjoyed great fame as a God-fearing, self-controlled and righteous man - it was not for nothing that everyone called him righteous. Moreover, I believe that at the time when the Lord Jesus Christ was thirty years old from birth and He came out to preach the gospel, Joseph was no longer alive. After all, when the Lord was a baby, and even when He reached twelve years of age, Joseph is mentioned in the gospels; and during the working of miracles and the honest suffering of the Savior, Joseph is no longer mentioned anywhere. Without a doubt, when Jesus was told: “Behold Your Mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak with You” (Matthew 12:47; Mark 3:32), without mentioning Joseph, this obviously shows that Joseph was no longer alive then. That is why the Most Holy Virgin is given to John by the Lord on the cross. Then it is quite clear why she was known under the name of Mary of Jacob, and not Joseph. The third Mary is the mother of James the Younger and Josiah, whom St. Mark mentions, and is different from her. She, I think, is also Mary of Jacob, indicated by the Evangelist Luke, because the indication of the Evangelist Luke, of course, cannot be attributed to the Mother of God, in view of what was said earlier. And the evangelist Mark, having mentioned her above in the following words: “Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Josiah” (Mark 15:40), below again this same Mary of James simply calls the left of James: “after the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene and Mary of Jacob and Salome bought spices to go to anoint Him” (Mark 16:1). If she was the mother of someone other than James the younger and not even Jacob, who is called the brother of the Lord, then obviously she must be distinguished from the three indicated. Meanwhile, there is also Mary of Cleopas, the sister of the Mother of God, whom John the Theologian mentions at the cross (John 19:25). There is also Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus (John 11:2). Knowing all this, beloved, and standing firm, do not allow those who would slander the Scriptures to do so. In him, as speaking by the Holy Spirit, lies complete truthfulness and truth. And only the weakness of the human mind and the reluctance out of vanity to admit it - attributes its own imperfection to Scripture as disagreements. But you, the honest and holy flock of Christ, accept the food of your souls - I mean the Divine Scripture - as true and immaculate. The truth feeds you, because the truth and the resurrection and the life is Christ our God. And if we do not understand something from Holy Scripture as it should, then we will have patience until the next century, when we will be worthy to contemplate God face to face and will be enlightened by the knowledge of all things, when we will know God no longer in part, but just as we ourselves have been known from Him (1 Cor. 13:12). And in this lies the highest bliss for every rational creature, created by love and drawn from Christ Jesus our Lord, to Whom be glory and power with His beginningless Father and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Creations attributed to St. John Chrysostom and classified in the Minya edition as Spuria.