Such was the story as Mark found it to tell. It was
designed, firstly, to refute the Jews who denied that
Jesus had risen at all from the dead ; secondly, to
establish that he had risen in the flesh — an idea which,
as we have pointed out, was foreign to Paul, but not
to the beliefs and outlook of that age. And, thirdly,
in the absence of the apostles, this tale provides
witnesses to the empty tomb in the persons of the
women, who, having followed Jesus all the way from
Galilee, might be deemed to be trustworthy.
Let us compare with Mark the story of Matthew,
and see how quickly a legend of this kind was
amplified and embellished, in answer to objections
supposed to be raised by Jewish opponents.
