On the third day after Jesus’ death, the women visit the tomb—but who do they encounter? 

Mark 16:5-6 says they saw a young man. Matthew 28:2-5 describes an angel. Luke 24:3-4 reports two men. Traditional harmonization suggests the women actually saw two angels who appeared as men, with each Gospel selectively reporting part of the scene: Matthew and Mark mention only one figure (without denying a second), and Luke describes two men, later implied to be angels. 

However, none of the Synoptic Gospels explicitly state that the women saw two angels. That detail appears only in John’s account, where Mary Magdalene alone sees two angels during what is likely a later visit (John 20:11-12). Thus, reconciling all four accounts requires constructing a version of events that is not fully described in any one Gospel. It harmonizes the contradictions—but at the cost of departing from what each text actually says.