Who was the first person to see Jesus after his resurrection? To try to answer this question, we first need to look at what each gospel says about the matter.
The Gospel of John (20:1-18):
This gospel gives the most detailed description of what happened on the morning of the resurrection. It says that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb shortly before dawn and saw that it was open. Thinking that someone had moved the body, she ran and told Peter and an un-named disciple what she had seen. These two men ran to the tomb, found it empty, and then left the area. But Mary lingered nearby and began to weep. Eventually she looked into the tomb again and saw two angels, who asked her why she was weeping. She told them that someone had moved Jesus' body, and that she didn't know where it was. Then suddenly she turned and saw Jesus himself. Here is the description of her encounter with him, as told in John 20:14-16:
At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
Thus, according to this gospel, Mary Magdalene was the first person to see the risen Jesus. She didn't recognize him at first and thought he was a gardener. But when he spoke her name, she immediately realized who he was.
The Gospel of Matthew (28:1-20):
This gospel also begins its account with the discovery of the empty tomb. But in its account, Mary Magdalene is accompanied to the tomb by another woman who it calls "the other Mary". After these two women reach the tomb, they see an angel who says that Jesus has risen and isn't there. The angel then instructs them to tell the disciples that they can see Jesus in Galilee. The two women hurry off to find the disciples, but on the way they suddenly encounter Jesus himself. He says, "Greetings", and they fall at his feet and worship him.
Thus, according to this account, Mary Magdalene and another woman also named Mary were the first eyewitnesses to the resurrection. This gospel doesn't describe any other encounters with Jesus in or near Jerusalem. But it says that eleven disciples went to Galilee, (as the angel had instructed), and saw Jesus there.
The Gospel of Luke (24:1-35):
According to this gospel, several women accompanied Mary Magdalene on her visit to the tomb, including Joanna and Mary the mother of James. After the women find the tomb empty, they see two men in shining garments standing next to them. These two men tell them that Jesus has risen and left. The women then go to the disciples and tell them what happened at the tomb. The disciples don't believe them, but Peter goes to the tomb anyway, finds it empty, and then leaves. Thus, in this account nobody sees Christ during the initial visits to the tomb.
But later two of his followers do encounter him during a trip from Jerusalem to a village named Emmaus. One of these followers is called Cleopas, but the other one isn't identified. As they walk toward the village, Jesus joins them and begins talking with them, but they don't recognize him. After they reach the village, they all decide to have dinner together. During the meal the two travelers suddenly recognize their companion as Jesus, but he instantly vanishes from their sight. They hurry back to Jerusalem to tell everyone what happened. When they arrive, they find the disciples gathered together talking, and saying that Jesus is alive and has appeared to Peter, though nothing is said about where or when this appearance to Peter took place.
Thus, this gospel isn't clear about who saw Jesus first. It could have been the two men who encountered him during the trip to the village, but initially didn't recognize him. Or it could have been Peter, who in the meantime had told the other disciples about an encounter of his own. In either case, this account is inconsistent with those of John and Matthew, because none of the women saw Jesus near the tomb, but instead were told that he had already left the area.
The Gospel of Mark (16:1-20):
The oldest known manuscripts of this gospel don't describe any post-resurrection appearances of Jesus Christ. Partly for this reason, many scholars believe that this gospel's original ending has been lost. Whatever the case, these oldest manuscripts stop abruptly at verse 16:8, right after the discovery of the empty tomb. In the last two verses Mary Magdalene and two other women are told that Jesus has risen and is on his way to Galilee, and that his followers can see him there. Thus, if the original ending was lost, the missing part most likely described at least one appearance in Galilee but none in the vicinity of Jerusalem.
Later scribes who made copies of this gospel realized that the original ending may have been lost, and several new endings were eventually invented to take its place. The ending chosen for most modern Bibles consists of twelve verses (16:9-20) known as the "Longer Ending" or "Apocryphal Addition". This ending says that the risen Jesus made his first appearance to Mary Magdalene. But this was probably copied from John's account and thus is unlikely to be an independent source of information.
The possible loss of the original ending of Mark is especially unfortunate, because many scholars think that it was the first New Testament gospel to be written.
First Corinthians (15:1-8):
In addition to what the gospels say, there is also an important passage about the resurrection in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. This passage (15:1-8) specifically says that the risen Jesus appeared first to Peter (who Paul calls Cephas), then to the twelve, and then to others.
Paul doesn't say where he got this information, but he did know Peter, and he also met some other disciples during his trips to Jerusalem. For this reason, and also because this letter to the Corinthians was probably written at least 15 years earlier than any of the gospels, some scholars think that it may be the most reliable source of information about the resurrection.
Conclusions:
Many people find these different accounts to be confusing and inconsistent. Attempts have been made to reconcile them, but they necessarily involve loose interpretations and questionable arguments. The discrepancies may have arisen because the gospels probably weren't written until at least 35 years after the events, and by then most of the original witnesses were either dead or couldn't be located. Paul's letter to the Corinthians was written earlier, but it doesn't give any specific details about the appearances it mentions.
The discrepancies could indicate that the stories gradually changed as they passed from person to person during the intervening years. However, the common elements suggest that there were originally two basic stories about what happened on that first Easter morning. In one story Jesus makes an appearance to Mary Magdalene (and possibly another Mary) near the tomb. And in the other story he appears to Peter at an unspecified place and time. But the accounts differ as to which appearance took place first. Also, Luke and Paul seem to ignore, or even deny, the story about an appearance to any women.
In trying to decide between the various possibilities, some scholars think that Paul's first letter to the Corinthians should carry the most weight, because it‘s probably closest in time to the events themselves. Paul specifically says that Peter was the first person to see the risen Jesus. Luke also indicates that Jesus might have appeared to Peter first. But neither account actually describes the appearance.
John and Matthew say that Mary Magdalene (and possibly another Mary) saw the risen Jesus first. Both gospels also say that the appearance took place near the tomb, and both give some details about it. Although those details aren't consistent, the accounts could still be based on the same original story. It's possible that the other writers (Paul and Luke) had also heard this story, but intentionally excluded it from their accounts.
Why would Paul and Luke intentionally exclude the story about the appearance to the women? Some scholars have suggested that they may have done so because women weren't considered to be reliable witnesses. But another possibility is that Peter wanted the story suppressed. By suppressing the story about the women, he would find it easier to get other people to believe that the first appearance was to him, and this would enhance his status and reinforce his leadership role in the early community of followers.
If there was an attempt to suppress the story about the women, it didn't succeed, and this could indicate just how important their role was. In fact, if judged by the amount of surviving detail, there is more evidence for the appearance to the women than for the appearance to Peter.
Note: According to the Catholic Church, the risen Jesus visited his mother Mary before he appeared to anyone else, to comfort her and let her know that he was alive. But this is merely an assumption based on what he should have done. There is no mention of such a visit in the New Testament.
