In the discussion regarding the historicity of Jesus' death (by crucifixion) and His resurrection, 1 Cor. 15:1-10 is sometimes a less discussed passage than others. However, there is evidence that this Paul's "formula" so to speak was received from other/earlier sources"
" 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. " (1 Corinthians 15:3-8 ESV)
In this article, I will examine several things:
-Evidence that this is tradition Paul received
-Evidence that it came from Jerusalem
-Evidence for the original tradition being very early
Evidence that this is tradition Paul received
1) There are number of non-Pauline traits in this text:
-ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν "for our sins" - this is used by Paul (besides this passage) in Galatians 1:4.
-The phrase "in accordance with the Scriptures" is not used elsewhere in the writings of the Apostle Paul.
-The word ὤφθη is used only here in 1 Cor. 15:5-8 and 1 Timothy 3:16.
-"The Twelve" is used here. Elsewhere Paul uses "apostles".
-Paul uses the perfect passive ἐγήγερται ("has been raised"), while the aorist is used elsewhere in the Pauline corpus (e.g., Romans 4:24-25; 6:4, 9; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 2:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:10).
2) Paul uses terminology which highly suggests that he received this "formula", rather than creating it himself. For example, in verse 3 he uses the phrase "what I also received" before giving the "creed" ('Christ died for our sins...raised...in accordance with the Scriptures').
Evidence that it came from Jerusalem
1) Many passages in Galatians and Acts indicate that the church leaders, most notably the apostles, stayed in Jerusalem:
"nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days." (Galatians 1:17-18)
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
"And the high priest questioned them, saying, 'We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.” (Acts 5:27b-28)
"And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles." (Acts 8:1)
"Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem," (Acts 13:13)
"And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question." (Acts 15:2)
[See also Acts 16:4; 21:17-18; Galatians 2:1-10.]
1 Cor. 15:9-11 (in particular, verse 11) indicate that the apostles also preached the kerygma that Paul had received and was preaching himself to the church in Corinth:
"9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed." (1 Corinthians 15:9-11)
The pronouns "we" and "them" clearly have their common antecedent in the word "apostles". This shows that the apostles were in Jerusalem preaching that Jesus had died and had later risen from the dead.
Several passages indicate that Paul had visited Jerusalem (perhaps around two times) prior to when he was writing 1 Corinthians. Here is one example:
"27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). 29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul." (Acts 11:27-30)
[See also Acts 15:1-29; Galatians 2:1-10]
It is possible that Paul may have received the tradition from the apostles in one of his visits to Jerusalem.
Evidence for the original tradition being very early
Scholars are very widespread in their agreement that this tradition is very early after the life of Jesus. The exact number of years after is debated by some. But overall, we have good reason to think that the tradition given here by Paul is very early:
"This tradition, we can be entirely confident, was, formulated as tradition within months of Jesus' death." (James D.G. Dunn, Jesus Remembered [Eerdmans; Grand Rapids, MI, 2003], pg. 855)
"...within two or three years of the First Easter..." (“The Apostle Paul, the Bishop of Newark, and the Resurrection of Jesus.” Crux 30 [March 1994], pg. 6)
"Paul 'received' the tradition - that is, he was taught it at his conversion - perhaps two years after Jesus' death (1 Cor. 15:3-8)" (Michael Goulder, "The Explanatory Power of Conversion Visions", in Paul Copan and R.K. Tacelli, Jesus' Resurrection: Fact or Figment?, pg. 98)
"The reports about the christophanies listed here (verses 5-7) are doubtless very old, since they all go back to the time before the appearance of Christ to Paul (verse 8)." (Gerd Ludemann, The Resurrection of Christ: A Historical Inquiry, pg. 31)
"This formula is widely accepted as quite old, probably reaching back to within the first five years after Jesus' death, and its origin is usually looked for in the Jerusalem church, where Paul might have got acquainted with it." (J. Engelbrecht, "The Empty Tomb (Lk 24:1-12) in Historical Perspective", in Neotestimentica 23 [1989], pg. 244, link)
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