To show that the resurrection of Jesus is credible, Paul lists several witnesses to the fact that Jesus was alive (15:5-7).
Cephas and then to the Twelve. While the Gospels report the first witnesses of the resurrection were the women who came to the tomb to anoint Jesus, this creedal statement pre-dates the Gospels and begins with an appearance first to Peter. This may be Luke 24:36-49, although Peter is not mentioned specifically. In John 21:15–19 Jesus re-instates Peter as a leader of the disciples after the resurrection.
Five hundred brothers at one time. This is not recorded in the Gospels, although it is possible this is a reference to the commissioning of disciples in Matthew 28:18-20, although only the eleven are mentioned in v. 16. What is the point of saying some of them have died? It is possible this is a sad fact, some of the original witnesses of the resurrection have naturally died in the 20+ years since the resurrection. On the other hand, it is possible some in the Corinthian church thought the “true believer” would live until the Parousia, so the reference to the death of witnesses shows this belief cannot be true.
James, Jesus’ brother. As with the five hundred, a story of Jesus appearing to his brother is not found in the New Testament. It is a fact he is a significant leader in the Jerusalem church by Acts 15 and Paul refers to him in Galatians. Since the brothers of Jesus were not believers prior to the resurrection, it is likely Jesus appeared to James, confirming Jesus was the Messiah to his family.
Jerome, The Lives of Illustrious Men, 2. The Gospel also which is called the Gospel according to the Hebrews, and which I have recently translated into Greek and Latin and which also Origen often makes use of, after the account of the resurrection of the Saviour says, “but the Lord, after he had given his grave clothes to the servant of the priest, appeared to James (for James had sworn that he would not eat bread from that hour in which he drank the cup of the Lord until he should see him rising again from among those that sleep) and again, a little later, it says “ ‘Bring a table and bread,’ said the Lord.” And immediately it is added, “He brought bread and blessed and brake and gave to James the Just and said to him, ‘my brother eat thy bread, for the son of man is risen from among those that sleep.’” (NPNF, 3: 362).
Is it possible these appearances to Peter and James represent a commission to ministry? James seems to focus on Jerusalem, reaching priests and Pharisees with the Gospel of Jesus, while Peter goes to Diaspora Jews in Galilee and Antioch. Paul, the third named person in this section, is directly commissioned to go to the Gentiles, so it is at least possible the people named were specifically commissioned to a particular ministry after the resurrection. Is it also possible these named appearances reflect the divisions in the church at Corinth? Both Peter and Paul represent factions within the church, perhaps too there is a conservative Jewish faction holding to James as their leader.
Why doesn’t Paul mention the women who were the first witnesses of the resurrection? Each of the four Gospels mentions several women who visit the tomb early in the morning and discover Jesus is no longer in the grave. Although they are the first witnesses of the Jesus’s resurrection, Paul only mentions the men who saw Jesus. There are probably more reasons for this, but Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians are a tradition handed down to him, so this pre-dates the writing of any of the four Gospels. It is possible Paul did not know about Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene (John 20), which was likely written 25 years later. On the other hand, Paul is giving a list of credible witnesses, or maybe better, authoritative witnesses that would mean something to the Corinthian church. They knew Peter and the Apostles, and likely heard of James the Lord’s brother. that several women were the first witnesses would be less important to a Greek audience. (Feel free to add other ideas in the comments!)
Last of all, Paul lists himself as a witness to the resurrection. Paul is very humble since he was not a follower of Jesus prior to the resurrection (15:8-11). Historically, Paul is not a follower of Jesus until he encounters Jesus on the road to Damascus. (However, see this: Did Paul Know Jesus?) As is well known, he is a persecutor of Jesus’ followers prior to the resurrection appearance of Jesus. Paul is claiming to be an eyewitness to the resurrection, albeit one with different credentials than Peter or James since he did not know Jesus before the resurrection.
His experience was like one with an “untimely birth” (ESV). This word (ἔκτρωμα) is used for a stillborn child or a miscarriage. Many commentators think this is an insult Paul faced in his ministry, he is not just a “Johnny-come-lately” or someone who is trying to “jump on the band-wagon,” he has some spiritual deficiency that ought to disqualify him from being considered an apostle. Rather than responding to an attack, Paul is simply listing himself as the final witness because he was the final witness, and his experience is unique among the Apostles.
Paul is “unworthy to be called an apostle” because he persecuted the church, despite the fact he was called to be the apostle to the Gentiles by Jesus himself. Nevertheless, Paul by the grace of God, “I am what I am.” Likely he carried a great deal of guilt for persecuting the early believers as well as for missing out on hearing Jesus preach during his lifetime.
For Paul, the resurrection is a reliable event in history witnessed by a wide variety of people, including people who were not among the followers of Jesus during his ministry.
Do you think the appearances were part of Paul’s gospel, or just the part according to the scriptures?
Woodrow Nichols
I think the witnesses were part of the tradition Paul delivered to Corinth, other than adding his own experience at the end of the list.
James was likely the strongest of these witnesses to Jesus in bodily, resurrected form, especially in 1st century Jewish circles. Do you consider James bar Joseph to be a half brother to Yeshua of Nazareth?
Since the resurrection is such a vital part of the Christian faith, Paul lists witnesses that saw Jesus after he died and rose again. The first witness of the resurrection that Paul lists is Cephas (Peter) and then the rest of the disciples. Other than the recorded witnesses that we have in the Bible, I think that further proof that the disciples saw Jesus was that they all died (historically) for their faith. To me, it would be crazy to die for a lie. Why would these men all die pretty brutal deaths just to cover up a lie that would not really matter. Paul also says that 500 people witnessed Jesus after the resurrection as well. Jesus also appeared to his brother James according to Paul as well. I have never really thought about how the women who saw Jesus at the tomb were not mentioned. I do think that it makes sense that Paul would not have known yet about the women seeing Jesus at the tomb. Paul says that he is a witness to the resurrection. Since Paul saw Jesus on the road to Damascus he counts as both an apostle as well as a witness to the resurrection of Christ. To me, all of these witnesses just add to the fact that Jesus did die, and that he was in fact raised from the dead.
I believe Paul writes about all the witnesses of the resurrection to build up his credibility to believers so people with questions had so many sources to gain information from. As far as the women being left out of the writing, possibly it was from a view of women did not know what they were talking about and could be viewed as lying, this is just an idea but I do not find it justifiable to gaining peoples following. Jesus’ resurrection is the largest event to happen in the entire history of the earth so building up a list of people that were able to witness the greatest event would be a smart idea because it is such a huge idea that could be made up if only one person spoke of it.
How can evangelical scholars and apologists believe that they can be objective evaluating the historical evidence for the Resurrection when they believe that they can perceive the presence of the resurrected Jesus living within them? Evangelicals love to discuss the inner presence of Christ among themselves, but not with skeptics. Not at all! There is one question that evangelical apologists dread to be asked when debating a skeptic: “Do you perceive the presence of the resurrected Jesus within you?”
https://lutherwasnotbornagaincom.wordpress.com/2023/02/19/50-evangelical-apologists-were-asked-do-you-perceive-the-inner-presence-of-jesus-none-responded/
Probably the same way hyper critical scholars do. Both claim objectivity while dismissing any evidence that disagrees with them.
“Evangelicals love to discuss the inner presence of Christ among themselves…” I have never had an evangelical talk with me about the inner presence of Christ…am I doing it wrong?
Hi Phillip,
You are the pastor of a Bible Church. Aren’t Bible churches evangelical? Do you ever preach on the comfort that the inner presence of Christ provides to the believer?
When I am in the presence of my wife, I am 100% certain of her presence. I can see her, hear her, and touch her. There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever. Can you say the same about the presence of Jesus within you? No way. Be honest. You have at least some doubt, right?
If you admit that you do not have the same certainty about the presence of Jesus, then you admit that it is possible that you are mistaken. You admit that it is possible that your mind is playing tricks on you. And if Jesus does not dwell within you as the Christian holy book promises, then your entire belief system is false, correct?
Is it rational to believe that an invisible, inaudible, untouchable spirit is present within you when even you admit that you are not 100% certain of its reality? No. So why should anyone trust your “research” on the historicity of the alleged resurrection of this same first century man with such irrational thinking?
I think you are hearing something you want to hear that is not in my post, nor is it a part of the Christian world in which I am a part. Did you notice this was a discussion of Paul’s eyewitnesses to the resurrection in 2 Corinthians 15, not your weird idea about what some evangelicals believe?
Were you unaware you do not have to agree with Paul (or me) about anything? Why not hang out with your wife, enjoy your life and not get worked up about things you disagree with?
If 100,000 eyewitnesses claimed to see a resurrected corpse levitating into the clouds, I still would not believe them. Here’s why:
https://lutherwasnotbornagaincom.wordpress.com/2023/06/21/if-100000-eyewitnesses-claimed-to-see-the-resurrected-jesus-i-would-still-not-believe/
Do you know with complete certainty that anyone other than you had a mind? Nothing can be believed with 100% certainty. Can an atheist claim to have irrefutable proof that God doesn’t exist?
Paul provides crucial details regarding multiple witnesses who testified to Jesus’ resurrection, which makes understanding his resurrection on the cross illuminating. Next to the twelve are the two witnesses that we see: Cephas. The ladies who came to the tomb to anoint Jesus are said in the gospel to have been the first witnesses of the resurrection, which is miraculous. Being aware that Paul doesn’t provide a detailed account of the circumstances surrounding the women who served as the first resurrection witnesses. The fact that multiple women are mentioned in all four of the Gospels as visiting the tomb early in the morning and discovering Jesus is no longer in the grave is startling. Paul only refers to the men who saw Jesus, despite the fact that they were the first to see the resurrection of Christ. Dr. Long (2022), describes Paul’s self-reporting as a resurrection testimony. Given that Paul was a follower of Jesus who experienced the resurrection, it is clear from his character that he is humble. Being aware that, before Jesus’ resurrection appearance, he was persecuting his followers. Paul, who did not know Jesus before to the resurrection, is claiming to be an eyewitness to the resurrection, albeit with a different set of credentials than Peter or James. I really liked Paul’s statement that “I am what I am by the grace of God”. Being aware of God’s grace being with him (1 Corinthians 15:10). God is always with you, no matter what.
To demonstrate to those that believe that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, Paul lists several eyewitness accounts that say otherwise. From Cephas and to the twelve, 500 people, Jesus’ brother, James, that’s quite a handful of people who witnessed Jesus’ resurrection. When talking about the eye witness accounts, I might’ve missed this, but I was a bit surprised by not hearing of the two women who witnessed Jesus’ resurrection. The two women are the first two people who found Jesus out of the tomb, however- Paul only mentions the men who saw him. It makes you question why he does this? A few ideas arise, like Paul most likely didn’t know Mary witnessed him considering what he was doing during this time of Jesus’ resurrection, also because of the women’s role in society, possibly wouldn’t be as important as to several men eyewitness accounts.
In connection to Paul, that’s also interesting to point out is that he includes himself as an eyewitness account. But he also says he didn’t know Jesus. At the time of the resurrection, Paul would’ve been a prosecutor of the church, and describes this almost as an “untimely birth.” He then goes on to say that because he was persecuting the people of Jesus’ followers, he finds him unfit to be an apostle because of his doings. But still, the Grace of God called Paul to start his ministry, and being one of the most important figures in the Bible for his story, faith, and teaching.
I believe he did know Mary Magdalene was first, but he is arguing with some very close minded Corinthians. He mentions Mary and the help she provided him at the end of his Letter to the Romans.
Now that the one of the most important moments in history has concluded, it is time for Jesus after his resurrection to appear to many other people. We have accounts of many witnesses that Jesus went to and saw: Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18), Simon Peter (1 Cor 15:5), the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), and much more. Something that is just as significant as people seeing and feeling the resurrected Christ is how they responded to it. We see lives completely transformed by the power of Jesus. So much so, the disciples in specific, were willing to die for their faith. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, written by John Foxe, although not reliable, gives us potential ways that the disciples could have died. But the main point here is that the resurrection of Jesus Christ had the power to lead many witnesses who saw him to literally give up their lives for him because they believed the what they saw. That’s powerful. In America today, we are no where near to the kind of persecution that 1st century christians and even contemporary christians in the East are dealing with. I would argue that we are experiencing more mental persecution than physical, but that is besides the point. We still see Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection power completely changing the lives of people today leading to complete surrender (Rom 12:2). I find myself in that category and to anyone who ever reads this, I hope you can confidently say you are too.
The witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection is a necessity for Paul’s message and in reality the majority of the believers today. Could you imagine a world where Jesus did not appear to anyone after his death and the disciples still wrote that he was raised from the dead. It just would not work. I myself would find that story of the resurrection practically impossible. Who would believe the just take my word for it narrative. There are some that would claim they would and I would say good for them. I think you are correct with Paul listing “authoritative” witnesses. This would make the most sense to me. Paul is trying to give evidence for his case. The list of witnesses Paul gives will hopefully do that for him. These were people that the Church would have known and listened to. He then provides a large number of people that Jesus appears to at once. A crowd of over 500 at one time. This would have been a hard number to fake a Jesus sighting. I don’t necessarily think Paul was talking about the 12 and James when talking about those who had fallen asleep, but more likely I think the witnesses as a whole. I think Paul’s self-talk is very interesting towards the end of this section. A lot of times in the mid Acts dispensational view Paul gets propped up on a totem pole, but it’s clear Paul sees himself as the opposite of one deserving this. He makes an important point though. That he is who is (an apostle) because of God’s grace. I think the point of them listening to the authority of the witnesses that Paul has mentioned previously is driven home on verse 11. He says so that whoever may be preaching to them they would believe. This to me indicates that these people had some sort of rapport with the early Christian Churches maybe outside of their ministries.