1 Corinthians 15:3b-6a, 7 And The Bodily Resurrection Of Jesus -- By: Kirk R. MacGregor

Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 49:2 (Jun 2006)
Article: 1 Corinthians 15:3b-6a, 7 And The Bodily Resurrection Of Jesus
Author: Kirk R. MacGregor


1 Corinthians 15:3b-6a, 7 And The Bodily Resurrection Of Jesus

Kirk R. Macgregor*

One of the most recurring claims leveled by modern exegetes against the historicity of the bodily resurrection of Jesus has been that the pre-Pauline creed in 1 Cor 15:3–7, at best, implies that Jesus’ earliest disciples believed in a spiritual resurrection which did not necessarily vacate his tomb.1 Two lines of argument are normally given in support of this premise. (1) Since Paul employs the same Greek verb as the tradition, ὤφθη (“he was seen”), to describe his visionary experience of the risen Christ, Paul’s experience was the same in character as that of the preceding disciples.2 (2) The formula contains no mention of the empty tomb, thereby suggesting that the corpse of Jesus was irrelevant to the concept of his resurrection held by the Jerusalem church.3 Such an understanding of the resurrection was shared by Paul, as displayed in his contrast between the physical and spiritual bodies (1 Cor 15:44). However, this understanding evolved during the second Christian generation into the doctrine of physical resurrection featured in the Gospel appearance narratives.4 The purpose of this essay will be to challenge (1) and (2) on form-critical grounds and to reveal in the process that the earliest followers of Jesus both believed in his physical resurrection and recounted resurrection appearances qualitatively different from that of Paul.

I. Prolegomena

Form criticism has established that within 1 Cor 15:3–7 Paul quotes a primitive Christian creed originally formulated during the earliest years of

* Kirk R. MacGregor is visiting instructor of religion at the University of Northern Iowa, 1227 West 27th Street, Cedar Falls, IA 50614.

the Jesus movement.5 Although scholars differ concerning its precise length, there has emerged a consensus that at least verses 3b–5 belong to the ancient tradition based on the following linguistic data. First, Paul prefaces the creed by reminding the Corinthians, “For I delivered (παρέδωκα) to you as of first importance what I also received (παρέλαβον)” (v.

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