Resurrection of Jesus

===Paul and the first Christians===
{{See also|Pauline Christianity|Jewish Christian|Paul the Apostle and Jewish Christianity}}

The moment of resurrection itself is not described in any of the gospels, but all four contain passages in which Jesus is portrayed as predicting his death and resurrection, or contain allusions that "the reader will understand".{{sfn|Powell|2018|p=unpaginated}} The New Testament writings do not contain any descriptions of a resurrection but rather accounts of an [[empty tomb]] and appearances of Jesus.{{sfn|Vermes|2008a|p=141}}

One of the letters sent by [[Paul the Apostle]] to one of the early Greek churches, the [[First Epistle to the Corinthians]], contains one of the earliest [[Creed#Christian creeds|Christian creed]]s referring to post-mortem appearances of Jesus, and expressing the belief that he was raised from the dead, namely 1 Corinthians 15:3–8.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Corinthians|15:3–8}}</ref>{{sfn|Neufeld|1964|p=47}}{{sfn|Taylor|2014|p=374}} It is widely accepted that this creed predates Paul and the writing of First Corinthians.{{sfn|Kloppenborg|1978|p=351}} Scholars have contended that in his presentation of the resurrection, Paul refers to this as an earlier authoritative tradition, transmitted in a rabbinic style, that he received and has passed on to the church at Corinth.{{refn|group=note|Early creed:
* Neufeld, ''The Earliest Christian Confessions'' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964) p. 47
* Reginald Fuller, ''The Formation of the Resurrection Narratives'' (New York: Macmillan, 1971) p. 10
* Wolfhart Pannenberg, ''Jesus{{snd}}God and Man'' translated Lewis Wilkins and Duane Pribe (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1968) p. 90
* [[Oscar Cullmann]], ''The Early Church: Studies in Early Christian History and Theology'', ed. A. J. B. Higgins (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1966) p. 64
* Hans Conzelmann, ''1 Corinthians'', translated James W. Leitch (Philadelphia: Fortress 1969) p. 251
* Bultmann, ''Theology of the New Testament'' vol. 1 pp. 45, 80–82, 293
* R. E. Brown, ''The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus'' (New York: Paulist Press, 1973) pp. 81, 92
* Most Fellows of the Jesus Seminar also concluded that this tradition dates to before Paul's conversion, {{c.|AD 33}}.<ref>[[Robert W. Funk|Funk, Robert W.]] and the [[Jesus Seminar]]. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. ''Empty Tomb, Appearances & Ascension'' pp. 449–495.</ref>}} [[Geza Vermes]] writes that the creed is "a tradition he [Paul] has inherited from his seniors in the faith concerning the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus".{{sfn|Vermes|2008a|p=121–122}} The creed's ultimate origins are probably within the Jerusalem apostolic community, having been formalised and passed on within a few years of the resurrection.{{refn|group=note|Origins within the Jerusalem apostolic community:
* Wolfhart Pannenberg, ''Jesus – God and Man'' translated Lewis Wilkins and Duane Pribe (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1968) p. 90
* Oscar Cullmann, ''The Early church: Studies in Early Christian History and Theology'', ed. A. J. B. Higgins (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1966) pp. 66–66
* R. E. Brown, ''The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus'' (New York: Paulist Press, 1973) p. 81
* [[Thomas Sheehan (philosopher)|Thomas Sheehan]], ''First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity'' (New York: Random House, 1986) pp. 110, 118
* Ulrich Wilckens, ''Resurrection'' translated A. M. Stewart (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew, 1977) p. 2}} Hans Grass argues for an origin in Damascus,<ref>Hans Grass, ''Ostergeschen und Osterberichte'', Second Edition (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1962) p. 96</ref> and according to Paul Barnett, this creedal formula, and others, were variants of the "one basic early tradition that Paul "received" in Damascus from Ananias in about 34 [AD]" after his conversion.<ref name=Barnett182>{{cite book |last=Barnett |first=Paul William |year=2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KPMIYtpKtDwC&q=from+Ananias+in+about&pg=PA182 |title=Finding the Historical Christ (Volume 3 of After Jesus) |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0802848901 |page=182}}</ref>

{{blockquote|[3] For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,{{refn|group=note|name="died for"|The {{transl|grc|kerygma}} from 1 Corinthians 15:3–5 refers to two mythologies: the Greek myth of the noble dead, to which the Maccabean notion of martyrdom and dying for ones people is related; and the Jewish myth of the persecuted sage or [[Righteousness|righteous]] man, c.q. the "story of the child of [[Wisdom (personification)|wisdom]]."{{sfn|Mack|1995|pp=86–87}} The notion of 'dying for' refers to this martyrdom and persecution.{{sfn|Mack|1997|p=88}}

James F. McGrath refers to 4 Maccabees,<ref>{{bibleverse|4 Maccabees|6}}</ref> "which presents a martyr praying "Be merciful to your people, and let our punishment suffice for them. Make my blood their purification, and take my life in exchange for theirs".<ref name="bibleverse|4|Maccabees|6:28–29">{{bibleverse|4 Maccabees|6:28–29}}</ref> Clearly, there were ideas that existed in the Judaism of the time that helped make sense of the death of the righteous in terms of atonement."<ref group=web name="McGrath.2007">James F. McGrath (2007), [https://www.patheos.com/blogs/religionprof/2007/12/whats-wrong-with-penal-substitution.html ''What's Wrong With Penal Substitution?'']</ref>

See also Herald Gandi (2018), [https://www.tms.edu/blog/resurrection-according-to-scriptures/ ''The Resurrection: "According to the Scriptures"?''], referring to Isaiah 53,<ref>{{bibleverse|Isaiah|53}}</ref> among others:

"[4] Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. [5] But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed [...] [10] Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. [11] Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities."}} [4] and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,{{refn|group=note|name="third day"|See [http://ourrabbijesus.com/articles/resurrection-on-the-third-day/ "Why Was Resurrection on 'the Third Day'? Two Insights"] for explanations on the phrase "third day". According to Ernst Lüdemann{{sfn|Lüdemann|Özen|1996|p=73}} and Pinchas Lapide, "third day" may refer to Hosea 6:1–2:<ref name="bibleref2|Hosea|6:1–2">{{bibleref2|Hosea|6:1–2}}</ref>

{{poemquote|Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.}}

See also 2 Kings 20:8: "Hezekiah said to Isaiah, 'What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?{{'"}}<ref>{{bibleref2|2 Kings|20:8}}</ref>

According to Sheehan, Paul's reference to Jesus having risen "on the third day [...] simply expresses the belief that Jesus was rescued from the fate of utter absence from God (death) and was admitted to the saving presence of God (the eschatological future)."{{sfn|Sheehan|1986|p=112}}}} [5] and that he appeared to [[Saint Peter|Cephas]], then to the twelve. [6] Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. [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.<ref>oremus Bible Browser, [http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=1+Corinthians+15:3%E2%80%9315:41&version=nrsv 1 Corinthians ''15:3–15:41'']</ref>}}

In the Jerusalem {{transl|grc|ekklēsia}} (Church), from which Paul received this creed, the phrase "died for our sins" probably was an [[Christian apologetics|apologetic]] rationale for the death of Jesus as being part of God's plan and purpose, as evidenced in the scriptures. For Paul, it gained a deeper significance, providing "a basis for the salvation of sinful Gentiles apart from the Torah."{{sfn|Hurtado|2005|p=131}} The phrase "died for our sins" was derived from [[Isaiah]], especially 53:4–11,<ref>{{bibleverse|Isaiah|53:4-11}}</ref> and [[4 Maccabees]], especially 6:28–29.<ref name="bibleverse|4|Maccabees|6:28–29"/>{{refn|group=note|name="died for"}} "Raised on the third day" is derived from Hosea 6:1–2:<ref name="bibleref2|Hosea|6:1–2"/>{{sfn|Lüdemann|Özen|1996|p=73}}

{{poemquote|Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.{{refn|group=note|name="third day"}}}}

Paul, writing to the members of the church at Corinth, said that Jesus appeared to him in the same fashion in which he appeared to the earlier witnesses.{{sfn|Lehtipuu|2015|p=42}} In [[2 Corinthians 12]] Paul described "a man in Christ [presumably Paul himself] who ... was caught up to the third heaven", and while the language is obscure, a plausible interpretation is that the man believed he saw Jesus enthroned at the right hand of God.{{sfn|Chester|2007|p=394}}

The many Pauline references affirming his belief in the resurrection include:

* Romans 1:3–4: "...concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord".<ref>{{bibleref2|Romans|1:3–4|NIV}}</ref>
* 2 Timothy 2:8: "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead... this is my gospel for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained...".<ref>{{bibleref2|2Tim|2:8|NIV|2 Timothy 2:8}}</ref>
* 1 Corinthians 15:3–7: "...that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures..."<ref>{{bibleref2|1Cor|15:3–7|NIV|1 Corinthians 15:3–7}}</ref>