Growing up in a small Christian family and faithfully attending church services three times per week over the first thirty years of my life, if there is one message I intimatly know, it is what Christians call “the gospel.”  Over the last 40 years of my life, my understanding of “the gospel” that is taught in the whole Bible has drastically changed.  It is not the same message of “the gospel” that the Rebbe Yeshua and his disciples announced and taught throughout the land of Israel during the Second-Temple period of the first century, C.E., but it is an entirely different message.

Christians have argued since the second century, C.E., that the Rebbe Yeshua and his disciples did not teach it during his lifetime, because it had not happened yet.  But when it did happen, this new message replaced the message that he and his disciples had been announcing and teaching.  However, there is a problem with this explanation.  There is no Scripture anywhere in the Gospels or in the book of Acts where the Rebbe Yeshua EVER tells his disciples to stop teaching “the gospel” that he had taught and trained them to teach and to begin proclaiming his death, burial, and resurrection instead, even after his resurrection!

So if there is no Scripture to support their replacement of “the gospel” from the message that the Rebbe Yeshua taught to the one that they teach, then on what Scriptures do they base it upon?  I have seen many presentations of the Christian version of “the gospel” in many forms: sermons, plays, movies, on cassettes, on the radio, and on television, in articles, or in books.  All of these various presentations, however, are based on the same exact passage: I Corinthians 15: 1-4.  But the question I want you to consider is, “Was the purpose for this chapter to comprehensively teach us “the gospel,” or  has this chapter been misconstrucd, misinterpreted, and misrepresented?

A Historic Overview

What is the purpose or focus of I Corinthians 15?  According to Douglas A. Campbell, in his online article, “Paul wrote I Corinthians to a community in the middle of a culture war,” published in The Christian Century (3 January 2018),

Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, now lost, in the fall of 50 C.E.  The Corinthians pushed back quite hard.  They wrote a reply to Paul with a number of questions.  In the spring of 51 C.E., he wrote a letter back, our I Corinthians.  This is where we build up a more detailed picture of the community, and it is not a pretty sight. (christiancentury.org)

When analyzing the two letters that we have, we discover that Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul), a second-generation Beyt Hillel Pharisee, wrote four letters to this congregation in Corinth, Greece, but only two of those letters have survived, which we call “I Corinthians” (the second letter he wrote) and “2 Corinthians” (the fourth letter he wrote).  These four letters. as Campbell stated, were written to respond to certain questions they had, issues that had risen up in this assembly, and to reinforce the central message of this new Second-Temple Jewish movement, called “the Way” (Heb. HaDerekh), short for “the Way of the LORD” (Heb. HaDerekh ADONAI), a phrase which traces back to Abraham. Of these two surviving letters, I want to examine what we call “I Corinthians.”

A Question

Has this letter been properly interpreted and understood?  There are reasons to call their interpretation and understanding of not only this letter – but the whole “New Testament” – into question.  For examplw, In this particular letter, there are 16 chapters, but the passage that many Christians use to define “the gospel” comes at the beginning of the 15th chapter, located near the end of the letter.  But why is this the only passage that connects the word “gospel” to the death, burial, and resurrection of Messiah?  Is this really “the gospel” or has this chapter been misconstrued, improperly interpreted, and not only misunderstood – but misrepresented now for over nineteen centuries?  To begin addressing this question, I went to go back and analyze this chapter.

I Corinthians 15 – “An Analysis”

Let’s go back and take a closer look at the beginning four verses of I Corinthians 15.

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you THE GOSPEL which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand; by which also you are saved, if you keep keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain.  For I delivered unto you FIRST OF ALL that which I also received, how that Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures;… (I Corinthians 15:1-4)

Notice that Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) states here that “the gospel…among the first things I passed on to you was what I also received.”  He does not say that this was the ONLY THING he received, nor does he say that it is the ONLY THING he passed on to them, and by saying that it is “among the FIRST THINGS,” then it imples that there are other “first things” or at least a “second,” “third,” and perhaps others as well.  Consequently, then, “how the Messiah died for our sins,…he was buried, and he was raised on the third day, in according to the Scriptures,” is only part of the “FIRST THINGS” – NOT the WHOLE MESSAGE.  This raises the question, “What was ‘the whole message of the gospel?”  Unfortunately, as Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) writes, this is “a mystery” (Ephesians 6:19).

EYEWITNESS TESTIMONIES

Therefore, getting back to the analysis, in speaking to the people at Corinth, Greece, he encourages them to keep what he had taught them in memory.  Did he teach them only what is here, or did he teach them more in person?  “For if you don’t,” he says, “your trust will have been in vain.”  And what is this message?  At least a portion of it focuses on the “death, burial, and resurrection of Messiah.”  And as this text indicates, this is a portion of the message, but when we look further on into the chapter, we also discover that Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) is using this as a foundation for his counter-argument against those in the Corinth congregation who were arguing that there is no resurrection from the dead.

After laying out this basic introduction to his counter-argument, he then gives a listing of those who had witnesses of the Rebbe Yeshua’s resurrection:

And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.  And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. (I Corinthians 15:5-8, KJV)

The purpose of the list is to provide the eye-witness verification of the Rebbe Yeshua’s resurrection.  At the time of the first century, eye-witness testimony was the highest form of evidence available in any courts of law.  Therefore, Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) is encouraging the Corinthians to base their faith in Messiah on the available evidence, rather than on “believing in something when there’s no reason to believe,” as I have heard Christian college students define “faith.”  Obviously, their definition and Rav Sha’ul Paulus’ (Paul’s) are contradictory to one another.

For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  But by the grace of God I am what I am: and he grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach and so ye believed. (I Corinthians 15: 9-11, KJV)

Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) states here that he was “the least of the disciples,” yet how many sincere Christians have used his writings to redefine and even replace earlier Scriptures, including “the gospel” taught by the Rebbe Yeshua and his disciples?  Instead, we should have been using the Hebrew Scriptures, to interpret and understand the “New Testament,” including “the gospel” taught by the Rebbe Yeshua and the letters written by Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul).

EYEWITNESS LIST ANALYSIS

First, he mentions Kefa (Peter), then the Twelve, and then five hundred brothers at one time, the majority of whom were still alive at the time he penned this epistle, and then Ya’acov [Jacob/trans. “James”], who is Rebbe Yeshua’s brother and called HaTzaddik [“the Just/Righteous”], and then by all the emissaries [“apostles”], and finally by Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) himself.

But in looking at this list of eyewitnesses, what I found interesting is who is not on it.  For example,

  • Mir’yam [Mary] from Magdala is not on it.  All four of the Gospels agree that she was one of the first to see the Rebbe Yeshua alive after his resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8; Mark 16:9; Luke 24:10; John 20:1, 10-18), and yet she is not on the list.
  • Another one who is not on the list is his mother, Mir’yam [Mary], who was there with Mir’yam (Mary) from Magdala [Matthew 28:1; Luke 24:10], and also Salome [Mark 16:1] and Joanna [Luke 24:10], yet none of these women were included on the list.
  • Another name that is not on the list is Cleopas, who was named as one of the two disciples who was walking on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:18).  Obviously, then, this list was not at all comprehensive.

THE SEVENTY – “THE OFTEN FORGOTTEN DISCIPLES?”

Most people have heard of “the Twelve,” but most do not know that there was also another group of the disciples – the Seventy:”

After these things the Lord appointed other SEVENTY also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whereever he himself would come.  (Luke 10:1)

Obviously, the Rebbe Yeshua would not send out SEVENTY (70) other disciples, if he had not spent time teaching and training these SEVENTY men.  Therefore, we must conclude that he did not just travel around Israel with TWELVE (12) disciples – but with at least EIGHTY-TWO (82) disciples.

Also, we need to remember that the Rebbe Yeshua prayed all night before selecting “the Twelve,” but why would he need to do that if there were only Twelve disciples, since he would be selecting everyone who is there.  On the other hand, if there were more than Twelve – but eighty-two disciples – than obviously, he would need to pray to know which ones from the eighty-two he would select to constitute “the Twelve.”

According to Eusebius, an early Church historian, he tells us something interesting about Cephas in his Book of Ecclesiastical History.  According to Clement, an earlier Church historian, whom Eusebius quotes one of the seventy is Cephas:

Clement, in the fifth of his Hypotyposses or Institutions [his book] in which he also mentions CEPHAS of whom Paul also said that he came to Antioch and “that he withstood him to his face” (Gal. 2:11) said that one who had the same name with Peter the apostle was one of the SEVENTY…Moreover, if anyone observes with attention, he will find more disciples of our Savior than the seventy on the testimony of Paul, who that “he appeared after his resurrection, first to CEPHAS, then to the twelve, and after these to five hundred brethren at once.”  Of whom, he said, “some are fallen asleep” (I Cor. 15:5-6), but the great part were living at the time he wrote. (Book 1, Chapter 12, lines 2, 4)

Perhaps, Cephas was the name of the other disciple, who was on the road to Emmaus.  Clement was one of the disciples of the early church.  Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) mentions him by name in Phillipians 4,

And I entreat you also, true yokefellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with CLEMENT also, and with other my fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life.  (Phillipans 4:3)

After Shi’mon Kefa (Peter) and Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) were martyred in Rome, according to traditions, Clement becomes the bishop of Rome.  And in his writings and history of the early ekklesia (trans. “church”) pulls this material about CEPHAS.  It was this CEPHAS, who was also called Kefa, that Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) lists as the first in his list to see the risen Savior, and that according to Clement, he was the one that Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) opposed “face-to-face” in the book of Galatians, rather than the emissary [trans. apostle] Peter, as is often taught by Christians.

PAUL’S COUNTER-ARGUMENT

However, when we read further on in I Corinthians 15, we discover that Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) was not giving a comprehensive description of “the gospel” in the first eight verses of I Corinthians 15, but he was laying the foundation for his counter-argument against those who were arguing against the resurrection of the dead, a fundamental belief of all forms of Judaism, whether Biblical, Rabbinic, Messianic, etc.  So by arguing for the resurrection of the dead, he is not defending a “Christian belief,” but a long-standing Jewish belief.  After providing his foundation, Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) presents the problems with the opposing argument:

Now if the Messiah be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then the Messiah has not been raised; and if the Messiah has not been raised, also  your faith [trust] is in vain.  Yes, and we are found to be false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He has raised up the Messiah, whom he did not raise, if it is true that the dead are not raised. (I Corinthians 15: 12-15, KJV)

Now in this initial presentation, Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) draws the following logical conclusions to their argument:

  1.  If there is no resurrection from the dead, then the Messiah has not been raised;
  2.  If the Messiah has not been raised, then what we have proclaimed is in vain (it is meaningless and worthless);
  3.  If our proclamation is in vain, then your trust (faith) is in vain; and
  4.  Therefore, if our proclamation is in vain, then we are shown up as false witnesses before God.

In pointing out the logical conclusions that they would have to draw by accepting this position, Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) is demonstrating not only the fallacy of the argument, but he is also demonstrating his own use of critical thinking and logic.

There are many people today who have been erroneously taught that critical thinking is the enemy of biblical faith, but Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) here demonstrates that the direct opposite is, in fact, the case.  Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) here is using critical thinking and logic to support the belief in the resurrection of the dead and to disprove the opposition.  Therefore, Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) reasons, if there is no resurrection from the dead, then the whole message about “the death, burial, and ressurection of Messiah” and the Messianic faith is nothing more than an elaborate deception and a scam.

PAUL’S CRITICAL THINKING & LOGIC

There are many people today who have been erroneously taught that critical thinking is the enemy of biblical faith, but Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) here demonstrates that the direct opposite is, in fact, the case.  Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) here is using critical thinking and logic to support the belief in the resurrection of the dead and to disprove the opposition.  Therefore, Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) reasons, if there is no resurrection from the dead, then the whole message about “the death, burial, and ressurection of Messiah” and the Messianic faith is nothing more than an elaborate deception and a scam.

But Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) does not stop there.  He revisits the original claim, and then he takes it even further:

For if the dead rise not, then is not the Messiah raised: And if the Messiah is not raised, your faith [trust] is vain [useless], and you are still in your sins.  Then they also which are fallen asleep in the Messiah are perished. If in this life only we have hope in the Messiah, we are of all men most miserable.  But now is the Messiah risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.  (I Corinthians 15: 16-20, KJV)

In this second use of critical thinking and logic, Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) reasons that —

  1.  If the dead are not raised, then the Messiah is not raised;
  2.  If the Messiah is not raised, your faith [trust] is useless, and you are still in your sins;
  3.  If you are still in your sins, then those who died in union with Messiah are lost, and
  4.  Therefore, if it is only for this life that we have our hope in the Messiah, then we are more miserable people on the earth.

If all we have is “hope in Messiah” in this life, and that is all there is, then according to Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul), we are “more miserable” than any human beings on this planet.  Since if there is no resurrection from the dead, then we are not forgiven of our sins, and we are still on our way to hell.

CONCLUSION

Obviously, for this first part of this analysis of this chapter, we could see that “the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah” is only a portion of the message that Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) presents in this chapter, but although a portion, it plays an important part.  To understand the whole message, we need to understand the whole Bible since the whole message is like a complex jigsaw puzzle with all the pieces scattered throughout the Scriptures.  But what we see in this chapter is that it is critically important if the resurrection of the dead, specifically, the resurrection of Messiah by the God of Israel, is historically accurate or not.  It is not just some inconsequential matter of belief, but a matter of life or death for many of the disciples, including Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) and us as modern-day believers.

In the next article, we will continue our analysis of I Corinthians 15 as we continue Rav Sha’ul Paulus’ (Paul’s) argument for the resurrection of the dead.

 

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