The apostolic proclamation
The earliest Christian preaching centered on Jesus' death, resurrection, and lordship. Acts presents several speeches in narrative form, while Paul explicitly describes a message he received and handed on. Read both kinds of witness before turning a summary into a fixed formula used by every first-century congregation.
Why it matters
Connects the person of Christ, Israel's Scriptures, repentance, baptism, and resurrection hope without reducing the gospel to one isolated verse.
Key points
- Paul names death, burial, resurrection, and appearances as received tradition in 1 Corinthians 15.
- Peter's speech in Acts 2 interprets Jesus through Psalms and calls hearers to repent and be baptized.
- Acts is a shaped historical narrative; its speeches should be read in their literary setting.
Scripture
- 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 — Paul identifies the gospel he proclaimed and a tradition he received, then names resurrection witnesses.
- Acts 2:22-41 — Luke's Pentecost speech moves from Jesus' death and resurrection to repentance and baptism.
- Luke 24:44-49 — The risen Jesus relates his suffering and resurrection to the Scriptures and a mission of repentance.
Primary sources
Paul reminds the Corinthians of:
Paul explicitly presents the proclamation of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection as material he received and handed on.
what I also received: 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
Passage context and translation
Paul reminds the Corinthians of the gospel he preached and explicitly introduces its death, burial, resurrection, and appearance claims as material he had received and handed on.
After the excerpt
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve