1 Corinthians 15:3-8

Jesus was all God and all man. He was born on this earth, He was crucified on a cross and He died. He literally rose from the dead and was seen by hundreds after His death. Can you imagine being in attendance at the deathbed of someone you knew personally, attending their funeral and then seeing them again? This was a life changing event that happened and was witnessed by hundreds of people, they were so blown away by this event that they spent the remainder of their lives telling others of the truth of the Scriptures and the fulfillment of the Old Testament. This was mind shattering information that changed the whole concept of life and death to the Jews in attendance and to the billions of mankind born after them.


Paul did not originate the proclamation of Jesus that he delivered to the Corinthians; he simply gave the Corinthians what he himself had received. He viewed himself as a link in a long chain of witnesses to the truth of the death and resurrection of Christ. Christ’s death dealt decisively with our sins. He suffered in our place to endure the just wrath of God against us. Christ lived and died in accordance with the prophecies about Him in the OT.

The Resurrection verifies the fact that Christ’s death paid the full price for sin. The Greek term translated rose here is in the perfect tense, emphasizing the ongoing effects of this historical event. Christ is a risen Savior today. At the time of Paul’s writing, a person could have verified the truthfulness of the apostle’s statements. The majority of the five hundred people who saw the risen Christ, as well as all the apostles and James (the half brother of Jesus), were still living.

1 Corinthians 15:3

3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.