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 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also.
Paul’s list of those to whom the risen Christ appeared is widely regarded as the earliest written testimony to the resurrection. Paul calls it a tradition he received, and many scholars date its formulation to within a few years of the crucifixion, since Paul met Peter and James in Jerusalem around AD 35–37.
Paul’s list and the Gospel narratives overlap only partially. An appearance to Peter alone, which heads Paul’s list, is never narrated in the Gospels: Luke merely mentions it in passing, and Mark’s young man singles Peter out by name. The comparison suggests the narratives and the formula grew from shared but differently remembered traditions.
- Paul names Cephas (Peter) first; Luke’s disciples report “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” without narrating the appearance.
- Mark’s young man singles out “his disciples and Peter” for the message.
- Paul’s list has no women, though the Gospels make women the first witnesses of the empty tomb; it includes James and the five hundred, whom the Gospels never mention.
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33 They rose up that very hour, returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and those who were with them, 34 saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 They related the things that happened along the way, and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
36 As they said these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be to you.”
6 He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him! 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’”