What are the earliest accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection?
Friday, February 22nd, 2008If the books of the New Testament were printed in the order in which they were originally composed, Paul’s letters would appear first. His earliest letters-1-2 Thessalonians, Galatians, 1-2 Corinthians, and Romans-were written sometime between A.D. 49 and 57 (perhaps even earlier for Galatians), before Matthew, Luke, and John were written and nearly contemporary with the Gospel of Mark. Therefore, the earliest written accounts of the Jesus Christ‘s last hours on earth-the Last Supper on Thursday, the fateful crucifixion on Friday, and the glorious resurrection on the first Easter Sunday-are found in Paul’s letters. The earliest explicit references to these events are found in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, written about A.D. 57. Paul noted, “I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is... Read the rest of this entry »

