Fifth Sunday after Epiphany 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Ancient Lens

What's the historical context?

The Gospel in a Pagan World

Paul writes this letter to the Christians in the church at Corinth, which he founded during his second missionary journey described in Acts 18. The Corinthians lived in a pagan city that sat at the crossroads of trade routes across the Mediterranean, where they were exposed to many different religions. They were also first-generation believers, whose grasp on the gospel appears to be shaky, as they are easily swayed by infighting and external pagan influences. [1]

In this passage, Paul condenses the Christian message, reminding them of the “good news” he shared with them when they first turned to…

1. Paul offers the Corinthians a proto-creed in this passage, articulating the essentials of the Christian faith that he first passed on to them – Christ’s death, his burial, his resurrection, and his many appearances afterwards to his followers. Think for a minute about all that Paul didn’t include in his description. For instance, he didn’t list Christ’s miracles or his teachings, even though they are also very important to the gospels. Why do you think Paul chose the events that he did include in this short list of essentials to Christian belief?

2. Paul speaks of himself as “untimely born” because he didn’t get to see Jesus in the flesh, whereas the twelve disciples did. However, he still had a powerful conversion experience on the road to Damascus, during which he…