Third, it is likely that the creed is organized in a stylized, parallel form, thereby providing a further indication of the oral and confessional nature of this material.^48
Fourth, there are indications that there may be a Semitic source, such as the use of the Aramaic “Cephas” for Peter (v. 5), hence pointing to an earlier source before Paul’s Greek translation.^49
Fifth, other indications of ancient Hebrew narration include the triple usage of “and that” along with the two references to the Scripture being filfilled.^50
How early is this creed? Numerous critical theologians have endeavored to answer this important question, with very striking results. Ulrich Wilckens asserts that this creed “indubitably goes back to the oldest phase of all in the history of primitive Christianity.”^51 Joachim Jeremias calls it “the earliest tradition of all.”^52 Concerning a more exact time, it is very popular to date this creed in the mid AD
45 Fuller, Resurrection Narratives, p. 10; Wilckens, Resurrection, p. 2; Bultmann, Theology, vol. 1, p. 293; Dodd, Apostolic Preaching, pp. 13–14; “Risen Christ,” p. 125; Neufeld, Confessions, p. 27; Brown, Bodily Resurrection, p. 81.
46 Cullmann, Early Church, p. 64; Fuller, Resurrection Narratives, p. 10; Marxsen, Resurrection, p. 80; Weber, The Cross, p. 59.
47 Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, pp. 101–102.
48 See especially Fuller, Resurrection Narratives, pp. 11–12; Weber, The Cross, p. 59; Jeremias, Eucharistic Words, pp. 102–103.
49 Jeremias, in particular, provides a list of such Semitisms (Eucharistic Words, pp. 102– 103). See also Pannenberg, Jesus, p. 90; Fuller, Resurrection Narratives, p. 11; Foundations, p. 160; Weber, The Cross, p. 59.
50 Lapide, Resurrection, p. 98.
51 Wilckens, Resurrection, p. 2.
52 Jeremias, “Easter,” p. 306.
30s. More specifically, numerous critical theologians date it from three to eight years after Jesus’ crucifixion.^53
How would Paul have received this creed? A number of scholars have arrived at the same scenario. Dating Jesus’ crucifixion around AD 30, Paul’s conversion would have occurred shortly afterwards, about AD 33–35. Three years after his conversion (AD 36–38) he visited Jerusalem and specifically met with Peter and James (Gal. 1:18–19). It is therefore reasoned that the gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus would in all likelihood be the normal center of discussion,^54 and that the presence of both Peter and James in the list of appearances (1 Cor. 15:5,7) indicates the probability that Paul received this creed from these apostles when he visited them in Jerusalem.^55 Another possibility is that Paul received this material in Damascus immediately after his conversion, which would make it even three years earlier, but the presence of the Semitisms in the creed, as mentioned above, in addition to the two proper names, favor Jerusalem as the location where Paul first received it.
A Jerusalem location would date Paul’s reception of the creed at about five to seven years after the crucifixion. But we can actually proceed back two stages earlier. Since the tradition would actually have been formulated before Paul first heard it, the creed itself would be dated even earlier. Additionally, the independent beliefs themselves, which later composed the formalized creed, would then date back to the actual historical events. Therefore, we are dealing with material that proceeds directlyfrom the events in question and this creed is thus crucial in our discussion of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
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