1Cor 15:5-9 | TNotes | STEP | 15:5 He was seen by Peter: See Luke 24:34 . • then by the Twelve: See Matt 28:16-17 ; Mark 16:14 ; Luke 24:36 ; John 20:19 .

15:5 ^a He was seen by Peter: See Luke 24:34 ^b.

• then by the Twelve: See Matt 28:16-17 ^c; Mark 16:14 ^d; Luke 24:36 ^e; John 20:19 ^f.
15:6 ^g he was seen by more than 500: We have no other account of this event.

• most of whom are still alive: When this letter was written (around AD 53–56), the factuality of Christ’s resurrection could be verified by consulting living eyewitnesses.
15:7 ^h This James was almost certainly Jesus’ brother, who became a leader of the Jerusalem church after Jesus’ death (see Mark 6:3 ⁱ; John 7:1-5 ^j; Gal 1:19 ^k; cp. Acts 12:17 ^l; 15:13 ^m; 21:18 ⁿ).
Summary for 1Cor 15:8-9: 15:8-9 ^o as though I had been born at the wrong time (or as though I were stillborn): This phrase can refer to a miscarriage or stillbirth. Here it might express the unusual manner of Paul’s conversion, or the derogatory view some opponents held of his apostleship, or his own sense of unworthiness to be an apostle. The overall emphasis is on the extraordinary grace of God to Paul as a former persecutor of Christ’s people (see Gal 1:13 ^p; Phil 3:6 ^q; cp. Acts 8:3 ^r; 9:1-2 ^s).

• I also saw him: Paul came face to face with the risen Christ at his conversion (see 1 Cor 9:1 ^t; Acts 9:3-6 ^u; Gal 1:15-16 ^v).