Endnote 3 – Was the Early Church Jewish?

The present version of 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16 has Paul speak of the death of Jesus without mentioning the cross, making the Jews at large completely responsible for Jesus’ death. Birger Pearson (“1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, A Deutero-Pauline Interpolation,” Harvard Theological Review 64 [1971], pp. 79–94) has convincingly shown that this passage in 1 Thessalonians is a late emendation to the letter, clearly not Pauline. The fact that Paul elsewhere emphasizes the crucifixion and the cross of Jesus proves that he knew who killed Jesus.