Was Paul interested in the ‘past’ of Jesus? Is there any evidence which suggests that for Paul, as for Luke, this interest formed part of his missionary preaching? The extent to which Paul's preaching referred to the life and character of Jesus of Nazareth is a very elusive and vexed part of the whole question of the relationship between Paul and Jesus. Surprisingly few discussions have arisen out of recent interest in the continuity or discontinuity of the primitive kerygma and the historical Jesus. For many scholars it has become an axiom that Paul was satisfied with the mere fact of the historical existence of Jesus; the case is regarded as closed once it is recognised that Paul disregarded the ministry of Jesus, and, apart from a few sayings, his teaching. If this is so, one is forced to conclude that there is a considerable gap between the Pauline literature and the gospel traditions. This is accepted by many and explained in terms of the development of primitive Christianity, whose message, it is alleged, began to be concerned with the ‘past’ of Jesus only in the post-Pauline period.

Many attempts have been made to prove that Paul was well acquainted with some of the gospel traditions, and to account for their absence from the epistles. The ‘traditional’ view that Paul's missionary preaching must have included reference to the life and character of Jesus has been defended frequently.