The gospel centered on Christ's death, burial, and resurrection cannot be found in Scripture before Paul because those events had not yet happened and the message was not revealed until Paul delivered it.
In the Gospels and early Acts, what people were to believe was that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God — the message of the signs John recorded and the confession Peter made. Les Feldick shows the four Gospels could not teach the death, burial, and resurrection gospel because those events had not yet occurred. Paul is the first to declare it: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again according to the Scriptures.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 — Paul's own definition of the gospel — Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again — the first place this message appears in Scripture.
John 20:30-31 — The stated purpose of the Gospel signs: belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God — not the death, burial, and resurrection message.
John's Gospel states its own purpose for the signs it records: 'But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name' (John 20:31). The message of the Gospel accounts is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God — not a message about His death for sins, burial, and resurrection. Peter's confession agrees: 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God' (Matthew 16:16). The first time Scripture presents the gospel of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection is in Paul's letter to the Corinthians: 'For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures' (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Scripture places this message at Paul's delivery — not before.
Les Feldick teaches that before Paul, the message was never the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ — it was that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. He explains that every miracle Jesus performed was to validate who He was, because Israel could not comprehend that the carpenter's son from Nazareth was the promised Messiah. Les shocks his audiences by pointing out that even John 3:16 does not contain the gospel on its own — it requires Paul's gospel, that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again, to come into full flow. The same pattern appears in Peter's confession, in Saul's earliest preaching, and in Philip's message: the belief demanded was that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God — period. The reason, Les says, is simple: the disciples could not teach doctrine based on Christ's death, burial, and resurrection because those events had not yet happened. Only when Paul received and delivered the gospel — which he calls 'my gospel' in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 — was that message revealed, and nothing can be added to it or taken from it.
Les shows that before Paul, the emphasis was on believing in the Name — and the Name implied who Jesus was. Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi was simply, 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God' — period. He did not say 'the one who died for me' because that knowledge had not been given yet. Right after his conversion, Saul preached that Jesus is the Son of God — period — and God could not let him preach that as the gospel for the Gentile. Philip likewise preached Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God, with no mention of His death, burial, and resurrection.
Les acknowledges this shocks people, but he insists that when you go through John's gospel chapter 3, beginning with Nicodemus, you cannot find one word of what we would call the gospel. Granted, we can use John 3:16 — but to make John 3:16 come into full flow, you must bring Paul's gospel into it: that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. John 3:16 alone does not contain the gospel.
Les says no — not a word of it. Doctrine could not be based on Christ's death, burial, and resurrection because it had not happened yet. This is why he says with a straight face that you will not find this gospel in the four Gospels — it is impossible. Men were justified in the Old Testament, but not on the same basis as believers under grace, which is why Paul does not look back at Christ's earthly ministry for the doctrines of the church.
Miracles validate who Jesus is
Les teaches that all of Jesus' miracles were performed to validate who He was — the promised Messiah — which frames why the pre-Paul message centered on His identity, not on His cross work.
The gospel is not in John 3:16
Les demonstrates that John 3:16 alone contains no gospel; it only becomes the gospel when Paul's message of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection is brought into it.
Paul's gospel defined
Les shows that Paul calls the message — that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again — his gospel, the first time Scripture presents this message.
Peter's confession stops short
Les points out that Peter's confession stopped at 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God' — Peter did not yet know anything about Jesus dying for him or rising from the dead.
Saul's first message rejected
Les shows that Saul first preached Jesus as the Son of God, but God would not let that be the gospel for the Gentile — a different message was coming through Paul.
Four Gospels cannot contain this doctrine
Les explains that the four Gospels could not teach doctrine based on Christ's death, burial, and resurrection because those events had not yet happened.
Philip's pre-Paul message
Les highlights that Philip preached Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of the living God without mentioning death, burial, and resurrection — the core of our gospel.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 is the gospel
Les defines the gospel as Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again, and says nothing can be added to it or taken from it.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4: For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
The gospel Paul says he delivered — death, burial, and resurrection — appearing in Scripture for the first time.
John 20:30-31: And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
The purpose of the written signs: belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Matthew 16:16: And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Peter's confession — the full extent of pre-Paul faith in Jesus.
John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The verse often called the gospel, which Les says alone does not contain the gospel.
Acts 9:20: And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
Saul's first sermon — that Jesus is the Son of God — and nothing more.
Paul says Christ died and rose again 'according to the scriptures,' meaning it was prophesied. Les's point, however, is that the gospel as a message to believe — that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again — was not preached until Paul delivered it in 1 Corinthians 15.
Les says no. He acknowledges the verse can be used, but John 3:16 only comes into full flow when Paul's gospel — that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again — is brought into it. By itself, John 3:16 does not contain what we would call the gospel.
Because, as Les puts it, those events had not yet happened. Doctrine could not be based on Christ's death, burial, and resurrection before they occurred. That is why Les can say with a straight face that you will not find this gospel in the four Gospels.
Watch the Teaching: Why the Gospel Changes After the Cross — Romans 3 Explained