DIRECT QUOTATIONS OF YESHUA IN PAUL'S LETTERS
Paul explicitly attributes sayings to "the Lord" in only a handful of places:
1 Corinthians 7:10-11 — On divorce: "To the married I give this command — not I, but the Lord — that the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife."
This corresponds to the divorce teaching in Mark 10:2-12 and Matthew 19:3-9. Paul distinguishes it explicitly from his own opinion, marking it as a received dominical saying.
1 Corinthians 9:14 — On support for those who preach: "In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel."
This corresponds to Luke 10:7 / Matthew 10:10 — "the laborer deserves his wages."
1 Corinthians 11:23-25 — The Last Supper institution: "For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.'"
This is our earliest written account of the Last Supper — earlier than any gospel. It parallels Luke 22:19-20 closely (closer than Matthew or Mark's versions), which has led scholars to debate whether Luke knew Paul's version or both drew from common liturgical tradition.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 — On the coming of the Lord: "For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever."
This one is debated — "by the word of the Lord" may mean Paul is quoting a saying of Yeshua now lost from the gospel tradition, or it may mean he received this by prophetic revelation. There is no exact gospel parallel, though it echoes the eschatological discourse of Matthew 24 and Mark 13.
PROBABLE ALLUSIONS TO YESHUA'S TEACHINGS IN PAUL
These are passages where Paul seems to draw on the same teaching tradition preserved in the gospels, without explicitly quoting:
Romans 12:14 — "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them." Compare Matthew 5:44 / Luke 6:27-28 — "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you."
Romans 12:17 — "Do not repay anyone evil for evil." Compare Matthew 5:38-39 — "Do not resist an evildoer."
Romans 13:7 — "Pay to all what is due them — taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due." Compare Mark 12:17 — "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's."
Romans 14:14 — "I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself." Compare Mark 7:15 — "There is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile."
Romans 14:13 — "Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another." Compare Matthew 7:1 — "Judge not, that you be not judged."
Galatians 5:14 — "For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" Compare Mark 12:31 — the second great commandment.
1 Thessalonians 5:2 — "The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." Compare Matthew 24:43 / Luke 12:39 — "If the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming..."
1 Thessalonians 5:13 — "Be at peace among yourselves." Compare Mark 9:50 — "Be at peace with one another."
1 Thessalonians 5:15 — "See that none of you repays evil for evil." Again, Matthew 5:38-39.
BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS OF YESHUA IN PAUL
Paul tells us remarkably little about Yeshua's life, but what he does say constitutes our earliest written testimony:
Galatians 4:4 — "Born of a woman, born under the law" — human birth, Jewish identity.
Romans 1:3 — "Descended from David according to the flesh" — Davidic lineage.
Galatians 1:19 — "James, the Lord's brother" — Yeshua had a brother named James. Paul met him.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 — The earliest resurrection testimony: "That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me."
This passage predates Paul's letter — he says he "received" it and "handed it on," using technical terms for formal oral tradition. Scholars date this creed to within a few years of the crucifixion. The appearance to five hundred is not recorded in any gospel.
1 Corinthians 11:23 — "On the night when he was betrayed" — confirms the betrayal tradition.
Philippians 2:6-11 — The Christ Hymn: "Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross."
This is likely a pre-Pauline hymn that Paul is quoting. It's a theological narrative of incarnation, kenosis, crucifixion, and exaltation — not a biographical account, but a compressed mythic account of the Christ-event.
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
Acts contains several sayings attributed to Yeshua not found in the gospels:
Acts 1:4-8 — Post-resurrection commission: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised... you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Acts 9:4-6 — To Saul on the Damascus road: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?... I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." (Repeated with variations in Acts 22:7-10 and 26:14-18)
Acts 20:35 — Paul quotes a saying of Yeshua unrecorded in any gospel: "It is more blessed to give than to receive."
This is the most significant "agrapha" (unwritten saying) in the NT — a direct quotation attributed to Yeshua by Paul, preserved nowhere in the four gospels. It belongs in the One Gospel.
THE BOOK OF REVELATION
Revelation presents the risen and glorified Christ speaking directly:
Revelation 1:17-18 — "Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades."
Revelation 2-3 — The seven letters to the churches are presented as direct speech of the risen Christ. Each contains distinct teachings, warnings, and promises. These are substantial — "To the one who conquers I will give the right to eat from the tree of life" (2:7), "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life" (2:10), "I will write on them the name of my God" (3:12), "I stand at the door and knock" (3:20), and many others.
Revelation 21:5-8 — "See, I am making all things new... I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end."
Revelation 22:12-13 — "See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me... I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
Revelation 22:16 — "I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."
Revelation 22:20 — "Surely I am coming soon."
OTHER NT LETTERS
Hebrews 2:12 — Attributes Psalm 22:22 to Christ speaking: "I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you."
Hebrews 10:5-7 — Attributes Psalm 40:6-8 to Christ upon entering the world: "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me... See, I have come to do your will."
James — While James never directly quotes Yeshua, the letter is so saturated with Sermon on the Mount material that scholars debate whether James is drawing on the same oral tradition or directly on Yeshua's teaching: James 5:12 / Matthew 5:34-37 (on oaths), James 4:12 / Matthew 7:1 (on judging), James 2:5 / Luke 6:20 (the poor inheriting the kingdom), James 1:5 / Matthew 7:7 (ask and it shall be given).
2 Peter 1:17-18 — Recounts the Transfiguration: "This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."