Since the Jewish apocalyptic vision of eternal life remained unchanged by the sacrificial interpretation of the death of the Messiah, the apostolic witness remained tenable within first-century Judaism. The simplicity and continuity of the apostolic method and message are demonstrated, for example, by Paul in Thessalonica: “As usual, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and rise from the dead: ‘This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah.’ Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas” (Acts 17:2–4, csb; cf. 5:42; 9:22; 18:5). The fact that the apostolic witness was readily received by so many Orthodox Jews (cf. Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7; 11:19; 13:43; 14:1; 17:4; 18:8; 19:10; 21:20; 24:24; 28:24) argues strongly for an unaltered Jewish-apocalyptic context for the cruciform-messianic message.  - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified