Last updated on November 19, 2024
Up to this point our Scripture readings have been all narrative. We’ve covered close to 50 years in these readings, beginning with Jesus’ birth and now through Paul’s first missionary journey. The remainder of these readings go through the book of Acts, but one of the things I love about this Bible is that Paul’s writings are interspersed throughout the narrative of Acts.
After Paul and Barnabas spent some time in Jerusalem, they made their way back to Antioch. While there Paul decided to write a letter to the new churches throughout Galatia. We know this letter as, you guessed it, Galatians!
This letter is relatively short (only six chapters), but there is a lot in those six chapters. When I was a pastor I once spent eight or nine weeks teaching through this letter. I share that simply to say that it’s quite a daunting task to write one reflection post on this letter.
Here’s the context for the letter…
Those same Jewish leaders who confronted Paul in Antioch and then went to Jerusalem began traveling behind Paul to the churches in Galatia that were now 1-2 years old. They didn’t want to undo the work that Paul had done, at least in their minds. They just wanted to add to it. And what did they want to add on? It was their belief that Gentiles would need to adopt the Jewish customs and law in order to follow Jesus.
“It’s great that you have become followers of Jesus, but Paul left something out that is very important. This faith is a Jewish faith, and unless you follow our Jewish Law (Torah) you cannot follow our Jewish Messiah.”
And in order for this message to stick, they spent a lot of their time discrediting Paul.
Paul’s reason for writing this letter was threefold: first, to share a bit of his credentials; second, to remind them of his love for them; and third, to share why he felt that these Jewish leaders were absolutely wrong.
The theme of this letter is freedom. More than anything else Paul wanted these new believers to know that Jesus came to give freedom. And he felt that adding anything to this message meant the opposite of freedom. That’s why Paul talks so much about slavery in this letter. And it’s why he says towards the end of the letter, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).
Paul talks a lot in this letter about the law. I’ll admit that it’s challenging to wade through it, but he does so because, as much as he cares for the law, he believed it was totally insufficient to change hearts. Only Jesus could do that. And anything added onto the message of Jesus missed the message of Jesus.