Not Circumcision but a New Creation
11See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
12Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. 14May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. 16Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.
17Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
Dig Deeper
While I was still teaching we used to have a school-wide clean-up day once a year where everyone would be split up into teams of about 20 and then go out into the community and pick up as much trash and debris as they could. The trash would be weighed and the class that collected the most garbage would win a pizza party. This could be a rather messy affair and as the students would come back you could really tell quite easily who had made an effort to really get into the spirit of collecting the trash and debris. One year a group of students decided that they wanted to win the pizza party but they didn’t really want to do what was necessary to win. Rather than going through the struggle and effort for themselves, they sent a few lower classmen in their group to a dumpster behind a bar to collect bags and crates of recycled bottles. Of course the bottles were quite heavy so their haul seemed impressive, until another student came back and reported that they had seen them taking the already packaged bags and crates out of the recycling dumpster, which was against the rules of the competition. The team was disqualified and lost all because these older students didn’t want to get dirty themselves.
Paul accuses the Judaizers of something similar, but far more serious, as he brings his letter to a close. They didn’t want to get dirty themselves so they passed the work off to someone else. More specifically, they didn’t want to take the abuse and persecution that would come the way of those in Christ who refused to follow the Jewish law. So, instead they would pass the dirty work off to the Gentiles, insisting that they bear the marks of circumcision. The problem, as Paul will explain, is that they were insisting on marks that, in the end, didn’t mean anything.
As Paul begins this final passage of his letter, he takes the pen into his own hand and finishes it himself. When Paul comments on the large letters, it could be that his writing was a bit large and sloppy compared to a professional scribe or, as some have suggested, Paul may have had poor eyesight and that was the cause of his unusually large writing. Either way, the significance of Paul finishing the letter in his own hand rather than having his scribe complete it is the difference between receiving a form letter from someone or one that is hand-written. Paul gives a personal touch that could not be equaled by the hand of a scribe.
The Judaizers were, according to Paul, trying to compel the Galatians to be circumcised in order to make a good impression, but an impression on whom? The other Jews of course. They wanted to be Christians but not if it meant being persecuted for abandoning the law of Moses. This was the charge leveled at other Jews that followed Christ. The Judaizers didn’t want to be persecuted for that so they took the position of trying to sit on the fence. They would follow the Messiah but also try to follow the law and make sure that any Gentile converts did so as well. This way, they didn’t have to go through any painful persecution themselves. They would rather the Gentiles bear the physical marks of circumcision than themselves have to bear the physical marks of persecution at the hands of the zealous Jews.
Once they had convinced the Gentiles to become circumcised, they could even boast to the Jews about it. In short, they wanted a version of Christianity that would gain them admiration from the world rather than persecution, despite the fact that Jesus said that would never happen (Matt. 24:9; John 15:10). Paul is angered by the fact that they want the Gentiles to become circumcised solely for their own comfort. What is even more appalling is that they were demanding that the Gentiles follow the law, but Paul has already made it clear that no one can truly follow the whole law.
We might expect Paul say that they should not boast in circumcision, but those who have not been circumcised could rightly boast about that, but that is not at all what he says. Instead, Paul’s point is that none of that matters; it doesn’t mean anything. If Paul is going to boast in anything it will be only in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says, in verse 17, if he is going to bear any physical marks on the account of being a Christian it is the marks of Jesus that he desires. Jesus was persecuted and those who truly enter into his life will be persecuted in one way or another. These are the marks that Paul will bear (see 2 Cor. 11:23-28 to understand from where Paul could have received such marks of persecution). His concern is with being loyal to his life in Christ rather than trying to avoid persecution at the hands of the Jews by compromising the true gospel.
The Judaizers made the mistake of thinking that physical marks like circumcision or even persecution mattered, to the point that they were willing to foist one on others in order to avoid the other for themselves. They want to save their own skins by cutting off the foreskins of the Gentiles. That will never get them anywhere in God’s new world. The cross and the resurrection were the beginning of God’s new creation, the center point of all of history. The only thing that matters is those who have died to themselves and entered into God’s new creation through the life of Christ. The very fact that they are foisting the law on someone else in order to avoid persecution is evidence all by itself that they have not truly died to themselves. This is the only way to be part of the true family of God, the true Isaac people. In fact, Paul says that all who follow this rule are the true Israel of God. Being part of the true Israel is not about circumcision but about being part of God’s age to come, available only to those who have entered in to Christ through faith.
Paul finishes his letter with the benediction of grace. Grace that comes only from the true Lord and Messiah. This grace doesn’t come from human sources or effort but only from the one true God. The grace of which he speaks cannot be grabbed hold of or demonstrated through any physical marks but only by the presence and fruit of the Holy Spirit made evident in our spirits and lives.
Devotional Thought
Do you relate at all with what Paul says to the Judaizers here? Have you ever been tempted to tailor the demands of the true gospel so that things would be a little more comfortable for you? Why is that such a dangerous thing to do?
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