What does Galatians 6:17 mean?

Paul concludes his letter with one more combative statement to those who opposed him. He tells them to, in essence, leave him alone. He wants them to stop causing him trouble. Paul is not offering to change his message to achieve some truce with the Jewish religious leaders who have so often harassed him, though. He simply asserts that he belongs to Jesus.

What is the evidence that Paul belongs to Jesus? He carries the "marks of Jesus" on his body. The Greek word for marks is stigmata, often used to describe a brand applied on cattle, or on a slave. Paul's marks, though, were not put there by Jesus directly. They were given to Paul by his persecutors because he preached about Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:24–25). He now wore the marks as signs of Jesus' ownership of him.

Indeed, the Jewish religious leaders should have left a man belonging to the Son of God alone. They did not, however. Paul would continue to be persecuted for the sake of Jesus until his death, refusing to become weary in doing good (Galatians 6:9).