Galatians 6:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

NIV: From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

NASB: From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

CSB: From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

NLT: From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.

KJV: From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

NKJV: From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

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).

Galatians 6:11–18 is the conclusion of Paul's letter to the Galatians. He apparently took the pen from his scribe and wrote these words, with his own hand, in oversized letters. This remark is one reason some scholars think Paul might have had a problem with his eyesight. Once again, Paul reveals the motives of false teachers pressuring the Galatians to be circumcised. They are only promoting themselves. Now that Christ has come, circumcision does nothing. The Galatians should trust Christ, instead, to be made into new creations.

Galatians 6 includes instructions for how people who are free in Christ and walking by God's Spirit, should treat each other. Christians should restore those who are caught by sin, and we should bear each other's burdens. Only those who plant the fruit of God's Spirit, by faith in Christ, will harvest eternal life. Believers should not get tired of doing good for each other! The harvest is coming. Paul concludes the letter, writing in large letters that circumcision means nothing. Only becoming a new creation through faith in Christ matters.

Galatians 5 wrapped up with a focus on what it means to be led by God's Spirit. Galatians 6 starts with describing how Spirit-led Christians serve each other by restoring those caught be sin and bearing each other's burdens. Only those who plant God's Spirit in this life, through faith in Christ, will harvest eternal life. Paul concludes the letter by writing in big letters that circumcision does not matter, only being made a new creation by faith in Christ matters.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.

Accessed 5/5/2024 11:55:55 AM