Galatians One
1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. 10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. 11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me. (Galatians 1, ESV Bible)
1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:1-5, ESV Bible)
The Apostle to the Gentiles
Paul identifies himself as an apostle, not from men nor through man. The word "apostle" simply means "an agent sent to accomplish a task." In Hebrew, the word for "apostle" is shaliach, a "sent one." In Judaism, a man can send a shaliach out on a mission for him to represent him and accomplish a task on his behalf. For example, the Sanhedrin of the first century regularly sent out "apostles" on missions to the Jewish world living in the Diaspora.
In those days, as today, more Jewish people lived outside the land of Israel than inside the land. Jewish communities were spread across the ancient world, widely dispersed, and this dispersion of Jews living outside of the land of Israel is what we mean by the word "Diaspora." Every major city in the Roman Empire, it seems, had a Jewish quarter with one or more synagogues-often several synagogues. The Roman government recognized Judaism as a legal religion, which means that Jews had state protection guaranteeing their freedom to practice their religion. Practically speaking, this meant that if you were Jewish, you were exempt from certain civic functions, such as worshipping in Roman temples. If you were not Jewish and refused to participate in the worship of the gods or the Roman emperor, you could potentially be arrested and tried for the crime of atheism. In those days, an "atheist" was someone who did not believe in the Roman pantheon.
Paul went as an apostle sent out to the Diaspora, but he did not go as one sent by the Sanhedrin or even by the other apostles. The risen Messiah himself, whom Paul had encountered in a series of mystical visions, sent him. Paul encountered him first on the road to Damascus and again later while praying in the Temple in Jerusalem when Jesus appeared to him and said, "Go, I am sending you to the Gentiles."
For that reason Paul refers to himself as the apostle (the sent one) of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah to the Gentiles.
Referneces
This lesson was curated from teachings from First Fruits of Zion “Holy Epistle to the Galatians.”
Background Context Recap
Paul claims to send the epistle of Galatians from himself and the brethren with him at Antioch, men like Barnabas and Luke. He wrote the epistle to God-fearing Gentile believers living in the province of Galatia, in the cities of Pisidian Antioch and Iconium.
God-Fearers were monotheists who worshipped the God of Israel. They were neither Jewish by birth nor by conversion, but they practiced Judaism, to some extent, as a Gentile. God-Fearers were one of the three types of people that might be found in any Diaspora synagogue: 1) Jews, 2) Proselytes, 3) God-fearing Gentiles.
God-Fearers are those Gentiles who had renounced idolatry and chosen to worship the God of Israel within the people of Israel, and even within the synagogues, but who had elected not to undergo a formal conversion in order to become halachically (legally) Jewish. Quite comfortable with being Galatians, they felt no need to become Israelites and undergo circumcision and conversion. They are the "to whom" that Paul wrote the epistle.
Paul wrote this epistle after he received word that some Galatian God-Fearers, under the influence of others, were undergoing, or planning to undergo, legal conversion to become proselytes. From Paul's perspective, the Galatian God-Fearers were looking toward conversion in order to merit God's favor and salvation. Paul saw this as a problem. He wrote his epistle to the Galatians to correct the underlying theology and to dissuade the Galatian Gentile believers from going through with their plan to become full proselytes.
Referneces
This lesson was curated from teachings from First Fruits of Zion “Holy Epistle to the Galatians.”
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6-8, ESV Bible)
The Influencers
Paul was disturbed to hear that the Galatian believers had accepted a "different gospel," i.e., a different "good news," which was really not good news at all. He said, "Not that there is another 'good news." This other gospel came from an outside influence. Paul said, "There are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Messiah."
Who were these "troublers and distorters?" Christian expository preaching for centuries has referred to them as the "Judaizers." We will take a look at that terminology as we wrestle with this question in the ensuing material, but for now, we will adopt a term currently popular in Pauline studies and simply refer to them as the "influencers." They are teachers within the Galatian communities who are influencing the God-fearing Gentiles to undergo conversion.
One quick observation about the "influencers:" They are most likely believers in Yeshua of Nazareth. This possibility is lost on many interpreters. They might be Jewish believers or believing proselyes to Judaism, but they are almost certainly believers.
How do we know? We will consider the evidence as we work through the epistle, but from the outset, Paul says that they "want to distort the gospel of Messiah." A non-believer does not want to distort the gospel; he wants to refute it and repudiate it. Only believers distort the gospel. Paul says that they preach "a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you," but they are preaching a gospel, they are teachers of the good news. For that reason we may deduce that they are believers in Yeshua of Nazareth. They believe in his birth, death, resurrection, and messiahship. They believe in the kingdom of heaven, and they are our brothers and sisters in the faith.
They are the influencers. They are believers, but Paul does not like their influence. And he says, "Let them be accursed."
Referneces
This lesson was curated from teachings from First Fruits of Zion “Holy Epistle to the Galatians.”
A Story to Offer More Context - A Story from Adiabene
To help provide context for the Holy Epistle to the Galatians, it may be helpful to consider a story from about fifteen years earlier. The first-century Jewish historian Josephus tells a story that took place in the kingdom of Adiabene, shortly after the resurrection of the Master.
Some distance from Antioch or Galatia, straddling the highlands of what is today the Kurdish areas of Iraq, Armenia, and northern Iran, sat the kingdom of Adiabene with its capital at Arbela. Adia-bene was part of the Assyrian province of the Parthian Empire.
The Kingdom of Adiabene in c. 37 AD at its greatest extent, during the reign of Izates II
Monabazus, the King of Adiabene, had many wives and many sons, but he loved his wife Helena the most. To her first son he gave the royal name Monobazus, making him the heir apparent. Helena conceived again. It is said that once while she was pregnant with her second son, Monabazus slept beside her with his hands on her stomach. A voice spoke to him in a dream telling him to remove his hands and to protect the child, for this one was chosen by God.
Monobazus was a Zoroastrian. A Zoroastrian is a follower of Zoroastrianism, one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions that originated in ancient Persia (modern-day Iran) around the 6th century BCE. The religion is based on the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster (also known as Zarathustra) and centers around the worship of Ahura Mazda, the supreme god and creator, who represents good and is in constant conflict with Angra Mainyu, the destructive spirit representing evil. The voice Monobazus heard so frightened him that he woke his wife Helena and told her what had he had heard. When the son was born, he named him Izates. Like Jacob with his son Joseph, Monobazus placed all of his affection on Izates, to the point that the other brothers hated the boy. For the protection of the young man, the king sent him away to be tutored and raised in the foreign court of King Abennerig of Charax-Spasini.
King Abennerig welcomed the young man into his court and even gave him the hand of one of his daughters in marriage. While Izates sojourned in the court of Charax-Spasini, some of the wives of King Abennerig encountered a certain Jew by the name of Chananiah. This happened around the time of the persecution that broke out in connection with the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 8).
Chananiah the Jew was a tradesman, perhaps selling his wares among the royalty and the women of court. Under his influence, the women became converts to Judaism and professed faith in the God of Israel.
The Conversion of Izates
The wives of Abennerig introduced their new son-in-law, Izates, to Chananiah, who in turn introduced the young prince to the God of Israel. Izates came to believe in the One God.
The conversion of Izates took place sometime between 30 and 36 CE, and it may have preceded that of Cornelius the centurion (Acts 10). When Izates did convert, he wanted to undergo circumcision as a sign of his conversion, but Chananiah discouraged him from doing so, telling him that he could still worship God without being circumcised, even though he resolved to follow the Jewish Torah entirely. Chananiah went on to say that keeping the commandments of the Torah was superior to circumcision.
Izates is a Model of the God-Fearer
Some years later, the Apostle Paul used the same argument with the Gentile converts in his congregations. In the story of Izates, however, Chananiah the Jew gave the same ruling ten years before Paul did. It may be that the particular brand of Judaism to which Izates originally converted was that of the believers, the disciples of Yeshua, but one cannot be dogmatic on that point. More likely, the type of advice Chananiah gave to Izates was common in first-century Judaism, and Paul drew his own theology from that common Jewish posture toward Gentiles. At any rate, Izates became a follower of Judaism, but not Jewish-not a proselyte either. He became a God-Fearer.
In the Persian language today, the word for "Christian" translates literally as "Fearer." Jewish scholar Shlomo Pines points out that, in at least three Iranian languages (Pahlavi, New Persian, and Sogdian), the name for Christians is derived from the Iranian root tars, which means "to fear." Christians are called "Tarsakan," i.e., "Fearers," even to this day. These languages possess no other names for Christians except loan words borrowed from other languages. Izates became a "Fearer."
King Monobazus Dies
King Monobazus was near death. He desired to see his son again. He sent for Izates and bestowed upon him rulership of the country of Carrae (Armenia in eastern Turkey), a land that produced Amomum, a popular spice, and in addition a land famous among Jews as the resting place of Noah's Ark. Mount Ararat stood in Carrae, upon which (according to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus) the remains of the ark could still be seen on the mountain by anyone who desired to see them.
Izates relocated then to Carrae, the land of Noah's Ark, and there he remained until his father's death. When King Monobazus died, his wife Helena sent word to her son in Carrae. Then she went immediately to work securing the throne for him. She summoned all the political officers and told them how her husband Monozabus had wanted Izates to receive the throne. She said, "I believe you are aware that my husband wanted Izates to succeed him in the government and thought him worthy of the position. However, I await your decision; for happy is he who receives a kingdom, not from a single person only, but from the willing consent of the majority." And with such entreaties, she secured their loyalty.
Izates Returns Home
When he went to take his throne, Izates brought Chananiah the Jew with him to Adiabene. If he hoped that Chananiah might influence his mother to accept Judaism, he was too late. In his absence, his mother Helena had already embraced the religion of the Jews. What a surprise! Izates took this as a sign from Heaven, and he immediately sought full conversion to become Jewish. In the words of Josephus:
When he realized that his mother approved of Jewish practices, he was eager to convert, and to embrace them entirely. He supposed that he could not be completely Jewish until he underwent circumcision, therefore he was ready to have it done. When his mother realized what he was about to do, she tried to dissuade him from doing it. She told him that this thing would put him in [politi-cal] danger and that when his subjects came to realize that he, their king, was so fond of rites that were to them strange and foreign, they would find him odious. They would never submit to be ruled over by a Jew.
Chananiah the Jew agreed with Queen Helena. He confirmed her words and comforted Izates, telling him that God would certainly forgive the omission of circumcision since it literally constituted a danger to his life. Izates consented to forego conversion and simply live as a God-Fearer.
Eleazar the Influencer
Sometime later, however, a certain Galilean Jew named Eleazar arrived in Adiabene. He was a sage and Torah scholar, and King Izates sought his teaching. When Eleazar entered the palace, he found Izates seated, reading the Torah of Moses. Eleazar had some sharp words for the uncircumcised king:
Have you never considered, O King, that you unjustly violate the rule of those laws you are studying, and you are insulting to God himself, by omitting to be circumcised. For you ought not only to study the commandments, but primarily, you ought to do what they tell you to do. How long will you continue to be uncircumcised? But if you have not yet read the law about circumcision, and if you are unaware of how great an impiety you are guilty of by neglecting it, read it now."
The king sent immediately for a surgeon. After circumcision, Izates and Helena completed their formal conversions to Judaism at Eleazar's behest and under his supervision. God protected and prospered Izates and strengthened him in his kingdom. Both he and Queen Helena became prominent characters in rabbinic lore from the end of the Second Temple era.
The story provides an insightful glimpse into the first century and illustrates the issues underlying Paul's ministry to the Gentiles. It seems that influencers like Eleazar of Galilee often followed Paul and refuted his teaching that the new Gentile converts need not undergo the ritual conversion (i.e., circumcision).
Referneces
This lesson was curated from teachings from First Fruits of Zion “Holy Epistle to the Galatians.”
9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. 10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:9-10, ESV Bible)
Pleasing Men or God?
Like Eleazar the Galilean in Adiabene, the influencers in Galatia wanted the God-fearing Gentiles to complete a legal conversion to become Jewish. They represented the position held by most other Jewish believers and the vast majority of the Yeshua movement, "many thousands ... among the Jews of those who have believed ... all zealous for the law" (Acts 21:20). Paul's Gentiles were something of an aberration in an otherwise primarily Jewish sect. The majority opinion among Jewish believers seems to have been that the Gentiles needed to convert sooner or later.
If Paul had delivered the same message as Eleazar of Galilee, teaching the Gentile believers to finish their conversion with circumcision, he could have earned favor with the other Jewish believers and with the greater Jewish community present in the synagogues in which he was teaching, such as the synagogues of Galatia. Within the Jewish context, that message would have been the more socially acceptable message: "Believe in Yeshua to be saved, but after that, you need to eventually accept upon yourself circumcision, conversion, and all of the obligations of Jewish life that legal Jewish status entails."
If Paul had been preaching that message, he might not have been forced out of the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, run out of Iconium, or stoned in Lystra. He would not have had conflict with the other Jewish believers-the faction that he derisively refers to as "the Circumcision." To paraphrase, he explains in Galatians 1:10, "I am not doing this to win friends. I am not preaching to please men. I am preaching the message that Messiah gave me to preach."
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)
Referneces
This lesson was curated from teachings from First Fruits of Zion “Holy Epistle to the Galatians.”
11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:11-12, ESV Bible)
Sha’ul’s Controversial Gospel
The gospel Saul proclaimed among the Gentiles of Antioch was not "according to man." In the first chapter of his letter to the Galatians, Saul emphatically insisted that he did not receive it from the apostles but rather directly from God. He referred to his own version of the gospel as "my gospel."
Saul presented a unique version of the gospel in that he included the Gentiles as Gentiles. He taught that Gentiles could be saved by faith and without any obligation to become Jewish. He discouraged Gentiles from undergoing circumcision and taking on legal Jewish status. He had one simple rule for all congregations: "This is my rule in all the churches... Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called" (I Corinthians 7:17, 20, ESV).
Saul claimed that this insight first came to him in a vision: "I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Yeshua the Messiah" (Galatians I:12, cf. Acts 22:21, 26:16-18). He found confirmation in the writings of the prophets. He found evidence that God intended salvation to extend to all of humanity, not just to the tribes of Israel. Based on this revelation, Saul taught that Gentiles could obtain a share in the kingdom of heaven, the resurrection from the dead, the World to Come, and inheritance among the people of Israel through allegiance to the Messiah of Israel.
Saul's controversial gospel message does not sound too controversial to Christians today, but he had a sinking feeling in his stomach as he and Barnabas and Titus approached Jerusalem. Special revelations from Heaven are good, but he had not yet cleared this teaching with the authority in Jerusalem. He had never submitted it to the court of the apostles. Up until now, Saul had been operating as a "loose cannon."
Saul's teacher, Rabban Gamliel, used to say, "Do not rely on your own interpretation. Take upon yourself a teacher, and remove all doubt" (m.Avot I:16). Saul was not a modern Protestant. He was a brilliant, spiritually gifted protégé, but he was also a man under authority. He took advantage of this trip to Jerusalem for famine relief to seek a private audience with James, the brother of the Master, and the Twelve.
Until then, he had been teaching in Antioch on his own initiative, without authority and without sanction from those to whom our Master gave the power to bind and to loose and to govern the body (Matthew 16:19). He feared that he "might be running, or had run, in vain" (Galatians 2:2).
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Man’s Gospel
As Paul began his epistle to the Galatians, he contrasted the gospel message he preached to what he called "man's gospel." What did Paul mean by "man's gospel"? He did not mean a false gospel, or corrupt gospel, or something fleshly and worldly. He meant to differentiate the way that he became a believer from the way that people ordinarily became believers in that day, and he wanted to differentiate between his gospel message and the one that other believers ordinarily proclaimed in his day.
In Paul's day, most of the people who became disciples of Yeshua of Nazareth were Jewish. All of the apostles were Jewish, and they told other Jewish people about Yeshua: his deeds, his words, his death, his resurrection, his ascension, his messianic claims, and his imminent return. That's how most people learned the gospel, and that is what Paul called "man's gospel." You heard the good news from someone, you believed it, and that's how you became a believer. It was a mostly Jewish phenomenon.
That was not how Paul became a believer. Instead, Paul once hated believers…
Referneces
This lesson was curated from teachings from First Fruits of Zion “Holy Epistle to the Galatians.”
13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. (Galatians 1:13-14, ESV Bible)
At the time that Paul became a disciple of Yeshua of Nazareth, he hated all the disciples of Yeshua; he did not receive the gospel from men. Instead, he persecuted them and actually hunted them down.
Paul the Prodigy
He described himself as advancing in Judaism beyond many of his own age among his people. What does it mean to be "advancing in Judaism?" "I was," Paul explained, "extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers." The "traditions of the fathers" is the New Testament, apostolic-age term for what later came to be called the Oral Torah (i.e., the Mishnah, etc.) which, after several centuries, resulted in the voluminous literature of the Talmud. In those days, people did not call it the Oral Law (Torah shebe-al Peh); they called it "the traditions of the fathers," or sometimes just "the traditions." The religious party called the Pharisees adhered to those traditions and passed them on orally from teacher to disciple. When Paul said he was advancing in Judaism zealous for the traditions, he was not saying, "I used to be a legalistic, halachic, orthodox Jew, but after finding Jesus, I dumped all that." The Greek word translated as "advancing" is a term which originally meant "making headway at sea," but Josephus and contemporary literature used it to mean "making great progress in education." Paul was saying, "I was an important disciple of an important sage (Rabban Gamliel the Elder), and I was zealous to learn the Oral Law, i.e., the traditions, and I was advancing fast to the top of the class. I was headed for a big seat on the Sanhedrin; I was going to be one of the top scholars because I was a prodigy."
But this prodigy had a mean streak, and he despised the believers. They irritated him badly, especially that guy Stephen who hung out in his synagogue and argued with all the other Greek-speaking Jews who attended there. After Stephen's stoning, Paul even went so far as to break his allegiance with his teacher Gamliel, defying his ruling regarding the believers (Acts 9:1-2). He went over to the Sadducees, to Caiphas the high priest, for legal permission to hunt down believers, drag them out of the synagogues and publically punish them by flogging, perhaps by excommunication as well. Paul did not get the gospel from the believers or from the apostles. They were afraid of Paul.
Referneces
This lesson was curated from teachings from First Fruits of Zion “Holy Epistle to the Galatians.”
Paul’s Revelation from Heaven
While Paul was on the road to Damascus to find more believers and persecute them, he had a revelation from Heaven. No one witnessed to Paul. No one argued him into the conclusion that Yeshua of Nazareth was the Messiah. It was not as if he read all the prophecies in the Tanach, or saw Isaiah 53 and said, "Oh, I was wrong!" He did not read a tract or listen to a preacher on the radio. He did not attend a Billy Graham crusade. He did not receive the gospel from men; it was not man's gospel; it came direct from above. As Paul said, "I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." It dropped from Heaven.
This type of thing happens. Not often, so far as we know, but it does happen. On some occasions, Yeshua of Nazareth, the expression of HaShem himself, appears to a person, reveals himself to a person, speaks to a person, and announces himself.
Referneces
This lesson was curated from teachings from First Fruits of Zion “Holy Epistle to the Galatians.”
Paul’s Gospel
Paul explained that he received the gospel through a revelation of Yeshua the Messiah. He claimed that the gospel message he preached to the Galatians was not man's gospel. It was not the normal gospel message. He received a different gospel. This is an important point a critical point for understanding Paul. The message of the gospel that Paul proclaimed was not precisely the same message of the gospel that the rest of the apostolic community proclaimed. In other places, Paul specifically refers to his unique gospel message as "my gospel."
[Gentile believers show that the work of the Torah] is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:15-16)
[God] is able to strengthen you according to my gospel. (Romans 16:25)
As preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. (2 Timothy 2:8-9)
This should be troubling to us. What makes Paul's gospel his gospel? How is this gospel that he received by special revelation different from what he calls man's gospel? How is his gospel message different from that of the rest of the apostolic community?
Paul's gospel differs because Paul taught that salvation in Messiah is efficacious for both Jews and Gentiles. The other apostles also included Gentiles, but they expected that once a Gentile received the good news about the king of the Jews, he would become Jewish.
Scholars disagree about this point, but there is ample evidence to prove that Paul wrote his epistle to the Galatians before the Jerusalem Council reported in Acts 15. Before that counsel, the question of Gentile participation had not yet been resolved. Other Jewish believers taught that Gentiles who embraced Messiah would, should, and eventually must convert and become Jewish.
Paul disagreed. His gospel was not just good news for Israel, but for all of humanity. This is what made Paul so radical and put him outside the Jerusalem circle.
Paul's gospel taught that Gentiles can inherit eternal life, the kingdom of heaven, the resurrection of the dead, and standing among the people of God (i.e., Israel) without becoming Jewish-a radical idea.
Where did Paul get this information? Not from the teachings of Yeshua transmitted by his followers and disciples. Not from the teaching of Peter or John or James. Paul insisted, "I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:12). He received it as "the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages, but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith" (Romans 16:25-26).
Referneces
This lesson was curated from teachings from First Fruits of Zion “Holy Epistle to the Galatians.”
15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) (Galatians 1:15-20)
Paul explicitly links the special revelation of the gospel message he received with his commission from Messiah to "preach him among the Gentiles" (Galatians 1:15).
Paul in Damascus and Jerusalem
After receiving the revelation from heaven, Paul "went away into Arabia"-that is, the kingdom of the Nabataeans. Damascus was a large city within this Nabataean kingdom. When Paul wrote that he went away into Arabia, we should not imagine some monk-like retreat to Mount Sinai; rather, he was speaking of his sojourn in Damascus and that general area, a period of time well described in the book of Acts. When he first arrived in Damascus, he was blind and confused, fasting, praying, and seeking God. A disciple named Chananiah came to him and prayed over him and restored his sight. He underwent an immersion into Yeshua and remained among the disciples in Damascus.
Paul said he spent three years in Damascus and Arabia before returning to Jerusalem. He got in trouble in the synagogues of Damascus for preaching Messiah too boldly. Eventually, some enemies hatched a plot against him. His disciples had to lower him out of a window in the city wall, concealed in a basket. After that incident, he returned to Jerusalem and finally met the key apostles:
Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother. In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) (Galatians 1:18-20, ESV Bible)
When Paul first arrived in Jerusalem, the community and the apostles refused to welcome their persecutor; they did not trust him. They assumed he wanted to get inside information. Finally, Barnabas brought him before the apostles and vouched for his sincerity. He met James and Peter, and the community welcomed him.
He ended up staying with Peter's family in Jerusalem for fifteen days, probably spending three Sabbaths together. Why did Paul recount all of that for the Galatians? He wanted to emphasize that he did not get his unique gospel message from the apostles; he received it directly from the Master through a special revelation.
While with the apostles in Jerusalem, he received his commissioning. As he prayed in the Temple, he fell into a trance and saw a vision of the Master. Yeshua told him,
"Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles" (Acts 22:21).
Referneces
This lesson was curated from teachings from First Fruits of Zion “Holy Epistle to the Galatians.”
21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me. (Galatians 1:21-24, ESV Bible)
Paul left Jerusalem and spent fourteen years in Syria and Cilicia. The first eight years or so he spent in his home town of Tarsus. He passed his time preaching Messiah (and the faith he once tried to destroy) in the synagogues there. He worked as a tent maker, a tailor. He spent his time studying, learning, trying to grasp the commission he heard in the vision: "Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles." He spent his time looking for confirmation in the prophets that this was indeed the word of the LORD-that the salvation of Messiah extended even to the Gentiles.
While Paul sojourned in Tarsus, amazing things were happen-ing. In the city of Caesarea, the Apostle Peter brought the gospel to the home of a Gentile named Cornelius. He was a God-Fearer, "a devout man who feared God with all his household" (Acts 10:2). He and his household believed. The Apostle Peter declared, "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him" (Acts 10:34-35).
Not long after that, the gospel began to reach other God-fearing Gentiles. Believers from Jerusalem "traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews" (Acts 11:19). They spoke the word to no one except Jews because the gospel was good news for the Jewish people. One would naturally assume that any Gentiles drawn into the kingdom of heaven movement would undergo conversion to become Jewish. Something else was afoot though. The book of Acts tells the story of how a large number of God-fearing Gentiles in Antioch came to faith:
There were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. (Acts 11:20-24)
After about eight years, a remarkable thing happened. Joseph Barnabas, the disciple he knew from Damascus and Jerusalem, left Antioch and showed up in Tarsus looking for Paul. He explained, "Saul, the apostles in Jerusalem sent me to Antioch to see what's going on there. They heard a report from the synagogues in Antioch that large numbers of God-fearing Gentiles have joined the faith. I travelled to Antioch, and I saw the grace of God on the Gentiles, and I was glad, and I told them to remain faithful to the Master with steadfast purpose, and a great many of them have believed. That's why I've come looking for you. I need your help in Antioch." Barnabas must have also told Paul about Peter's experience with Cornelius (Acts 10), a story which would only confirm the revelation Paul had already received -the mystery of the gospel.
That's how Paul ended up in Antioch for the next five years or so. He came to Antioch to help Barnabas, and he found lots of Gentiles, the God-Fearers. His vision about the gospel going out to all nations was coming true. The only question was what to do with them. Barnabas needed Paul's help in overseeing the conversion of all those Gentiles. He wanted someone with Paul's standing and halachic credentials because this was not just a few, or a dozen, but probably hundreds of Gentiles.
When he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. (Acts 11:26)
Referneces
This lesson was curated from teachings from First Fruits of Zion “Holy Epistle to the Galatians.”
Paul’s Rule for the Churches
The conventional plan, naturally, would be to teach them about Judaism and usher them along the path to full conversion until they became proselytes. Paul did not follow the conventional model. Instead, he taught the new believers to remain as Gentiles. This radical change of program became Paul's rule for all the communities of faith:
This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circum-cision. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. (1 Corinthians 7:17-20)
Paul wanted the Galatian believers to know that his gospel (the gospel that teaches that Gentile believers are also a part of the kingdom, not as proselytes, but as real Gentiles) was something he received directly from God-a special revelation, a special commission, confirmed by his studies, yes, but straight from God.
That was important for his readers to know because "the influencers" exerting an influence on them were not teaching Paul's gospel. They were telling the Galatian believers that salvation and faith in Yeshua should naturally lead to becoming Jewish through conversion-the same message proclaimed by the rest of the apostolic community. Paul needed to clarify: "What I have been telling you is different than what everyone else is teaching. The reason that it is different is because I did not get this gospel message from the other apostles. I got it straight from Heaven.
Gentiles would not be present in the community of faith today, nor in any church, if not for that revelation from Heaven that God gave to his servant Paul. God set him apart before he was born, called him by his grace, and was pleased to reveal his Son to him, in order that he might preach Messiah among the Gentiles.
If you are a Gentile believer in Yeshua, you should have a great debt of gratitude to the Apostle Paul, the servant of Christ. May his memory be for a blessing.
Referneces
This lesson was curated from teachings from First Fruits of Zion “Holy Epistle to the Galatians.”