Narrator: Eunice
Primary Scriptures: Galatians 1-2
Story Summary: Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia Location: Roman Empire; Galatia
Time:
AD 30 Jesus crucified and resurrected; Pentecost; Holy Spirit arrives
AD 48 Paul’s “famine visit” to Jerusalem; First Missionary Journey starts
AD 50 Council at Jerusalem; Start of Second Missionary Journey; approximate
time of the writing of Galatians.
Suggested Memory Scriptures: Galatians 1:4, 9; 2:20-21
This episode assumes Galatians was written in about 50 AD, though many scholars believe it was written a few years later. The difference in the date might have some impact on how certain things in the letter are interpreted.
For most of its first decade of existence, Christianity was essentially a sect of Judaism. Virtually all Christians were Jewish and continued to follow the laws of Moses as best they could. As non-Jews became Christians, many of the Jewish Christians insisted that they follow the laws of Moses, too, including circumcision for the men; the Council of Jerusalem in about 49-50 AD concluded that non-Jewish Christians did not have to follow the laws of Moses. On his Second Missionary Journey, Paul took a letter from the council showing their conclusion.
These Jewish Christians, also called “Judaizers,” chose not to go quietly. Some of them continued to push the subject in totality, while others chose to teach other precepts in addition to the Gospel that Paul taught. False teachers, including the Judaizers, would plague Paul for his entire ministry. They not only taught things in opposition to the Gospel, but they also continually challenged Paul’s authority to determine what messages should be taught. Non- Jewish Christians were new believers, the New Testament had not yet been written, and the non-Jews had little knowledge of the Old Testament, so many of Paul’s letters contain much on Paul’s defense of his authority as an apostle, condemnation for those who are in opposition to him, and statements concerning the nature of the Gospel.
Galatians is written to the churches in Galatia, most of which Paul and Barnabas started on their First Missionary Journey. It must have been terribly disappointing to Paul that these churches questioned his authority and teachings. Most of the first two chapters of Galatians are spent defending and establishing his authority and teachings. The famous verses in Galatians 2:19-21 work as a transition to other chapters which contain some of Paul’s most insightful teachings.
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