GALATIANS: Neither

Of course, we have potentially created a couple problems for a number of readers. Some will cry that, historically speaking, this task of being one body or, as Paul will put it in Ephesians, a “new humanity,” is an unrealistic task and far too difficult. Not only will the world of archaeology uncover some startling pieces of history to prove this wrong, but Paul moves on to address this issue in the concluding chapter of the letter to the Galatians.

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load. Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Throughout this presentation of an inclusive gospel, Paul is certainly not throwing out our ability to have objective conversations about appropriate behavior and what the way of Jesus looks like in our lives. He encourages us to hold fellow believers accountable and to restore them in gentleness. Of course, he moves on to say what sounds contradictory; he tells the Galatians to carry each other’s burdens, but also says everyone should carry his own burden. What’s up with that?

But closer inspection shows us Paul is actually making a great claim to how these relationships, whether they be with like-minded or different people (i.e., Jew or Gentile), are fostered properly. Immediately after Paul tells us we ought to restore our brothers and sisters in gentleness, he suggests we help others carry their burdens by being concerned not primarily with their behavior, but our own. “Everyone should test their own actions.” Everyone ought to take the list from Galatians 5 and ask themselves if their actions are producing the fruit of the Spirit. This will tell us if we are doing relationship correctly.

See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!

Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. May 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. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.

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

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

But Paul’s not done taking every opportunity to remind us about fighting for the place of all people in this Kingdom narrative. He reminds us that in this new Jesus economy, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What matters is whether we are being made into a new creation.

Some will also cry that this inclusive gospel we’ve been talking about sounds like a soft, gutless, everything-goes kind of mentality — that there is no call in this understanding to hold people accountable and no way to establish right and wrong. They’ll say that an inclusive gospel is just another way of describing universalism. And they’ll talk a lot about slippery slopes.

But all of these accusations are based on a fallacy of logic; they create a false dichotomy and dilemmas that aren’t dependent on bifurcated choices. The ideas of inclusion and absolute truth are not mutually exclusive. Just because I believe there is a correct and an incorrect way to bring order to chaos does not mean I cannot fight for the value and place of all people. It does not mean I cannot practice humility and examine the story of people and question my understanding of the Scriptures. It could be that our situation might resemble that of the people of Galatia. It could be that our fundamental beliefs might be structured in a way that more closely resembles Shammai’s thinking than Hillel’s — let alone Jesus.

We might need a reminder that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything.

The only thing that counts is that we are being made into a new creation.

GALATIANS: Perplexed

Having explained now the purpose of the Law and the calling the Jews have in the world, Paul moves on, continuing to speak to the God-fearing Gentiles who are being tempted to convert to Judaism. Having made the case that, in this new Jesus reality, everybody is a child of Abraham through faith — there is no distinction between gender, social status, or covenantal belonging — he then wants to know why they would exchange this good news for anything else.

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.

Paul refers to their former days as ‘Gentile sinners’ and says they were slaves to men in this pagan, Roman world — men who thought themselves to be gods, but by nature are not gods. But now, if they choose to be burdened by this worldview of those in the ‘circumcision party,’ they will be turning to the same old situation. They will find themselves enslaved to the ways of men and not of God.

Paul then pleads with them to be open-minded and consider what he’s saying. He tells them to become like him, just as he did when he brought them the gospel. He humbled himself and met them on their turf, joining their conversation in order to express the gospel to them.

I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

Apparently, it was because of an illness that Paul spent so much time in Galatia teaching the gospel to them. He asks them to consider those days when they spent that time together. He reminds them of how well they treated him; even though he was a burden in his illness, they treated him with gracious hospitality — the hallmark of being a child of Abraham. He asked them why they have lost this posture with him. Why this change in heart? Why do they treat him differently? He is simply bringing them a reminder of the same gospel he preached before when their lives were forever changed.

Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!

Paul refers to those in the ‘circumcision party’ and speak of their intentions. They wish to divide these God-fearing children of Abraham and make them into what they are. He says they are zealous for them in the hopes that they might become zealous for their cause of Shammai exclusivity. But exclusivity is not the gospel; it is the anti-gospel. Paul reminds them that zeal is not the problem. It is fine to be zealous about the things God is doing in the world. However, since the beginning of the story, God has been trying to bless all nations, to bring everyone back to the table. If we are zealous about that kind of inclusivity, it would be a good thing!

Now, I’m certainly not talking about some loosey-goosey universalism. Certainly, many evangelical readers will cringe and grab their pitchforks at the frequent usage of the word “inclusivity.” But it is important to realize that from the earliest days of the Christian movement, this is the heart of the gospel. The Gentiles would not be a part of the story if God had not called people like Paul to fight for the place of ALL PEOPLE within the family of God IN FAITH. I can already hear the objections: “the gospel, by its very nature, is exclusive.” If this is how you see the gospel of Jesus Christ, the New Testament says you have the wrong gospel. This does not mean truth is relative and everybody is saved and morality doesn’t matter and every other false dichotomy we try to create which is illogical in its premises.

What we mean to say is that since the beginning of the story, God has invited people to trust in His promises. If they will do this, they will find salvation, justification, and redemption. This is the gospel; it is the “gospel preached beforehand to Abraham.” It is the gospel those in the Old Testament had (see Hebrews 4), as well as the truth of the New Testament reality in Christ.

Paul’s ministry is a ministry of reminding us that these promises and this faith are available to EVERYONE. Period. There are no qualifications to getting access to this gospel.

And we struggle with the same struggles as the Galatians. We begin to create spiritual “checkpoints” people have to get through in order to access this justification. We use our understanding of morality to create new groups that sound an awful lot like the ‘circumcision party’ of old. Instead of fighting for their place in the family, we find ourselves trying to make sure everybody understands what an “outsider” they are.

And Paul reminds us of how frustrating this is to the gospel. He says he wishes he was there in person and not writing a letter so he could change his tone, yet again. Paul began his letter in astonishment (“I am astonished that you are turning…”), he moved to anger (“You foolish Galatians!”), and now finds himself perplexed. How can we do this to the good news of Jesus? How can we miss out on the truth that there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female? How can we continue to exchange this truth for the lie of “we’re in and you’re out”?

It’s perplexing.

GALATIANS: Children of Abraham

After sharing with the Galatian believers about his confrontation with Peter and the leadership as they struggled to live in accordance to this gospel, he turns his attention to them. The same understanding of this gospel and this justification is what Paul stresses to the Galatians. This interpretation is apparently one they should have and understand.

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

Paul calls them foolish Galatians, which happens to be a cultural play on the region of Galatia. We mentioned before that the region of Galatia was like the backwoods corner of the Roman empire. The people there were considered barbaric, uneducated, and primitive. This is one of the regions the Shammai Jews had settled to remain unbothered by the culture around them. This play of Paul’s is a direct attack on a very educated group of people who should know better than to believe the lies they are tempted to believe. It’s safe to say that Paul is upset.

Paul asks them to think about their own experience. Was it by faith or by being Jewish (the miqsat ma’asay haTorah) they received the Spirit? They aren’t Jewish; they are theosabes who are being tempted to convert to Judaism. So the answer to all of Paul’s questions is obviously faith. It is by faith they received salvation. It is by faith they experience the Spirit. It is by faith they are justified. Their whole story has been about faith — so why would they want to give that up and make it about the “works of the law”?

And Paul also mentions their suffering being in vain. But what suffering is Paul talking about? How have these Gentile believers suffered? The answer would be at least twofold. First, they have suffered by holding a very unpopular worldview within the Jewish world of Galatia. In a corner of the Diaspora where the Jews follow the teaching of Shammai, to hold to this view — which is even more progressive than Hillel’s — would antagonize the world where you belong and make you the source of intense religious persecution. Second, they would also be the source of serious Roman persecution. Remember, if these Gentiles are not accepted by the larger Jewish community of Galatia, they will not fall under the great “Jewish Exception” and would be required to engage in emperor worship (idolatry). At different times in history, refusal to do this would be punishable by death.

Yes, these early Gentile believers have suffered a great deal, and that is why they want to convert. But Paul’s point is that this is the very story they are trying to tell to the world of Galatia. They have suffered for the sake of the gospel. If they convert now, all of that suffering will have been in vain. But it hasn’t been in vain, because the gospel has been put on display through their refusal to give in to popular opinion.

Paul then uses a typical Hillel argument to say that Abraham is their great example when it comes to being justified by faith.

So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Hillel used to make the point that in Genesis 15, Abraham was justified by his faith. He was justified before he was circumcised; he was justified before he had one single rule to follow. If this is the case in Genesis 15, then Shammai is wrong; you cannot be justified by your works. Abraham was justified long before there were any works to be done. However, Paul takes this reasoning one step further than Hillel ever did. It will be helpful here to review our conversation about brothers, “children of Abraham,” and theosabes.

Paul makes the case that the gospel was announced to Abraham himself; Paul sees his gospel in the very story where God announces He is going to bless ALL nations through Abraham. Paul says if this is the story of God (the gospel, as he calls it), then what makes a person a covenant member of Abraham’s family is not circumcision. Contrary to all Jewish thought at the time, Paul says faith is the marker of being a child of God in the family of Abraham.

To a Jew, a “child of Abraham” is a proselyte — someone who has taken on circumcision and converted to Judaism. They are actually Jewish and distinct from the theosabes. But Paul’s argument is that a Gentile with faith is adopted into the family of Abraham.

For Paul, the story of God has always been about the promise, not the Law.

For Paul, the story of God has always been about being a person of faith, not about being Jewish.

For Paul, the story of God has always been about believing in the promises of God, not about obeying the rules.

For Paul, this has always been about trusting the story of God.

If a person will trust in the promises of God, then they are of the same stock as Abraham.

But what of being Jewish? Does that mean nothing?! Why did God waste all of his time with the Law?

Well the Law will certainly have its purpose, but before he tells the Galatians about that, he has to make his case about the Law and the Promise.

"Not to burden you"

So Paul and Barnabas continue on their way through the region, heading to places like Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. They have very similar experiences in these places as they had in Pisidian Antioch. If you read through Acts 14, you will find they are initially received quite well in all these areas. As they go throughout Asia Minor, they proclaim a gospel of inclusion for the Gentiles. We are told they are quite persuasive in Iconium and a great number of Jews and Gentiles believe. They also have quite a successful beginning in Lystra and a wonderful time in Derbe. At each location, they have a group of Judeans (as it would be translated more literally, not simply “Jews” as most of our translations have it; these Judeans are from the Jerusalem church that has rejected this newfound inclusion of the Gentiles) who follow them, causing controversy, division, and, over time, their rejection at these locations.

They eventually return to Antioch after causing quite a Jewish ruckus in Asia Minor. The church is forced to deal with the mounting tension within this very Jewish church.

They head to Jerusalem for what many have called the “Jerusalem Council” to discuss what to do about these Gentiles. What is the Church’s position going to be regarding this huge influx of Gentile believers? Will they have to become Torah observant like everyone else? As we mentioned before, this conversation is not new, nor is it even a conversation unique to the Jesus movement. These Jesus followers have taken the same conversation to whole new levels, but it’s far from new dialogue.

We spoke about how Shammai and Hillel kept their typical form in disagreeing about how to handle things. Shammai thought a Gentile would only be justified through obedience to Torah. If this is true, then while a Gentile is welcome to worship God, they will never experience true justification without conversion to Judaism. Hillel argued everyone is justified by faith. If this is true, it would mean Gentiles do not have to become Jewish in order to experience justification; while they still aren’t full children and heirs of God’s chosen household, they are fully accepted cousins and welcome to worship the God of Israel. However, more context will help us understand the guts of the arguments of Shammai and Hillel.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has done much to help the understanding of the context of the New Testament in some incredible ways. One of the things it helped us discover is how we have much of our reading all wrong (particularly with the teaching of the Apostle Paul). One of the scrolls found is titled Miqsat Ma’asay haTorah, or “The Works of the Law.” Through our study of Mishnaic Judaism, we now understand some things about how first-century Judaism understood Torah. Much of this was prompted by the very argument Shammai and Hillel were engaging about the Gentiles. 

The Jews had broken down the Law into three sections (please note that these are not the typical three sections that are often arbitrarily imposed on the Law [moral, civil, liturgical], which have not produced any historical credibility; these are unrelated distinctions that are being defined more and more thoroughly in modern scholarship through scholars like Mark D. Nanos):

CULTIC LAW: This is the part of the law that has to do with liturgical worship at the Temple. This is the Levitical system of priesthood, sacrifice, and Temple worship. In short, you need a Temple to engage in cultic law. As believers in Jesus, we would say Jesus has become the cultic law for us (which is the argument of the book of Hebrews).

ETHICAL LAW: Ethical law is simply true. No matter who you are or where you are, these laws are universally true for all people. Ethical law isn’t true just because “God said so.” Ethical law is true because it’s the way God made the universe to function. The Ten Commandments would be a good example of ethical law. It’s not an issue of whether or not you are “bound” or “under” the law of the Ten Commandments — “do not murder” is a good idea for everyone. It’s ethical.

“MIQSAT MA’ASAY HATORAH” (The Works of the Law): This is the part of the law that makes you Jewish. After presenting the ketubah of the Ten Commandments at Sinai, after God’s people said “Yes!” to God’s wedding vows, they voluntarily agreed to carry the Law that would make them a “kingdom of priests.” God wanted them to be different than the world around them and put their God on display for the nations. He did this by giving them the “works of the Law” that would do the work of making them different. This includes circumcision (which happens to be the mark of carrying miqsat ma’asay haTorah), kosher eating, wearing tassels, not wearing blended fabrics, etc.

Shammai had decided that you were justified — you were declared righteous (please note, this has nothing to do with salvation) — when God saw you being obedient to the miqsat ma’asay haTorah. This would mean that a Gentile has to become Jewish and begin carrying all three parts of the Law.

But Hillel said God declared you righteous when you believed — just as he did with Abraham in Genesis 15. This would mean that carrying the miqsat ma’asay haTorah was a function of being Jewish, not an expectation from God in order to be justified.

Now, back to our story in Acts 15.

The early Christians are battling through this same argument, only they have more at stake. In the new Kingdom order Jesus brought, this won’t just be about justification; this will be about sonship. This will be about God’s household. This will be about these pagan, rough-around-the-edges, former idolaters becoming full-fledged heirs of God’s promises.

There are some Jesus followers who are adamant that this is too much, and the gospel is going too far.

There are some who say this is what God has always been up to.

And they don’t agree. And they argue. And when they are done, they decide Hillel is right and Shammai is wrong.

And just like their Rabbi Jesus, they decide Hillel hasn’t gone far enough. But more on that later.

Those People

Paul stands up and addresses this mixed crowd with a teaching that boggles the mind. In typical fashion for the record of Acts, Paul begins by outlining the narrative history of the Jewish people in a way that sets up the point he’s trying to make.

Paul doesn’t sugarcoat the history of his fellow Jews: he talks about their history as a stubborn people led out of Egypt — about how God had to endure their conduct and help them find their inheritance. He sums up the history of the judges and Saul as their first king, alluding to the frustrating story that lay behind Saul’s rule. He mentions the pinnacle of Jewish history (particularly as seen from the first century) by speaking of the reign of David as a king who was after God’s own heart.

From this history, Paul connects Jesus directly to David and the work of John the Baptist. He speaks of the anointed calling of both and alludes to the fact that Jesus is Messiah. He then points out how Judaism’s leadership (the Judeans) did not recognize Jesus and made the foolish mistake of putting him to death. He speaks of the resurrection and the coming of the Kingdom.

Paul then goes back to recap the amazing story surrounding the resurrection by teaching through a series of brilliant remez quotations — which happen to function as a sermon in and of themselves — before ending the sermon with a direct and challenging application: it is the job of the Jewish people to carry on this story and be about the ministry of the forgiveness of sin. He warns that if they miss this calling, they would be the foolish scoffers spoken of in the Psalms.

Paul’s message is directly aimed at the Jews in attendance. While Paul recognizes all those in attendance, his first “sermon” that day was a sermon for the Jewish audience. He spoke of the Jewish story and how Jesus fit into the grand narrative of God. He continually referenced the “we” of the Jewish people throughout the telling of this story. “It is to US,” Paul said, “that this message has been sent.” Paul’s point is that this is THEIR story. It’s the calling of the Jewish people to carry this story well.

Paul is certainly not “playing it safe” for his first public teaching. Paul is a fiery preacher on his first day. As Jewish teacher, trained under Gamaliel, he is directly confronting the Jewish audience. He isn’t trying to hedge his bets. He refers to their background as a stubborn people, he critiques their leadership as being blind to the purposes of God, and he even closes the sermon with a thunderbolt challenge not to be a scoffing fool. Paul isn’t concerned with making or keeping friends.

Now, how do you suppose the people respond to this message that day in Pisidian Antioch?

Did you say, “They loved it! They welcomed it with open arms!”?

Of course you didn’t. Because you’ve likely been taught your whole life that those stupid Jews hated the gospel and everything from Jesus and rejected Paul everywhere he went. But, unfortunately, you have been taught all wrong. Have a look at Acts 13:

As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.

Wait. What?

Let’s recap. Paul spoke a challenging word that day, he spoke very directly about the crucifixion of Jesus, and he taught at length on this teaching about the resurrection.

And the people begged them to come back and teach them more.

Brothers and sisters, the Jewish assembly didn’t have a single problem with the message of Jesus and what so many of us would call the “gospel.”

In fact, if you were to begin scouring the book of Acts, you would find the rejection of the Jews to the early followers of Jesus is hardly EVER connected to the story of Jesus, the crucifixion, or the resurrection.

So what will they get upset about? Let’s keep reading.

The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

“ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,    that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

It was difficult for this group of religious God-worshippers to accept the fact that all of “those people” might be allowed into the family of God. While the debate was open between Shammai and Hillel regarding the place of justification in the life of the theosabes, what no rabbi had suggested was that a Gentile could ever be a full-fledged child of God. While the argument is initially intriguing to them, when they see the synagogue fill up the next week with unclean Gentiles, they cannot continue.

So Paul and Barnabas confront their brothers about the very message they spoke the week prior. This is their message to carry into the world! This is what God has always been up to! But since they don’t want to be a part of God’s great project (“…since you judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life…”), Paul and Barnabas must now turn their attention to the good news they are there to proclaim. If the people of God are going to reject their calling, then Paul and Barnabas will fulfill it.

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord.

I worry that if we miss this part of the story, we are missing THE great backdrop to the New Testament. This is what the gospel does to the world of Asia and Asia Minor. It brings all those on the outside, inside. This is found all over the New Testament! This is the story!

“If you let yourself become circumcised, the gospel is of no use to you…”

“You are no longer strangers and foreigners, but citizens and fellow members of God’s household…”

“…and now those of you who were far off have been brought near.”

I fear we may have missed the point. And somewhere along the way, we have exchanged the good news and the truth of the New Testament narrative for a message about heaven and hell and escaping a world doomed to destruction.

But the story has never been about that. The story has always been about a God who is redeeming this world. The story (a very Jewish story, by the way) has always been about a community of folks — a kingdom of priests — confronting the world and showing them God is, in fact, for them, and they do have a place at His table.

God’s story has always been an invitation to trust — to trust the story that there is Sabbath rest available to all.

Available to ALL.

You see, things don’t change much over the course of 2,000 years. There are still groups of people and entire institutions who claim to speak for God and are certain they have finally figured out who gets to be in and who is out. They seem to believe, contrary to the teachings of the very Jesus they claim to worship, that they have stumbled across the guest list to the great wedding banquet and they know who’s getting in and who’s staying out.

There are even people who talk about the gospel being for all people. Until your synagogue is full of a bunch of people who don’t look like you. Or until a handful of “those people” come and sit in the front row of your church.

You know who “those people” are.

It’s their economic status, skin color, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or dress code. Or a myriad of other things even less significant and humiliating to admit.

Quite frankly, they just aren’t like us.

And to hear God is inviting all people to the table to be his kids… Well, that just doesn’t sit well with us.

But it’s the gospel we’re called to carry into the world around us. It’s the announcement of a better Kingdom.

But it’s what He’s been doing since the dawn of creation. It’s the story He’s been telling the whole time. And I believe He’s hoping, with tears in His eyes, that we will be humble enough to accept it.

The Theosabes

Barnabas and Paul arrive in Pisidian Antioch and follow their typical script. They immediately find their Jewish brethren and join them in fellowship and worship at the local synagogue. After the normal synagogue service, visiting guests are invited to share a word of encouragement with the people gathered there. This is a basic gesture, especially for visiting teachers — let alone the fact that Paul is a student of one of the most renowned Jewish teachers of their day. I’m sure people couldn’t wait to hear from Paul.

And hear from Paul, they do.

We are told Paul stood up and motioned with his hand for the assembly’s attention. One thing to notice is this thirteenth chapter of Acts seems to signify the arrival of Paul as a teacher. Prior to the story of Pisidian Antioch, Luke is very intentional to say “Barnabas and Saul/Paul,” which would signify Barnabas is the leader (by putting his name first). After this story, it will become, for the rest of the book of Acts (with one exception), “Paul and Barnabas.”

This story appears to be a defining moment for Paul. It seems the church in Antioch sent Paul out with Barnabas as his teacher, and it is in this story where the roles switch. Barnabas will give Paul the nod, Paul will seize the moment, and Barnabas will become the student. Incredible humility.

Paul stands up and begins his presentation, “Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God…”

Now wait a minute. We have to unpack a lot of context in this brief address.

We need to expound on the rabbinical climate of Asia Minor in the first century. Decades before the ministry of Jesus, the Jewish world in Asia Minor was having to figure out what they did with the Gentiles in their synagogues who wanted to worship the God of Israel. While this was not a problem in the world of Judea and Jerusalem, the rest of the Roman world was a different story. We are told by modern scholars that the population of Asia Minor was somewhere close to 20% Jewish.

That’s significant — one out of every five people.

Folks knew about the Jews; people in Asia Minor had exposure to the Jewish faith. And some of them really liked it. They learned to love the God of Israel and to love His words. They came to synagogue and tried to find a place of worship. And the Jews had to figure out what to do with that.

Is it acceptable for a Gentile to worship the God of Israel? All Jews were in agreement. “Of course.”

But one rabbi said, “Hey Gentiles, we are glad you are here. We love that you love the God of Israel. But it won’t do you any good unless you convert, take on circumcision (and the rest of the law that it represents), and become Jewish.” If you're thinking that such a position sounds a lot like Shammai, then you’re dead on.

But the other rabbi — indeed, a guy by the name of Hillel — said, “Gentiles, we are thrilled you are here and we love that you love the God of Israel. You are welcome to worship God and you can even find justification. If Abraham was justified by faith before he was circumcised, so can you!” Now, Hillel would have remained quite steadfast that these Gentiles were not Jews; they were not brothers in the family of God, but they were welcome to be distant cousins.

This is all well and good, but what does this have to do with the story of Pisidian Antioch? Well, Pisidian Antioch sits on the edge of the region known as Galatia. While almost all of Asia and Asia Minor was very Hillel driven (which makes sense; a Jewish world finding its place within a Roman context would like to lean toward inclusion), the region of Galatia was very definitely Shammai country. As we mentioned in the last post, Galatia was very rugged, primitive, “off-the-beaten-path,” backwoods territory. The Jewish population that settled there purposefully did so NOT to assimilate into a Roman context. There are six quotes from Galatian rabbis in the Mishnah and all six of them are Shammai quotations.

So this argument created three different people groups referenced in the land of Asia Minor within a Jewish context. There are people the Jews would call “brothers”; this indicated they were fellow ethnic Jews. They also spoke of “children of Abraham”; this was a designation given to proselytes — converts who were not born Jewish but had decided to take on circumcision and follow the law and become completely Jewish. Then there was a group of people who were called in the Greek theosabes; it’s a term we translate “God-fearer” or “God-fearing Gentiles.”

The Jewish argument was swirling about the theosabes. What do we do with the God-fearing Gentile? Everybody agreed about the “brothers” and the “children of Abraham,” but what do we do about the theosabes? It’s impossible to know which direction the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch leaned, but it’s safe to say the cultural argument was a tense one.

We also know that, whatever their position, Paul references the presence of all three groups more than once. When Paul stands up and says, “Men of Israel (Jews) and you Gentiles who worship God (theosabes),” that tells you that you have a little bit of everybody in the room.

Paul will later address all three groups directly. If Acts 13:26 is translated correctly (as it used to be in the 1984 edition of the NIV), it will read, “Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles…”

Brothers (group one), children of Abraham (group two), and you God-fearing Gentiles (group three).

Paul has some good news that’s going to stir the pot. What will their reaction be? I think we may be surprised.