Road Sick

Paul continues to talk the Galatians from the brink.  The Judaizers have duped them into believing the apostle's Gospel was wrong.  

These false teachers convinced them that Jesus may have saved them, but the ball's now in their court to stay saved.  And that's done through obedient rule-keeping.  

Once he received the horrible news of their situation when he was back in Antioch, he fires off this sledgehammer of a letter.  There's nothing subtle here.  The situation is too dire, too desperate, too disastrous.

Starting in Galatians 4:6, Paul flips open the scrapbook and reminds them of what happened during his two visits to Galatia.  These are the cities of Pisidian Antioch, Lystra, Derbe and Iconium in what is modern day Turkey.  

Acts 13:13-14:23 tells us that Paul and Barnabas stopped twice in each city of the region.  One thing that Luke doesn't describe in Acts is the apostle's physical condition.  According to the apostle's letter to the Galatians, it wasn't pretty.

"You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the Gospel to you at first" (v13).  Scholars have invested years and spilled oceans of ink speculating on Paul's illness.  

Was it malaria?  Was it an eye infection?  Is this the same thorn in the flesh he pleaded with God to remove in 2 Corinthians 12:7?  

In many ways, it really doesn't matter.  If it did, the Holy Spirit would have made sure to let us know specifically in the Bible.  

When it comes to what's in Scripture, we're on a "need to know" basis.  If God needs us to know, He'll make sure we do.

Paul reminds the Galatians that this illness was the whole reason he stopped there in the first place.  The ESV calls it a "bodily ailment."  

The literal translation of the Greek is "weakness of the flesh."  The original text uses the word ασθενεια/astheneia, or "not" (α-/a-) strong (-σθενεια/-stheneia).  

At first glance, we might think that the apostle may have just been wiped out from being on the road.  But the following verses let us know that this weakness was much more than that.  

Paul's condition placed a heavy burden on the Galatians (v14).  And it must have been some sort of infection or illness impacting his eyes.  Why else would these new believers have been willing to offer him their own eyes (v15)?  

He was sick.  He was hurting.  He was "road sick."  There are few things worse than feeling badly while traveling.  Ugh.  

And let's face it, we're talking about the first century here.  It's not exactly like Paul could swing by the local "doc in the box.”  

The apostle was clearly hurting.  But despite his "bodily ailment," that didn't stop him from telling them about Jesus.  

As a matter of fact, it doesn't take much to see the sovereign hand of God at work here.  Paul says that it was precisely because he was sick that he shared the Gospel with the Galatians.  

The Lord is in complete control of our lives.  He will most certainly accomplish His purposes (Eph 1:11).  He'll use things in our fallen world to get things done.  That includes sickness and disease.  

It appears that Paul and his crew had no plans of stopping in Galatia.  Apparently the Lord had something else in mind.  

As a result of this unscheduled stop, the apostle decided to make the most of the opportunity and tell them about the radical Rabbi/Carpenter from Nazareth (Eph 5:16).

This verse absolutely humbles me.  Too often I use the hangnail issues of living in 21st century America stop me from sharing Jesus with others.  I'm too tired.  I've got a headache.  

The Apostle Paul was so consumed with compassion for a lost and dying world that he didn't let a little thing like being flat on his back stop him from sharing the Good News.

Let's not breeze right past his statement, "I preached the Gospel."  This letter is all about the importance of the Gospel.  The Good News.  The GREATEST News!  

And what is that news?  God has personally made the ultimate rescue mission to save us.  Something we could never do for ourselves in a million years.  

As Jesus, He not only came to fulfill all of the prophecies and promises of the Messiah, but to perfectly obey the law that we could never obey.  

Christ has thrown the door of salvation open wide, not just for Jews but people everywhere!  We don't save ourselves.  That's impossible.  

Face facts.  "By works of the law no one will be justified" (Gal 2:16).  Law no.  Jesus YES!  "A person is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ" (Gal 2:16).  That's the Gospel that the apostle proclaimed in the Galatian church network.

Paul also confirms the fact that he visited the churches in Galatia not once but twice.  He describes how his physical issues caused him to stop there "at first" (v13).  The Greek grammar let's us know that he is talking about the first of two stays in Galatia.  

In other words, it was only because he was sick that he stopped there that first time.  Dr. Luke tells us that Paul and Barnabas hit those same towns again on their way home.

The apostle must not have been a pretty sight on this first visit to Galatia.  His sickness took a toll on his hosts.  "My condition was a trial to you" (v14), literally "my trial in the flesh.”  

Paul admits that instead of being a blessing, he was a pain in the rear.  It's clear that the Galatians went to great effort and expense to care for the sick missionary.

Despite that, his hosts didn't see this as any great burden.  It would have been understandable to look down on their Galatian noses at this dude.  

But they didn't.  Paul says that they "received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus" (v14).  

The term "angel" is the Greek αγγελος/angelos, which can mean a divine being but also a messenger or envoy.  They clearly saw this sick man as having been sent on a divine assignment by God.  

The small phrase "as Christ Jesus" is also very telling.  This perfectly describes an apostle.  

In the first century, an apostle was a designated representative of another who had full legal rights and authority.  When someone's apostle is there, it's just like the one who sent him is there.  

There's a story in Ancient Greece of an apostle who was able to divorce his boss' wife while her husband was away.  That’s the kind of authority they were given.  No word what happened when the boss returned home to find out he was now an ex-husband.

God had chosen Paul as an apostle (Gal 1:1; Acts 9:15-16).  He knew it.  And so did the Galatians.  They saw it as a privilege to care for God's apostle.  This is exactly what Jesus told His disciples (Mt 25:35-40).

If Paul hadn't gotten sick on the road, he would have never stopped in Galatia.  It appears that he and Barney would have blown right through to take the Gospel somewhere else.  

But God had other plans.  Sometimes He opens doors so we can tell others about Jesus and we don't even realize it (Acts 14:27).  He certainly moves in mysterious ways.  

We just need to always be ready to tell others about Jesus.  No matter place.  No matter the time.  We must keep our eyes open to those divine appointments He has for us.  Even when we're "road sick.”

©2012

Jay Jennings