Moving right along, today we come across the next paragraph or so of this letter to the Christians in Galatia. But before jumping in there, a brief note. Galatia was not a city, it was a region. So, way back in verse 2, when Paul wrote that this letter was going to the churches (plural), he was writing it to several different churches meeting in several different cities. Galatia was the region, and so this letter was intended to be read in multiple congregations, who seemed to have all been facing some similar challenges.
Moving along, though. Galatians 1:11-17. Now, Paul wants the Galatian Christians to know the source of the good news that he had brought to them. In many respects, Paul's story of coming to know Jesus, and of coming to know what Jesus meant for him and for the Galatians, was a vital part of the message of the good news that Paul had preached. Paul's story of his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road quite literally changed his life. Before that time, Paul had been the rising star of Judaism. Very likely, when Jesus met him on the road to Damascus, Paul was a fairly young man. He had studied under Gamaliel, a respected teacher who had actually counseled the Jewish leaders to bascially leave the Christians alone. If what they taught was from God, then it couldn't be stopped, and if it weren't then it would die away quickly. However, it doesn't seem as though his star pupil shared that same approach.
As I reflect on this letter, and on Paul's story of coming to faith, I have noticed over the years that I have come to a significant conclusion regarding how Jesus chose His apostles. You may recall that, as Jesus began His ministry on earth, He started by calling disciples to follow Him. Later, He would designate 12 to be His apostles in addition to His disciples. One of those, Judas, would fall away and betray Him, and early in the Acts of the Apostles, we see the desire to replace Judas. When you read Acts 1:12-26, you see how they go about doing this. For the longest, I assumed that Matthias was the chosen 12th apostle.
However, that one thing stuck with me in my mind. Jesus said, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you." When you get to Acts 9, it becomes very clear that Jesus chose Paul to be His apostle. He did so in a manner very differently than how Matthias came to be numbered with the apostles. It often makes me wonder if the other apostles didn't jump the gun a bit. And in many ways, Paul seems to fit the criteria of one who would replace Judas even more than Matthias. Judas betrayed his Master, so it would make a certain amount of sense that Jesus would then replace His lost apostle with someone from the other side.
Additionally, the apostles seemed to decide that the person to replace Matthias had to have been with them almost from the beginning. Yet, there is one very clear thing. Matthias was determined by the casting of lots. He was not chosen by Jesus specifically and directly. When it comes to Paul, though, we have a very clear calling to be an apostle from Jesus. That would seem to be a rather large trump card when it comes to who served as an apostle.
One final thing stands out to me, too. What do we hear of Matthias after he is chosen as an apostle? Nothing. Yet, once Jesus chooses Paul to be His apostle, what do we hear of him? The rest of Acts is practically about Paul. Paul's letters fill the New Testament in terms of number, if not content. When it comes to effective ministry work, it would seem that Paul greatly outdistances Matthias. And in a way, that shouldn't be a surprise. After all, Paul was chosen directly by Jesus to be His apostle.
Moving along, though. Galatians 1:11-17. Now, Paul wants the Galatian Christians to know the source of the good news that he had brought to them. In many respects, Paul's story of coming to know Jesus, and of coming to know what Jesus meant for him and for the Galatians, was a vital part of the message of the good news that Paul had preached. Paul's story of his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road quite literally changed his life. Before that time, Paul had been the rising star of Judaism. Very likely, when Jesus met him on the road to Damascus, Paul was a fairly young man. He had studied under Gamaliel, a respected teacher who had actually counseled the Jewish leaders to bascially leave the Christians alone. If what they taught was from God, then it couldn't be stopped, and if it weren't then it would die away quickly. However, it doesn't seem as though his star pupil shared that same approach.
As I reflect on this letter, and on Paul's story of coming to faith, I have noticed over the years that I have come to a significant conclusion regarding how Jesus chose His apostles. You may recall that, as Jesus began His ministry on earth, He started by calling disciples to follow Him. Later, He would designate 12 to be His apostles in addition to His disciples. One of those, Judas, would fall away and betray Him, and early in the Acts of the Apostles, we see the desire to replace Judas. When you read Acts 1:12-26, you see how they go about doing this. For the longest, I assumed that Matthias was the chosen 12th apostle.
However, that one thing stuck with me in my mind. Jesus said, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you." When you get to Acts 9, it becomes very clear that Jesus chose Paul to be His apostle. He did so in a manner very differently than how Matthias came to be numbered with the apostles. It often makes me wonder if the other apostles didn't jump the gun a bit. And in many ways, Paul seems to fit the criteria of one who would replace Judas even more than Matthias. Judas betrayed his Master, so it would make a certain amount of sense that Jesus would then replace His lost apostle with someone from the other side.
Additionally, the apostles seemed to decide that the person to replace Matthias had to have been with them almost from the beginning. Yet, there is one very clear thing. Matthias was determined by the casting of lots. He was not chosen by Jesus specifically and directly. When it comes to Paul, though, we have a very clear calling to be an apostle from Jesus. That would seem to be a rather large trump card when it comes to who served as an apostle.
One final thing stands out to me, too. What do we hear of Matthias after he is chosen as an apostle? Nothing. Yet, once Jesus chooses Paul to be His apostle, what do we hear of him? The rest of Acts is practically about Paul. Paul's letters fill the New Testament in terms of number, if not content. When it comes to effective ministry work, it would seem that Paul greatly outdistances Matthias. And in a way, that shouldn't be a surprise. After all, Paul was chosen directly by Jesus to be His apostle.
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