Today we turn to the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians. In this letter, Paul reminds the Galatians they received freedom from sin and death through Jesus. We might wonder why Paul needed to remind a group of pagans (most of the Galatians were Gentile idol-worshipers, before they were born again) to remember their freedom in Jesus Christ. The short answer is a group known as the Judaizers came after Paul and told the Galatian believers they needed to follow the Jewish law to follow Jesus. The Judaizers caused problems wherever Paul went, because they couldn’t let go of the past, and their Jewish heritage. Paul reminded the Galatians they didn’t receive freedom by following the Law, and they wouldn’t keep it that way either. This is a helpful reminder to us, because we don’t gain the freedom of Jesus in our lives by grace through faith in Jesus, and then keep it by adhering to a rigid set of laws. We do good works after our salvation, but not to keep our salvation. We do them because we have salvation, and we want to demonstrate our gratitude for it.
In Galatians 1, Paul’s greeting is brief, and he moves right to the point of his letter: he wants to know why they are trusting a “different gospel.” He reminds them he was once a zealous proponent of the Jewish faith, but after trusting Jesus as Savior and Lord, and being sent by Him to be a messenger of the gospel, he no longer trusted in his heritage, but in Jesus. The implication is they needed to do the same.
In Galatians 2, Paul notes he was received by the apostles in Jerusalem, and they did not seek to have him change his message to the Gentiles. Indeed, Titus who was with him was not made to be circumcised as a sign of being a Jew. The leaders in Jerusalem gave their blessing on Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles. Their only charge was that he remember the poor, which he writes he was eager to do. Paul also tells of Peter coming to Antioch and living among the believers there as a Gentile, but when some of the Jewish believers came, Peter drew back from them. Paul’s response was to rebuke Peter to his face, for this change of behavior. Paul shows us both that he was of equal standing with Peter, and that when we have a problem with a brother or sister in the Lord, the proper way to address it is face-to-face.
In Galatians 3, Paul reminds the Galatians they were saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, and received the Holy Spirit through Him, and not through the Law. He asks them if they received the Spirit and the power to do miracles through the Law or through faith in Jesus? The answer is obvious. Paul goes on to point out Abraham is the father of those who believe through faith, because God promised to bless the nations through Abraham. Abraham lived hundreds of years before the Law came into existence. The Law itself was given only to keep us on the right path until Abraham’s “seed” that is Jesus came to fulfill the promise God made through Abraham. Paul reminds the Galatians in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but we are all one in Christ Jesus. Paul was not denying individual differences exist among us as Jesus’ followers, but all those differences break down in our common salvation through Jesus!
As we return to Matthew 26 the beginning of the end has come for Jesus. He was anointed at Bethany, by a woman who used an expensive jar of perfume to anoint Him. While some complained the perfume could have been sold and the money used to feed the poor, Jesus affirmed the woman’s act and said wherever the gospel is preached she would be remembered. Judas then goes and agrees to betray Jesus to the Jewish leaders. After this, the disciples eat the Last Supper with Jesus, and Jesus tells them one will betray Him, Peter will deny Him, and all will desert Him. After the meal, they go to the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prays, and the disciples sleep. Eventually, Judas comes with soldiers from the priests and they arrest Jesus. Jesus is tried by the religious leaders and found guilty. Peter is accused by a servant girl and others of being one of Jesus’ followers and he denies it. As Peter hears a rooster crow, he remembers Jesus’ prediction and goes out and weeps bitterly. The chapter reminds us, none of us is without fault when it comes to our relationship with Jesus. We do well not to be too hard on the disciples, because had we been with them, we would have been among those who deserted Him, or denied Him.