Galatians 6:17Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Although bearing wounds is also considered a sign of dishonor, he boasts in his wounds. Just as soldiers rejoice when they carry standards, so he also rejoices as one who carries wounds. But why does he say this? "Because," he says, "these wounds justify me better than any word, better than any voice. They sound a voice louder than any trumpet against those who oppose me and say that I teach hypocritically and sometimes speak to please men. If someone saw a soldier, bloodied and covered with countless wounds, coming out of battle, he surely could not accuse him of cowardice and betrayal. On his very body he bears the proof of his courage. So also," he says, "one must judge of me. If anyone wishes to hear my defense and know my mind, let him look at my wounds. They provide proof stronger than these words and this writing." At the beginning of the epistle he clearly proved his sincerity by his sudden conversion. At the end he proves it by his sufferings. So that no one might say that he turned with a sincere heart but afterward did not remain in the same disposition, he brings his labors, sufferings, and wounds as witnesses that he also remained steadfast.

The wounds of the Lord Jesus are borne by martyrdom. Thus St. Paul the Apostle bore them when he was beaten with rods and pelted with stones. Thus the holy Great Martyr Demetrius bore them when he was pierced with a spear. All the other passion-bearers also bore them, having endured various kinds of torments for Christ. All these passion-bearing wounds are called the wounds of the Lord Jesus because we are His members, and He is our Head. When the members suffer, the head endures these sufferings as its own. The Lord counts the good deeds done to His servants as done to Himself. At the Dread Judgment He says to those benefactors: “As you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Mt 25:40). So also He counts as done to Himself the wrongs inflicted on His servants. On the day of the Dread Judgment He says to the tormentors: “As you did it to one of these, you did it to Me.” You beat My servant Paul with rods; you beat Me. You threw stones at him; you threw them at Me. You pierced My servant Demetrius with a spear; you pierced Me. You cut My servants down with swords, cast them into fire, and gave them to beasts to be eaten. You cut Me down, cast Me into fire, and gave Me to beasts to be eaten. “As you did it to one of these, you did it to Me.” Thus the Lord counts the sufferings of God’s servants as His own. The wounds and marks which His servants endure for the Lord are, as it were, His own wounds and sufferings. Therefore the Apostle said: “I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus on my body.” The second way Christians bear the wounds of the Lord Jesus occurs when someone wishes to walk the more perfect path of salvation and strives to please God more perfectly. He mortifies his body by various forms of mortification, as did those who renounced the world and themselves. Some bound themselves with iron belts and chains. Some clothed themselves in prickly hairshirts. Some brought their flesh to weakness by many different kinds of mortifications, even to wounds and bodily exhaustion. Those know this of whom the Apostle says: “They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented; of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth” (Heb 11:37-38). Their ascetic struggles and labors, though voluntary and accomplished without the shedding of martyric blood, are like wounds. They are wounds of Christ, in which the Apostle Paul also boasts after many self-mortifications: “I,” he says, “bear the marks of the Lord Jesus on my body.” The same holy Apostle Paul counts our mortifications among the sufferings of the Lord. Saying: “Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2 Cor 4:10). Listen: “the dying of the Lord Jesus in our body.” Have we, with God’s help, mortified ourselves? Have we died to sin? Such dying of ours is the dying of the Lord Jesus, for we are His body, according to Scripture: “You are the body of Christ, and individually members” (1 Cor 12:27). We ourselves are not our own, but Christ’s, according to Scripture: “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price” (1 Cor 6:19-20). So also all our good deeds, all our ascetic struggles and labors, and all our mortifications are not ours, but Christ’s. They are accomplished with His help: “Without Me,” says Christ, “you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). Therefore the one who mortifies himself “bears the dying of the Lord Jesus in his body, and bears the marks of the Lord Jesus on his body.” The third bearing of the wounds of the Lord Jesus is in a God-loving heart. It is invisible, and therefore unsearchable and not easily examined. For who can know the mysteries of the heart? The first two ways of bearing the wounds of the Lord Jesus, suffering for Christ and self-mortification, cannot be fulfilled by everyone. The third way, the bearing of the Lord’s wounds in the heart, is possible for every Christian, if only he wishes it. Suffering for Christ is difficult. It was fearsome not only for us, but also for the faithful who lived before us. Many fled from the hands of tormentors and hid wherever they could. Others, out of fear, even denied Christ. But now, glory to God, there are no longer persecutions for Christ. Yet even now there are many who are innocently tormented and offended, though not for Christ and not for refusing to deny Him. If such people thank God for their sufferings, then they bear the marks of the Lord Jesus on their bodies, like the apostles and the martyrs of Christ themselves. Self-mortification is also not easy for everyone to fulfill. Christ Himself says in the holy Gospel: “Not all can receive this word, but only those to whom it is given” (Mt 19:11). If only the laity mortified their passions at least in part, as much as they can bear, then at least they would have self-control. But no one suffers any harm from loving God with the heart. What labor, what inconvenience is there in loving God? Let us leave the first way of bearing the Lord’s wounds, martyrdom, to those who are innocently tormented and offended. May the Lord strengthen them in patience and make them worthy of the martyr’s crown. Let us send the other way, perfect self-mortification, to the monastery for the monastic rank. Let it live there and be tonsured. But let us consider the third way, bearing the wounds of the Lord Jesus in the heart, that is, love for God with all the heart. This serves as the cause and beginning of the other two. Martyrdom is endured for the sake of God’s love. Self-mortification is performed in the name of love for God. And “all things work together for good to those who love God” (Rom 8:28). To bear the wounds of the Lord Jesus in the heart means to have a heart wounded by love for the Lord Jesus, Who was wounded for us by nails and a spear on the Cross. In the Song of Songs I see a certain figure, as if a maiden, sitting beneath a beautiful tree of the garden, beneath an apple tree filled with lovely apples, and saying: “As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the young men. I desired to sit in its shade, and its fruit was sweet to my throat” (Song 2:3). Then I again see this figure as if fainting from some inward wound, groaning, sighing from the depth of the heart, and saying: “I am sick with love” (Song 2:5). And again: “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem: if you find my beloved, what will you tell him? That I am sick with love” (Song 5:8).

So he also, to confirm the truth of his preaching, presents the wounds on his body, that is, the marks of the wounds he endured while preaching faith in Christ. You have, O Galatians, he says to them in these words, the marks of wounds on my body. They are sufficient testimony and firm proof that I preached and wrote to you the whole truth. Honor, then, these wounds of mine, which I endured out of love for the Lord Jesus. Let no one doubt any longer or trouble me, hoping to produce a change in what I taught.

They provide proof stronger than these words and broader than this epistle." At the very end of the epistle the Apostle, according to custom, gives a spiritual blessing. In the Apostle's prayerful imparting of grace to the Galatians, St. Chrysostom notes that "he did not simply say, 'with you,' as he says in other epistles, but 'with your spirit.' He turns them away from the fleshly, everywhere points to God's benefits. And reminds them of the grace they received, which is sufficient to heal them from every Judaic error." "Let us also preserve this grace," blessed Theodoret exhorts, "and let us not grieve the Holy Spirit. Thus, illumined by Him, may we walk the straight path and reach the desired end of the journey in Christ Jesus our Lord. To Him be glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen."

Those who valued communion with him could not fail to be shaken by this thought and to treat the corrupters more strictly. St. Chrysostom understands it in this way: "He says this not as one wearied and without hope, but to rouse their inactive mind, bring them into greater fear, confirm the rules he prescribed, and guard them hereafter from such disturbances." Perhaps, when he was among the Galatians, the Apostle noticed that they were fond of disputing. To cut off every impulse toward this, the Apostle said: do not burden me with disputes and objections. Rather, enter deeply into what has already been written and be satisfied. Blessed Jerome writes: "The one who lives and thinks otherwise than his teacher taught him gives labor to the teacher. The Apostle speaks as though saying: see to it that I have no need to labor over you again. Perhaps he wished to prevent the contentiousness of those who might think of objecting still further. He did this also with the Corinthians. When he had decreed that women should cover their heads and men should not, he added: 'But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom' (1 Cor 11:16). That is, I have said what I find honorable and right. But if anyone, not satisfied with this, begins to devise objections and speak against it. Let him know that one ready to dispute more than to learn is unworthy of an answer." "For I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus in my body." It is as though he said: here is the answer to all your objections and all your perplexities, the wounds that I bear. "I do not wish to write anything more. Instead of writings, I show wounds and marks of insults. Let them testify to the truth of the preaching. For I am ready to suffer everything for it" (blessed Theodoret). "These wounds justify me better than any word, better than any voice. They sound a voice louder than any trumpet against my enemies, who say that I teach hypocritically and sometimes speak to please men. If someone saw a soldier, bloodied and covered with countless wounds, coming out of battle, would he accuse him of cowardice and betrayal? He bears on his very body the proof of his courage. So also," he says, "one must judge of me. Whoever wishes to hear my defense and know my thoughts, let him look at my wounds. They provide proof stronger than these words and broader than this writing" (St. Chrysostom).