Portraying the cross

At the beginning of Galatians 3, Paul reminds the Galatians of his first visit to them and says that Christ was “publicly portrayed” before them. This was before their eyes; now, someone has laid an “evil eye” on them.

This verse is sometimes taken as a reference to the vivid character of Paul’s preaching. But the wording suggests something visual, and besides Paul consistently says that he doesn’t appeal to his listeners with deceptive and highly rhetorical language.

We get a clue to what Paul is talking about in Galatians 4:13. When Paul first visited, he was ill, suffering a weakness of the flesh. Paul considers this significant: they heard the gospel from one whose flesh was weak, and yet soon after they begin putting confidence in the flesh (3:3). They had a visual representation of the gospel before them in Paul, an apostle whose weakness embodied the crucifixion.

This is also the point of 6:17, Paul’s reference to his “stigmata,” which no doubt refers to the marks on his body left by stones, beatings, and other persecutions. Like an ancient Roman soldier, Paul shows off his battles scars to prove that he is an apostle to the crucified.