9 - Crucified with Christ: Galatians 2.19–20

Summary

Is he from heaven or from hell?

And does he know

in granting me my life today,

this man has killed me even so?

Les Misérables

In Galatians 2.19–20 there is yet another crux interpretum, recently described as “probably the most important single [text] for understanding Paul's theology.” While a number of passages could vie for such an accolade, Galatians 2.19–20 definitely belongs in the competition. Not surprisingly, this passage has its interpretive difficulties, especially its concise, heavily coded language. Barclay speaks for many when he says of it, “Paul's thought is so compressed as to be somewhat obscure”. This section (2.15–21) is equally crucial for understanding the argument of Galatians itself, and is often seen as a summary of what precedes and a précis of what follows. As a theological and epistolary nodal point, Galatians 2.19–20 repays close scrutiny and significantly augments the understanding of Paul's death–life symbolism. It underscores again the foundational nature of this soteriological metaphor for Paul, while at the same time illuminating the message of Galatians. Its epistolary significance will be highlighted in a later section (chapter 11), where I consider Paul's summary of his argument, Galatians 6.12–16.

Context

The line of thought in Galatians 2.15–21 is notoriously difficult and it is neither necessary nor feasible to enter into the intricacies of this debate here. Galatians 2.19–21 concludes Paul's version of the Antioch incident, and it is generally agreed that, somewhere along the line, the focus of Paul's address shifts from Peter to the Galatians.