Galatians 1:14
And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
Truth to Learn
Religious zeal is good, but only if applied to the God’s truth.
Behind the Words
The word translated “contemporaries” (translated as “equals” in some versions) is from the Greek word sunēlikiōtēs. This is a compound word made up of sun, meaning “together” and hēlikiōtēs, which means “one of the same age.” So Paul is saying that he advanced in Judaism beyond many of the young men of his own age.
Meaning Explained
As Paul continues to share his conversion testimony with the Christians in the churches of Galatia, he tells them that not only was he one who persecuted the church, but that he did so because of the zeal he had to do the things he had learned.
He tells us in the current verse that he advanced beyond many of his contemporaries. Paul began studying the religion of his father at a very young age and even though he was born in Tarsus, his parents sent him to Jerusalem as a boy to study under the great Rabbi Gamaliel where he was tops in his class.
In the next part of this verse Paul tells us why he advanced beyond his classmates, “being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.” Paul was determined to learn as much as he could about Judaism. He didn’t just sit in the pew each Sabbath singing the songs with everyone else and listening to the reading of the scripture and the teaching of the rabbis, then going on living his life the way he wanted to the rest of the week. He listened intently to the teaching, he took notes, he re-read the scriptures during the week and reviewed his notes. He applied himself and put into practice the things he learned.
This sounds all well and good, and many Christians today do the same thing, being zealous in pursuing all that the preacher says each Sunday. But Paul tells us in the end of this verse that it was not the truth of the Scriptures that he was zealous about it was, “the traditions of my fathers.” You see, the Jews had the written scriptures (we refer to it as the Old Testament) but they also had the “oral tradition.” In Paul’s day these oral traditions were not written down, but kept by the leaders of Judaism and handed down from Rabbi to Rabbi. By the first century AD, they had taken on greater importance than the written law. They even sprinkled in quotations from the written law, taken out of context and often misquoted, with the intent of giving their oral traditions more importance. This is also true of many of the teachings today in churches across this land and around the world. If you read the gospel accounts very carefully, however, you will see that the thing which Jesus repeatedly confronted the Sadducees and Pharisees about was their adherence to the oral traditions, rather than the written law.
Challenge
“Are you zealous about learning all you can from the teachers in your church, with a strong desire to live what is being taught?” Paul was, and you should be too.
But … “Are you being taught the truths of God’s word, or are you being taught the traditions of men?”
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2007 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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