Having shown himself taught not
by men but by the Lord, Paul now teaches with greater authority, making a
comparison between the law and faith. And he calls them foolish. For
indeed it is foolish to abandon Christ and hold the law.
“Who has cast a spell on you?”
He did not say, “Who has deceived you?” so that insult would not be joined to
insult, “Who has cast a spell on you and envied you?” showing that they had previously
been doing things worthy of envy.
“to whom Jesus Christ was
publicly portrayed as crucified before your eyes.” And indeed he was crucified
in Jerusalem. How does he say, “Which is before your eyes and among you”? He
shows the power of faith, and that you see things afar off. But because it was previously
proclaimed he said, that is, through the written proclamation of the Scripture,
as if he were saying: The proclamation has painted the cross for you, but with
the eyes of faith as if present have seen it. (Commentary on the Epistle to
the Galatians by Oecumenius: Also Known as the Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on the
Epistle to the Galatians [trans. John Litteral; 2026], 34)
