THE PRIMARY MEANING

These views are true at the theological level, and other passages of Scripture indicate that Paul made important assertions to this effect, but several modern scholars believe Paul had something more specific in mind when he used the "works of the law" formula. According to these scholars, Paul used this phrase to refer primarily to the Mosaic ceremonial works. It is mainly the visible expressions of Jewish life and identity, like circumcision, dietary regulations, purity codes, Sabbath observance, and the liturgical calendar of Old Covenant feasts, that Paul contrasts with faith. These are the ritual distinctives that set Jews apart from Gentiles in the Hellenistic world of the first century. In support of this thesis, its advocates note how this issue consistently surfaces when Paul is talking about the salvation of Jews and Gentiles. They likewise point out, from the wider context of Romans and Galatians, that the apostle stresses the irrelevance of ceremonial rites like circumcision (Rom 2:25-29; 3:30; 4:9-12; Gal 2:3; 5:212; 6:12-15), dietary issues (Rom 14:1-23; Gal 2:11-14), and feast-day observances (Rom 14:5-6; Gal 4:10). Though the point is contested, some see corroborating evidence for this view in the Dead Sea Scrolls, where the Hebrew equivalent of "works of the law" (ma'ase hattorah) turns up in a context where laws concerning purity, sacrifice, festivals, and foods are the central issues of discussion (scroll fragment 4QMMT).

   Interestingly enough, this new perspective on "works of the law" is actually a very old one. The Alexandrian scholar Origen put forth the substance of this interpretation as early as the third century (Commentary on Romans 8, 7, 6). Saint Jerome connected the phrase with the ceremonial rituals in the fourth century (Commentary on Galatians at Gal 3:2), as did his contemporary Ambrosiaster in his Latin commentary on the Pauline epistles (Commentary on Romans at Rom 3:28). The same interpretation was made in the fifth century by the Greek scholar and bishop Theodoret of Cyrrhus (Commentary on Galatians at Gal 2:15-16). In medieval times, Saint Thomas Aquinas favored this as the primary meaning, asserting that the theme of Galatians "concerns the termination of the Old Testament sacraments" (Commentary on Galatians 1, 1). Select comments from the founders of Protestantism indicate that Catholic theologians were linking the works of the Law with its ceremonies in the sixteenth century as well (see, e.g., John Calvin, Commentary on Galatians at Gal 2:15; Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, Concerning Justification 3, 5).

   Thus, in the history of Catholic scholarship, there has consistently been an identification of the "works" of the Mosaic Law with its ritual "ceremonies". That is not to say that this amounts to a consensus position, as many have taken a broader line of interpretation (e.g., St. Augustine, On the Spirit and the Letter 23). But acceptance of the ceremonial reading remains attractive because it makes excellent sense of Paul's polemical engagement with Jews and Gentiles on the question of salvation and the means of justification. Beyond this, it invites deeper theological reflection on the purpose of these rites in the economy of salvation.

THE THEOLOGICAL MEANING

The theology that underlies the Mosaic ceremonies is rich and manifold. To understand it is to understand better why Paul pits the works of the Law over against faith in Christ. (1) The ceremonial laws expressed a theology of separation that is proper to the Old Covenant. For centuries, works such as circumcision, food restrictions, observance of the Sabbath, etc., functioned as badges of Israel's election that made the Jews a people distinct from the Gentiles. But when Christ came to gather all nations into the fold of the New Covenant, the ceremonial boundaries that divided Israel from the rest of world were set aside as outdated and expired. Because the Church is an international community that includes Jews but does not exclude Gentiles, the rituals exclusive to Judaism are no longer appropriate for marking out the People of God (Rom 1:5, 16; 3:29-30; Gal 3:28). (2) The Mosaic rituals were mere shadows of better things to come in Christ (Col 2:16-17). In other words, the ceremonies of the Law were signs of grace but not sacraments of grace; they pointed the way to the benefits we receive in Christ, but they did not confer those benefits (Heb 7:18-19; 10:1-4). So, for example, circumcision of the flesh prefigured the inward grace that transforms the heart in Baptism (Col 2:11-12). The sacrifices of the Mosaic Law set the stage for the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, which alone effects a true remission of sins (Heb 10:11-18). Festivals such as Passover likewise prepared Israel to receive the true Lamb of God as holy food (1 Cor 5:7-8; 10:16). All the ceremonies, in one way or another, served a prophetic function that was important in the old economy but was no longer necessary once Christ came and fulfilled what had long ago been foreshadowed. (3) The Mosaic ceremonies were symbolic rituals that taught important lessons about divine grace and the inadequacy of human works. In concert with the Mosaic Law as a whole, the ceremonial laws were part of a divine education in humility and the need for grace. Take circumcision, for example. At one level, it is a sign of the righteousness Abraham possessed by faith (Rom 4:11). At another, it is a reminder that God fulfills his plan by grace rather than human works. Recall that circumcision was given (Gen 17:1-17) after Abraham had grown impatient and tried to accomplish by his own efforts (Gen 16:1-6) what only God could do for him by a miracle of grace, namely, give him a son in old age (Gen 15:4). Circumcision, it would seem, was a painful reminder to Abraham of this important lesson. Likewise, Sabbath observance was a weekly reminder that man's work, accomplished in six days, must desist and give way to a celebration of God's works on the seventh day (creation, Ex 20:11; redemption, Deut 5:15). Sacrifice had a pedagogical purpose as well, serving as an ongoing memorial of human weakness and sin (Heb 10:3). On the one hand, God instituted sacrifice to express his desire to be forgiving to his wayward people. On the other, by ordering the continuous cycle of offerings under the Old Covenant, he was driving home the point that man is weak and powerless to avoid transgressions by his own strength and so stands in need of grace and divine mercy.

ALL OF THIS helps us to bring Paul's teaching into focus. Far from justifying the sinner, the ceremonial "works" declare that man is weak and sinful and in desperate need of God's help. In effect, they show us our needs without meeting our needs. Instead of providing a solution to our problem, they point beyond themselves to the ultimate solution provided by God in the dying and rising of Jesus Christ for our salvation. « Back to Galatians 3:1.

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