Galatians 5:12

I would. Paul does not wish his opponents ill. He simply means that the Judaizers might as well, and logically, do as he suggests, for if they should do so they would appear to be what they really were — fanatics.

Cut off. Gr. apokopto, “to cut off,” as a rope (Acts 27:32), “to dismember oneself,” “to mutilate oneself,” as in Mark 9:43; John 18:10, “to castrate oneself,” “to make oneself a eunuch,” as here, in the LXX of Deut. 23:1, and commonly in the papyri. The word is never used figuratively, as of cutting a person off from church fellowship, or from life.

The city of Pessinus in central Galatia (see Events Leading to the Writing of Paul’s Letter to the Galatians) was the seat of the cult and worship of Cybele, the nature goddess of ancient Anatolia. It was the custom of men devoting their lives to the worship and service of Cybele to make themselves eunuchs. Paul suggests that the Judaizers, who advocate circumcision, might as well castrate themselves. If a measure of virtue can be secured by circumcision, one should be able to obtain even more by castration! Because of their deliberate misrepresentation of Paul (v. 11) the Judaizers proved themselves to be no better than the heathen. See p. 33; see on Acts 16:6.

This is the climax of Paul’s argument against the Judaizers, and his last reference to them in the book of Galatians. Judaizing is on a par with heathenism, and circumcision is of no more value as a means to salvation than the pagan practice of castration. For Christians, circumcision, as a religious rite, was a meaningless mutilation of the body.