Don’t Get Crazy that You Would Miss the Main Thing
by: Jahan Berns
December 17, 2025
“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.”
“You crazy people! Did someone put a spell on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened, for it’s obvious that you no longer have clear focus in your lives!” Can you imagine receiving a letter from one of your dear friends that started off with them calling you crazy and under a spell? That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul wrote to his Galatian friends in Galatians 3:1 (The Message Bible). If you think the Message Bible is too harsh, check out the New King James version: “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?”
The Greek word that Paul used for “foolish” is the word anoétos which translates as unwise, senseless, unintelligent, and not thinking properly - daft and dense. Ouch! Paul took it a step further and called his friends “bewitched”. The Greek word that Paul used for “bewitched” is only used once in the New Testament. It’s the word baskaínō which means to cast an evil spell- putting someone under a spell so they no longer could think (act) according to reason; to cast an evil eye wishing injury upon someone; and to exercise evil Satanic/demonic power over someone. These are hard words indeed.
In our culture of extreme sensitivity and being easily offended, the use of such diction would have the effect of generating tabasco sauce in our souls. Let’s remember though that the Apostle Paul wasn’t writing on his own accord. He was writing under the influence of the Holy Spirit. So why was the Holy Spirit so greatly displeased at the Galatians that He should use such hard words with them?
The Holy Spirit had done a great work in bringing the Galatians to salvation. Paul had preached the Good News of Jesus Christ to them, and the Galatians had embraced the truth that God’s promise of salvation for all, was by faith through the Cross of Jesus Christ. The Galatians had believed and walked in the power of that message until they got enticed away from the truth. Their descent into deception was so drastic and shocking that God through Paul’s mouth pronounced a curse on anyone that was enticing them away by perverting the truth about Christ. (See Galatians Chapters 1-3).
A reading of Galatians 3 shows that any enticement from following the truth of Christ after we have clearly understood and embraced the power and truth of the Cross must mean that: 1) That we are foolish, senseless, unwise, unintelligent; and/or 2) such enticement from truth and the subsequent falling away from grace is the work of the devil via a Satanic/demonic spell. Charles Spurgeon, dubbed the “Prince of Preachers,” said, “If you take your eyes off Christ, it must be witchcraft that makes you do it. There is such glory, such beauty, such perfection, such wisdom, such divinity in Christ crucified that, if you turn from that sight to anything else, no matter how scientific and learned it may be, you are foolish, indeed, and somebody has “bewitched you.”
In encouraging the Galatians to repent and come back to the truth, the Apostle Paul once again laid the foundation for salvation for all men by communicating the following: 1) God in His love and generosity gave His only Son to be crucified so men could be reconciled back to God; 2) Through Christ’s death, God lavishly provided Christ’s followers with His own presence - the Holy Spirit; 3) By surrendering to the Holy Spirit and relying on God’s grace, men can acceptably live, love, and serve God instead of relying on their dead works which profit nothing.
As we gear up to celebrate Christmas, we cannot and must not forget the most important message of Christmas. We cannot get crazy as to miss or forget the main thing. That main thing about Christmas, and all of life really, is that Jesus the Son of God became a human being and took our place of punishment. He reconciled us to a living God-our Heavenly Father who loves us deeply. Jesus was born into the world, and became like one of us, to redeem us from a self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into Himself (Galatians 3:13). Accordingly, our job is to trust Jesus implicitly, to love Him willingly, and serve Him unswervingly. To forget Christ or be enticed away from His truth is to display the greatest level of foolishness by playing into the hands of the devil whose only desire is our destruction. Forgetting Christ must never become our legacy.
I pray in Jesus’ name that you and your loved ones will be kept in the grace of God and His salvation. I further pray that you and your loved ones will enjoy a very Merry Christmas! With God on our side, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing Himself to the worst by sending His own Son, is there anything else He wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? (Romans 8:31).
Prayer (St. Patrick’s Breastplate Prayer)
I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity. I arise today through the strength of Christ with His Baptism, Crucifixion, Burial, Resurrection and Ascension. I arise today, through God's strength to pilot, uphold, and guide me. God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me, God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me, God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me, God's host to secure me: against snares of devils, against temptations of vices, against inclinations of nature, against everyone who shall wish me ill, afar and anear, alone and in a crowd. Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me. Salvation is of The Lord. May your Salvation, O Lord, be ever with us. Amen. (Taken from St. Patrick’s Breastplate Prayer)
Worship - O Holy Night
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“You crazy people! Did someone put a spell on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened, for it’s obvious that you no longer have clear focus in your lives!” Can you imagine receiving a letter from one of your dear friends that started off with them calling you crazy and under a spell? That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul wrote to his Galatian friends in Galatians 3:1 (The Message Bible). If you think the Message Bible is too harsh, check out the New King James version: “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?