Galatians 1:21-24

Galatians 1:21-24

[21] Afterwards  I came  into  the regions  of Syria  and  Cilicia;  [22] And  unknown  by face  unto the churches  of Judaea  which  were in  Christ:  [23] But  heard  only,  That  he which persecuted  in times past  now  preacheth  the faith  which  once  he destroyed.  [24] And  they glorified  God  in 

What does Galatians 1:21-24 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Paul did not even spend time in Judea where he might have heard the gospel he preached from other apostles or Christians. Instead he went north into Syria (above Judea, by way of Caesarea [1]) and Cilicia, the province in which his hometown of Tarsus stood. He was there when Barnabas found him later ( Acts 11:25). He ministered in Syria and Cilicia for seven years (A.D37-43).
"From c25 BC Eastern Cilicia (including Tarsus) was united administratively with Syria to form one imperial province (Syria-Cilicia), governed by a legatus pro praetore with his headquarters in Syrian Antioch. This arrangement lasted until AD72 , when Eastern Cilicia was detached from Syria and united with Western Cilicia (Cilicia Tracheia) to form the province of Cilicia.
"At the time when both epistles were written [2], the Roman province of Judaea included Galilee as well as Judaea (in the narrower sense) and Samaria (as it had done since the death of Herod Agrippa I in AD44); "Judaea" may then denote here the whole of Palestine [3]." [4]
However in Acts 9:31, "Judea" clearly refers to a division within Palestine.
Paul had so little contact with the churches in Judea that even after several years of ministry they could not recognize him by sight. They only knew him by reputation and thanked God for what He was doing through Paul, the opposite reaction of Paul"s Judaizing critics. Certainly the Judean Christians would not have been so happy if Paul had preached a gospel different from the one the other apostles had been preaching and they had believed.
"It is striking proof of the large space occupied by "faith" in the mind of the infant Church, that it should so soon have passed into a synonym for the Gospel.... Here its meaning seems to hover between the Gospel and the Church [5]." [6]
This section ( Galatians 1:11-24) helps us appreciate how convincing God"s revelation on the Damascus Road was to Paul. He not only repented concerning the person of Christ, but he also received an absolutely clear revelation both of his calling in life from then on and his message. He began to preach the gospel immediately without any authorization to do so from any other leaders of the church. We too have an equally clear revelation of our calling ( Matthew 28:19-20) and our message ( 2 Corinthians 5:20).