It is those who would make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. – Galatians 6:12
Paul’s opponents in Galatia have since become known as the “judaizers.” They apparently held that since Jesus was the Jewish messiah, gentiles had to convert to Judaism and, more specifically, undergo circumcision in order to receive the salvation offered by Jesus.
Their position doesn’t seem outlandish. At the time it was far from clear what (if any) break the followers of Jesus had made or would make from Judaism. No one in this new movement doubted for a moment that the Hebrew Bible was authoritative.The apostles Peter and John continued to pray in the temple, as faithful Jews, even after Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 3:1). And Jesus himself had declared that he had come “only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt 15:24). The judaizers may have been wrong, then, but surely they were honestly wrong?