16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
The ground of Paul's plea is that he bears in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus. The Greek word is 'stigmata'. Catholic and mystical interpretations of this say that they refer to actual marks that appeared on Paul's hands and feet and side, corresponding to Christ's wounds, so close was identification with his Lord. But there is nothing here to suggest that this is what Paul was speaking about, and we agree with J. Stott's comment that 'those cases which seem to be well attested would today be termed 'nueropathic bleedings', caused by subconscious auto-suggestion', and therefore of little necessarily spiritual significance. The reference is much likelier to be to the marks of suffering in his body which he had borne for Christ's sake, the stripes, the beatings and the stonings he had endured on his missionary journeys - his battle scars, gotten through faithfulness to Christ.
The word, however, was also used to describe the brands that distinguished a slave as belonging to a particular master. Cole, in the Tyndale commentary, remarks that such 'brands' are often mentioned in the 'placards' that announced the escape of runaway slaves, and many such documents have survived among the papyri. It was also used for 'religious tattooing' and 'religious cicatrices' common to many ancient religions. Per- haps Paul is thinking of circumcision and saying to his opposers, 'You impose ritual cuttings on men's bodies; I bear marks already, but they are those that make me out as be- ing Christ's. Persecution, not circumcision, is the authentic Christian mark.'