Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as you are: you have not injured me at all.
All Commentaries on Galatians 4:12 Go To Galatians 4
John Chrysostom
AD 407
See how again he addresses them by a name of honor, remembering to be gracious … for just as continual flattery ruins people, so a continuously severe mode of speech hardens them. Therefore it is good to maintain a balance everywhere. See now how he defends what he has said, showing that it was not in mere indignation but in concern for them that he said what he has said. For since he has given them a deep cut he next injects this appeal like oil. And showing that his words did not come from hatred or enmity, he reminds them of the charity that they displayed toward him and carries on his argument ironically.
