WHO HAS BEWITCHED YOU?

The Wound Pastors Carry When Other Voices Steal the Room

Paul’s words in Galatians 3:1 aren’t sharp because he’s angry. They’re sharp because he’s hurt. He as a pastor is experiencing wounds from within.

“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you?”

Barnes Commentary points out that Paul is not calling them stupid. The word means unthinking; people who stopped reasoning with what they already knew to be true. Paul isn’t questioning their intelligence; he’s grieving their loss of spiritual clarity. He is frustrated with the subtle confusion slipped in by someone, not outside the church, but among them.

Paul isn’t in a theology class. This is a pastor watching his people drift and he knows exactly how dangerous that drift is. That’s why he is calling it out to the whole church.

This Is a Wound Most Pastors Don’t Talk About

Pastors don’t usually talk about this because it can sound self-focused if said wrong. But it was a real problem in the New Testament church and things still have not changed.

One of the deepest wounds a pastor carries is watching people he prayed for, taught, protected, and poured into start trusting other voices more than the shepherd God gave them. Barnes says Paul had confidence in the Galatians. He believed they had once held the truth. It was real and it was raw. That’s why he concludes they were not persuaded by sound reasoning but by fascination and persuasion by someone that worked on their emotions and spirit.

Paul had set Christ before them clearly. They weren’t confused. They were captured by an internal enemy. That hurts.

It Feels Like Betrayal But It’s Deeper Than That

When people follow other voices, it doesn’t just feel like rejection. It feels like your children walking off with strangers. Barnes notes that the word bewitched (ἐβάσκανεν) means to mislead by charm, influence, or false appearance, not by truth. Paul is saying, “This didn’t happen in the open. This happened quietly.”

Bewitching doesn’t argue openly. It reframes. It doesn’t confront leadership. It questions it indirectly. Subtle criticisms. Over-spiritualize themselves. Savior mentality. They smile with a sword hidden.

And pastors feel it before they ever see it.

Why This Cuts So Deep

Because pastors don’t just preach sermons. They carry souls. Scripture declares, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who must give an account.” (Hebrews 13:17). And the people trying to cast a spell on church members always cast a shadow on the divine order of leadership in a local church.

Barnes emphasizes that leadership in the church involves watchful responsibility. Leaders will answer to God for how they guarded the flock. When people submit to outside voices, pastors are left carrying responsibility without authority, which Scripture never intended. That’s exhausting, painful, and crushing. How do I know? After 29 years of pastoral ministry I have seen it time and time again!

I’ve watched it take place in rural churches, urban church, suburban churches, and yes even my church. It is heart-breaking to know that the call God placed on you is attempting to be sabotaged by an infiltrator.

God’s Design Was Never Freelance Christianity

Barnes repeatedly points out throughout Galatians that disorder always follows when authority is rejected.

Scripture is clear:

• “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you.” (Hebrews 13:7)

• “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority.” (Hebrews 13:17)

• “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor.” (1 Timothy 5:17)

• “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care.” (1 Peter 5:2)

• “Respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 5:12–13)

Barnes notes that these commands are not about power but about protection and order, because spiritual growth requires systems and structure. And every church has a different set of both. Now, this is important, the people don’t determine that but some will undermine that with some subtle division:

• “Pastors heart is right, but something is off!”

• “I see things that they can’t!”

• “I’m not trying to cause division but …”

• “I just think there’s more depth than what we are getting.”

• “I’m just asking questions.”

• “I’m no longer getting fed.”

God didn’t design the church to be led by whoever sounds smartest or boldest. He set pastors in place intentionally. Pastors aren’t perfect. But God’s design still stands.

When someone builds a following by tearing down pastors, they’re not helping the church … they’re hurting it. God doesn’t bless voices that divide His body. God doesn’t anoint people who grow by poisoning trust. God doesn’t skip His order to move His church forward.

Wolves Don’t Announce Themselves

Paul warned: “Savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.” (Acts 20:29) Barnes explains that these wolves often appear religious, informed, and persuasive … not hostile at first. Their goal isn’t correction; it’s influence. They don’t attack sheep first. They attack the shepherd’s credibility.

And when that happens, pastors feel isolated, second-guessed, and quietly undermined. It is painful.

What Pastors Feel but Rarely Say

Paul’s tone reveals pain more than anger. Barnes highlights that Paul believed the Galatians were deceived, not malicious deviation but demonic influence from an insider (sounds a lot like a Judas).

Pastors feel:

• grief instead of rage

• sadness more than offense

• exhaustion before frustration

They replay conversations. They pray harder. They examine themselves. Then they over-examine themselves. They start second guessing their decisions. They get cautious in every relationship. They become guarded.

And here’s the crazy news … Paul didn’t quit.

A Word to the Church

Submitting to your pastor doesn’t mean blind loyalty. It means trusting God’s order. Barnes makes it clear: rebellion against spiritual authority always leads to confusion, while submission produces stability and growth.

Unity protects the flock.

Division feeds wolves.

A Word to Pastors Who’ve Been Wounded

Pastor, don’t quit. Paul didn’t. Jesus didn’t. And neither should you. Barnes notes that Paul’s rebuke comes from confidence in restoration, not hopelessness. He believed truth would win.

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock.” (Acts 20:28)

You weren’t called because it would be easy. You were called because God trusted you with His people. Keep preaching Christ clearly. Keep standing even when voices rise. Keep loving when it costs you.

The Shepherd sees.

The reward is coming.

And the flock still needs your voice.

Don’t lay down the staff. I won’t lay down mine if you won’t lay down yours.