1. Galatians 4:14 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why would Paul’s condition of bodily ailment have resulted in him being scorned and despised?

Galatians 4:14 (ESV)

14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.

When Paul lived, physical illness was generally seen as a mark of divine displeasure. There would thus have been a natural temptation for the Galatians to despise and ignore Paul on account of his sickness.1