Paul Never Tells Us What His Thorn in the Flesh Was

Did you know that despite two thousand years of speculation, Paul never tells us what his "thorn in the flesh" was?

The famous passage is 2 Corinthians 12:7-9. Paul writes: "So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"

The Greek for "thorn in the flesh" is skolops tē sarki (σκόλοψ τῇ σαρκί). Skolops in classical Greek could mean a sharp stake (used for impaling), a splinter, or a thorn — something that pierces and stays painfully embedded. The metaphor is vivid and visceral. But the referent — what the thorn actually was in Paul's life — Paul never identifies.

For two thousand years, Christian scholars have guessed. The major historical theories include:

— Eye disease — Most commonly proposed (especially in the Reformed tradition). Galatians 4:15 says of the Galatian Christians: "If possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me." Galatians 6:11: "See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand" (suggesting poor vision requiring oversized writing). Possibly chronic ophthalmia.

— Speech impediment or weak physical presence — Based on 2 Corinthians 10:10: "his letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account."

— Chronic illness or malarial fever — Based on Galatians 4:13-14: "you know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first... You did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus."

— Persecution by Jewish opponents — Drawing on Numbers 33:55, where unevicted Canaanites become "thorns in your sides." Paul's reference to "a messenger of Satan" aligns with biblical imagery of human adversaries as Satan's agents.

— Sexual temptation — Augustine and others (especially in the medieval period) read it this way. Less common in modern scholarship.

— Depression / mental affliction — A modern reading especially common since the 19th century.

— Migraine headaches — Tertullian's guess.

— Demonic harassment specifically — Taking "messenger of Satan" literally as a personal demonic presence.

All possible. None certain. The text doesn't decide between them.

Why doesn't Paul name it?

The most pastorally beautiful reading is that the silence is deliberate. Paul could have named the thorn — he knew exactly what his was. He chose not to. By leaving the specific affliction blank, Paul makes 2 Corinthians 12 maximally pastoral. Every believer with any thorn — physical suffering, mental affliction, broken relationships, persistent temptation, demonic harassment, persecution, chronic disability — can read Paul's words and find themselves in them.

The promise was: "My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness." If Paul had specified eye disease, the promise might have felt narrow — sufficient for the visually impaired. By leaving it blank, the promise expands to every affliction the believing reader will ever face. The Reformed tradition has long preached on this passage as a universal pastoral resource: grace sufficient for every weakness, strength perfected in every infirmity.

Paul left it blank. So you could fill it in.

📖 Passages: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, Galatians 4:13-15, 6:11, 2 Corinthians 10:10, Numbers 33:55