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The Wise Investor: Barnabas
- An Appreciation
By P. E. Huffman
February 19, 2001
"Bear ye one another's
burdens, and so fulfill
the law of Christ."
Galatians 6:2
Isn't
it interesting how sometimes when we read the Bible, there are passages that
we've read dozens, maybe even hundreds of times; passages that we've always
understood on a superficial level, and then the next time we read it—WHAM! God
gives that passage a deeper meaning to us that is totally astounding.
Well, until recently there was a New Testament character that was like
that and then—WHAM! God has allowed that person's life to have new meaning to
me. That man is Barnabas.
The
first mention of Barnabas is in Acts 4:36-37.
His true name wasn't Barnabas, but Joses (Joseph).
It seems as though there was something different about him, because out
of the several thousand people that belonged to our early church, Luke singled
Joses out. Maybe it was because he
gave all of the proceeds of his possessions to the church, but then, so did the
rest of the early church. Maybe it
was because he was a foreigner from the island of Cyprus. But I don't think so. Joses was the kind of guy who was
always looking to help those who were discouraged; he was always trying to cheer
those who were disappointed.
Let's
face it, we all have our ups and downs in our walk with the Lord, and when we're
down in the dumps, it helps to have a brother or sister in the Lord come by with
a word of encouragement. Those in
the early church were no different. They
had committed their whole lives to the Lord and now their families were
disowning them, they were being kicked out of the synagogues, and people who had
been their best friends since childhood were now snubbing them.
I'm sure those sort of actions had to have taken a toll on the early
Christians.
Then
comes Joses. "Hey, brother.
Hey, sister. Cheer up. One
day it's going to be worth it all! Yes,
there are problems down here. But
those problems aren't going be anything in comparison to when we'll be able to
stand in the presence of our Lord and King, Jesus, for all eternity," he
reminds, then adds. "Hey brother, remember how the Lord Jesus healed you a
couple of weeks ago during that prayer meeting. Isn't He awesome?
The
apostles, seeing Joses' exhortation and encouragement and the good effect that
it was having on the church body, decided to give him a nickname.
They called him the name by which we all know him—the son of
consolation (he that makes people feel less sad or disappointed), or just plain
Barnabas.
Luke
doesn't mention Barnabas again until Saul appears (Acts 9).
He's been persecuting the church for some time now, dragging people out
of their homes and synagogues and throwing them into prison, so that they
ultimately can be sentenced to death by stoning. This guy is a maniac. Then
Jesus grabs him from above and, to make a long story short, Saul is converted.
Now, not only do the Christians avoid him (because they think he is
trying to infiltrate the church), but the Jews are out to kill him.
Saul has to be thinking, "What now, Lord, I'm being hunted down and
the people that are supposed to be helping me won't touch me with a 10 foot
pole!"
But
then comes along the son of consolation. Barnabas
takes Saul under his wing and befriends him.
During a period of years (as found in Galatians 1:18-2:14), Barnabas
works with Saul, probably encouraging him in the Lord, knocking off some rough
edges, and building up his faith until Saul becomes mature in the Lord.
Once
that is accomplished, Barnabas takes Saul to the apostles and testifies on his
behalf, letting them know that he really is a brother in the Lord now. Later, we
find that Barnabas takes off to a newly established church in Antioch
(Acts 11:22-26). After he sees what God has done there, he gets excited
and starts encouraging the congregation to stick with their beliefs.
The result is that the church of Antioch, being motivated by faith, goes
out and wins more converts. While all of this is going on, Barnabas starts
thinking of Saul. Probably something like, "This would really be a great
place for Saul to build up his confidence and to get him involved."
So
Barnabas goes down to Saul's hometown of Tarsus and brings him back up to
Antioch with him. It's here that
Saul gets his feet wet in leadership, teaching the people of Antioch the things
of God for about a year.
After
a period of time, Saul (whose name changes to Paul here) and Barnabas decide to
go down to Jerusalem, it seems, for the purpose of meeting Barnabas' young
nephew John Mark. (Colossians 4:10) The scripture doesn't say why they take John Mark along, but
my guess is that Barnabas (seeing that Paul was mature in the Lord) wants to
teach Paul one more thing. He wants
to teach him how to disciple someone new in the Lord so that person, too, can
become established.
Unfortunately,
Paul doesn't learn that lesson right away.
Not very long after they take up with John Mark, the Holy Ghost tells
them that they need to go on a missionary trip.
Early on in this trip, John Mark deserts them and returns to Jerusalem.
It could've been because of homesickness or because he lost faith in God.
Maybe the journey was too rough. No
one really knows. It just happened.
Paul and Barnabas finish their long trip and after a period of time, they
decide it would be a great idea to go around visiting the churches where they
have just been, to see how the saints are doing.
Barnabas,
still trying to encourage people in the Lord (and probably trying to teach Paul
how to not give up on people) is determined to give John Mark another chance.
Paul is adamantly opposed to the idea.
It would have been interesting to observe these two great men of God
arguing over John Mark.
Because
of this disagreement Paul and Barnabas parted ways, with Barnabas and John Mark
going to Cyprus, while Paul traveled on to Syria and Cilicia with Silas.
Nevertheless, Barnabas’ enthusiasm and encouragement seems to have paid off,
for it is Paul that later changed his mind.
Paul
wrote Timothy (his own young disciple), that when he comes to visit, to be sure
and bring John Mark along “...for he is
profitable to me for the ministry.” (II Timothy 4:11) Not only that, but
John Mark later went on to write the gospel of Mark, making Barnabas’
contribution to Christianity incalculable.
Too
often, we get too caught up in our own families and friends to notice the new
convert that's having trouble making friends.
We need to take on the spirit of Barnabas and look for that young saint
that's too afraid to ask about some scripture that's puzzling him, or that
person that's too inhibited to reach out and confide in someone.
It's not the pastor's job, it's not someone else's job, but it's our job
as saints to take those weaker brethren under our wings and disciple them, to
befriend them, to care for them and to lead them by example. To be the local
Barnabas.
Who
knows—maybe the person that we start discipling will be the next Paul or John
Mark?
ninetyandnine.com
ã 2001, P. E. Huffman
--------
P. E. Huffman lives in Missouri. He enjoys spending time with his family, reading,
teaching Bible studies and hiking. He is known for knowing something about
everything but not much about anything.
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