Apologetics

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We first meet Barnabas in Acts 4:36, where we learn that he is a Levite, a citizen of Cyprus, and that his real name was Joseph. Named Barnabas by the Apostles, Barnabas brought money from the sale of a field he had owned when he came to meet with the Apostles for the first time.in “The Message of Acts,” John Stott says about Luke including Barnabas in the Book of Acts, “It was an act of liberality fully keeping with his character as it emerges in the Acts narrative (p. 108). Stott also says that “Luke deliberately introduces him here (p. 108)” because the generosity of Barnabas was in exact opposite of the deception of Ananias and Sapphira.

Ever the honest and humble man who wants to believe in faith that everyone deserves a chance, Barnabas brings Saul to the Apostles, to show them that Saul was indeed a changed man and tells them what happened to Saul on the road to Damascus and that Saul was preaching the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in, Jesus’ Name, to all who would hear in Damascus. Soon, Barnabas meets with Paul in Antioch and spends a year with him preaching and spreading the Gospel in the area.

Barnabas spent the rest of his life spreading the Gospel. Most of that time was spent with Paul on his travels until that fateful day when the two friends had a big disagreement about the fate of young John Mark and the rest of his travelling days with the group. Acts 15:39 tells us that the disagreement was so severe that Barnabas and Paul parted ways forever and never travelled together again. Here we see the forgiving Barnabas ready to give John mark a second chance just as he had given Paul his first chance in the beginning. Paul, forgetting that day not so long ago, refused to take his cousin, John Mark, along and instead chose Silas to travel him from then on. Barnabas lost a good friend to bad attitude. Unfortunately, Scripture doesn’t tell us what happened to Barnabas since that day and how he handled his anger about John Mark’s dismissal.

References

Stott, J. (1990). The message of acts. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.

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