Barnabas: A Good Man
Gordon Franz
If
I mentioned the name Barney, who would come to mind? If you belong to the Geritole crowd you would probably think
of that goofy sheriffÕs deputy from Mayberry on the Andy Griffith Show (Don
Knott). If you are a young person
or parents of children you would probably think of that purple dinosaur that
goes around singing, ÒI love you, you love me; weÕre one big happy
family.Ó (My parents are into the
genealogy scene big time. The last
time I check with them, we did not have any reptilian ancestors climbing around
in our family tree!).
The
Bible mentions a fellow named Barney.
Actually his name was Yosef ha-Levi. We would say in English, Joseph the Levite. The apostles gave this man from the
island of Cyprus the nickname, Barnabas, which in Aramaic means Òson of
encouragementÓ (Acts 4: 36). The
nickname was well deserved because he had a solid reputation of encouraging
people in the things of the Lord.
Barney
was a lesser-known apostle, but greatly used of the Lord. You see, if Barnabas did not go around
encouraging people and seeing potential in them, in spite of their past track
record of failures, we may not have half of our New Testament! Barnabas encouraged Saul, (later known
as Paul) and John Mark at crucial points in their spiritual lives. If he had
not encouraged Paul and John Mark, we might not have had the Pauline epistles,
or the gospel of Mark. Also,
according to Tertullian, a third Century early Church Father, Barnabas was the
unnamed human author of the epistle to the Hebrews (On Modesty 20; ANF 4:97).
Now I realize these statements are made apart from the sovereignty of
God, and no doubt, God would have risen up others for the task, but Barnabas
would not have gotten the credit or the blessings for it.
Luke
characterizes Barnabas as a Ògood man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faithÓ
(Acts 11:24). I would like to ask
the question, ÒWhat made him good?Ó
The immediate context says he was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.
The
Apostle Paul sets forth the doctrinal truth of the filling of the Holy Spirit
in Eph. 5:18, ÒAnd do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be
filled with the Spirit.Ó This is a
command for every believer in the Lord Jesus to be controlled by, or yielded
to, the Holy SpiritÕs control of his or her lives. The ÒfaithÓ refers to trusting the Lord in his daily life.
When
we first meet Barnabas we learn that he is a Levite from the Island of Cyprus,
off the coast of present day Lebanon.
What do we know about Levites?
They were the priestly family that ministered in the Tabernacle in the
wilderness and in the First and Second Temples. After the Children of Israel entered the Promised Land and
conquered it, they met at Shiloh to divide up the Land. Each tribe received an allotment,
except the tribe of Levi. The
Levites were scattered throughout the rest of the tribes so they could teach
the Word of God as well as lead travelers to Jerusalem for the
pilgrimages. The Levites had no
land of their own and were dependent upon the people of the tribes to supply
their daily bread. That is why it
is stated of the Levites, Òthe LORD is their portion, or inheritance.Ó Ultimately they were dependant upon the
Lord for their daily food.
What
was unusual about Barnabas was that he was not living in Eretz Israel, but in
the Diaspora, outside the Land of Israel.
In addition, he owned land!
Barnabas
was part of a sizable Jewish community on the island of Cyprus (Safrai and
Stern 1974: 154,155; 1976: 711,712).
Philo, the First Century AD Jewish philosopher living in Alexandria,
Egypt, wrote a letter to Emperor Gaius Caligula in AD 38. In it, he recounts all the places where
there are Jewish colonies. Of the
islands he says, ÒAnd not only are the mainlands full of Jewish colonies but
also the most highly esteemed of the islands Euboea, Cyprus, CreteÓ (Embassy
to Gaius 282; LCL 10:143).
The
early church had Òall things in commonÓ.
In other words, they voluntarily shared their possessions with their
brothers and sisters in Christ.
Please note this is not communism or socialism. Under communism the state forces
individuals, against their will, to give up their possessions or income in
order to provide for others.
Communism is a government induced, forced redistribution of wealth.
The
voluntary sharing of their goods was a manifestation of their Òoneness in
ChristÓ and was a powerful testimony to the words of the Lord Jesus in His High
Priestly prayer in John 17. In
this prayer, He prayed, ÒI do not pray for these alone [the eleven
disciples], but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that
they may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be
one in Us, that the world may believe that you sent MeÓ (17:20,21).
Barnabas
put his money where his mouth was.
He sold his land and gave all the money to the apostles for sharing with
others. He exemplified what Paul
would later state, ÒFor you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that
though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His
poverty might become rich. É So
let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity;
for God loves a cheerful giverÓ (II Cor. 8:9: 9:7). Barnabas did not give ten percent [actually the OT tithe was
20.6% when all the different tithes are added up] he gave 100%. In so doing, Barnabas also lived up to
his Levitical heritage, Òthe LORD is your portion, or inheritanceÓ. He was now living in total dependence
upon the Lord for his daily needs.
Perhaps
it was his example that encouraged the believers in the church at Antioch to
help in the relief effort of the Jerusalem church during the famine in the days
of Emperor Claudius (Acts 11:27-30).
The elders in Antioch chose Barnabas and Saul to deliver the food and
money to Jerusalem (11:30; 12:25).
Do
we have GodÕs perspective on giving?
Are we giving 100% of ourselves?
Isaac
Watts (1674-1748) caught the essence of New Testament giving in one of his
hymns, ÒWhen I Survey the Wondrous Cross.Ó
Were
the whole realm of nature mine,
That
were an offering far too small;
Love
so amazing, so divine,
Demands
my soul, my life, my all.
Barnabas was a good man because he had a Biblical view of building up the Body of Christ – Acts 11:19-26.
IÕm
sure most of you have been out driving around and gotten lost at one time or
another. If you are a man, you
said to yourself, ÒI can find it myself.Ó
If you are a woman, you probably asked for directions. The principle is this, ÒWhen you can
not do the task yourself, seek help.Ó
Barnabas saw a need in the church at Antioch. Gentiles were getting saved and needed to be instructed in
the Word of God. He knew he could
not do it himself, so he sought out and found Paul. Barnabas knew Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles (Acts
9:15; Gal. 2:7).
Do
we seek help when we know we cannot do the job ourselves? A number of years ago I was working with
the young peoples group at church.
One time I proposed a conference for the young people in the area. One of the leaders was quick to say
that he would organize the conference.
He knew I did not have the gift of administration because I am one of the
most disorganized individuals there is.
He had the gift of administration and did a tremendous job in organizing
the event.
Barnabas
was good because he had a Biblical view of disciplining others – Acts
12:25; 13:1,13.
GodÕs
pattern of discipleship is sending out men, two-by-two, disciplining others who
will continue the work (II Tim. 2:2).
When some of the apostles went out on a mission trip, they took their
wives (I Cor. 9:5,6). But the
husband and wife are Òone fleshÓ and do not constitute a team of
Òtwo-by-twoÓ. God has no ÒLone
RangerÓ missionaries in the New Testament.
Another
aspect of discipleship is following up on those who have trusted Christ as
Savior and to encourage them to get into a local fellowship. After Barnabas and Paul finished their
work in Derbe they returned to the other cities that they had previously
visited and strengthened the souls of the disciples and exhorted them to
continue in the faith. They also
appointed elders in every church (Acts 14:21-23).
On
their first missionary journey in AD 47, Barnabas and Paul were partners in
evangelism and discipleship. They
practiced the Òtwo-by-twoÓ approach and had disciples along with them, John
Mark and possibly Dr. Luke.
Barnabas was good because he had a Biblical view of missions – Acts 13:4,5.
The
first stop on the missionary journey was the island of Cyprus. Most likely the reason they went to
Cyprus first was that it was the home of Barnabas and the relatives of John
Mark (cf. Acts 4: 36; Col. 4:10).
The pattern for missions seems to be to reach family and friends first.
As noted before, there were Jewish colonies on the
island of Cyprus. Paul was
establishing a precedent that he states in Rom. 1:16, Òto the Jews first, and
then to the GentilesÓ with the Gospel.
The Jewish people already had the Scriptures and would be easier to
reason with than the Gentiles about their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The apostle Paul had a heart for the Jewish people to
come to faith in the Lord Jesus (Rom. 10:1), even though he and Barnabas were
apostles to the Gentiles (Gal. 2:9).
Another aspect of missions is keeping the home church
informed of the activities of the missionaries. Upon their return to Antioch they Òreported all that God had
with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles (Acts
14:27).
A third aspect of missions is that Paul and Barnabas
took Òsecular employmentÓ while on their missionary journeys even though, as
apostles, they could refrain from working (I Cor. 9:6). They did not want to be a burden on the
churches (II Thess. 3:7-9).
Do
we have a Biblical view of missions?
Barnabas was a good man because he had a Biblical view of idolatry – Acts 14:11-18.
During
their first missionary journey (Acts 13, 14), Barnabas and Paul stopped at the
city of Lystra in the district of Lycaonia (Acts 14:5-20). While there, they encountered a
crippled man from birth who had never walked. Paul commands him to walk. He got up, leaped and walked.
The
people of Lystra began to sacrifice oxen in honor of Barnabas and Paul. Paul and Barnabas thought it was a big
cookout and said, ÒHot dog (kosher, of course), weÕre going to have a big
bar-be-que today, sirloin streak, prime rib, and filet minion.Ó Unbeknownst to them, because the people
were speaking in the Lycaonian language, Barnabas and Paul were about to be
worshipped as gods. They thought
Barnabas was Zeus perhaps because he looked older and had a long distinguished
beard. They thought Paul was
Hermes, the messenger god of Zeus, because Paul was the one doing all the
talking. When they realize what
was going on, they tried to stop it.
They said they were human beings just like the people of Lystra were. Why did the people of Lystra act this
way?
There
was a Roman poet named Ovid (43 BC – AD 17) who was educated in
Rome. Upon the completion of his
studies he toured the Greek lands, collecting local stories of the activities
of the Greek gods and goddesses.
One or two of his poems offended Emperor Augustus and Ovid was exiled to
the provincial town of Tomis on the Black Sea in AD 8. Just before he was exiled, he wrote a
poem called Metamorphoses, which
means ÒtransformationÓ. In it, he
described gods that took on human form.
The
story is told that Jupiter and Mercury (their Greek counterparts are Zeus and
Hermes) visited the region of Phrygia, to the west of Lyconia. They were incognito, disguised as human beings. Nobody showed them hospitality until
they came to the small hut of an elderly couple, Philemon and Baucis. This couple welcomed their unknown
guests and showed hospitality by serving them a cabbage and pork stew without
knowing their true identity. Zeus
rewarded their kindness and hospitality by removing them before a flood washed
away their neighbors. After the
flood, their hut was made into a temple and the couple became the priests of
the temple (Metamorphoses 8:
606-721; Slavitt 1994: 165-168).
It is understandable why the Lyconians from Lystra
called out, ÒThe gods have come down to visit us.Ó The people thought they knew a god when they saw one and did
not want to mess up this time!
There is an archaeological basis for this story because there is
archaeological evidence that Zeus and Hermes were worshipped in the area.
Most
of us do not bow down to a statue or an idol, yet Paul says Òidolatry which is
covetousnessÓ (Col. 3:5). How many
of us are greedy and want what others have? Or are we content with what the Lord has given us (Phil.
4:11; I Tim. 6:8; Heb. 13:5)?
Barnabas was a good man because he had a Biblical view of salvation – Acts 15:1-35.
From
Genesis to Revelation, salvation has always been by grace through faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. In
the Old Testament, a person trusted that the LORD would send a Savior, the Lamb
of God (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:1-5; Isa. 53:6). In the New Testament a person looks back to Calvary and
trust the Lord Jesus Christ as the One who died and paid for all sin. When people put their trust in Him, and
Him alone, for their salvation, they have the forgiveness of sins, a home in
heaven and the righteousness of God (John 3:16; Eph. 2:8,9; Tit. 3:8; Phil.
3:9).
Certain
men of the sect of the Pharisees came from Judea to the church at Antioch to
inform them that a Gentile must undergo circumcision in order to be saved
(15:1). Paul and Barnabas took
strong exception to this teaching.
In order to resolve this theological conflict, the church sent them to
Jerusalem for a ruling from the apostles and elders concerning this issue. The apostles agreed with Barnabas and
Paul that a Gentile does not have to be circumcised for salvation. It was around this time that Paul wrote
the epistle to the Galatians, either slightly before the Jerusalem Council, or
soon after.
Barnabas was a good man because he had a Biblical approach to conflict management – Acts 15:36-41.
John
Mark left Barnabas and Paul after they had visited Cyprus. We are not told why he left. When Paul suggested to Barnabas that
they visit the churches of Cyprus and Galatia, Barnabas insisted on taking John
Mark. Paul would hear nothing of
it and there was a sharp contention between the two. How was this resolved?
I can imagine part of the conversation. Probably Barnabas said, ÒPaul, I vouched for you before the
Jerusalem brethren when nobody believed your conversion!Ó (Acts 9:27).
There are two ways to resolve conflicts, either in a
constructive or destructive manner.
The constructive manner is always a win / win situation for both
parties. The destructive manner
could be either a win / lose or lose / lose proposition.
Disagreements
in the church will not hurt the testimony of the congregation as long as the
leaders see the Òbig pictureÓ of GodÕs redemptive purposes. What is really important? The goal of conflict resolution is to
build up the Body of Christ.
This was a win / win decision; there were two
missionary teams.
My sense is that John Mark realized he had Òdropped
the ballÓ and worked on being faithful (I Cor. 4:2). Perhaps he had some rough edges that needed to be smoothed
and Barnabas was the one to work with him. Somewhere along the line, John Mark and Paul are
reconciled. During PaulÕs first
imprisonment in Rome, we know that John Mark is with him because he sends
greetings to the church in Colosse and to Philemon (Col. 4:10; Philemon
24). Paul, writing during his
second imprisonment, instructs Timothy to ÒGet John Mark and bring him with
you, for he is useful to me for ministryÓ (II Tim. 4:11).
Do
we seek to resolve conflicts in a Biblical way? Are we seeking a win / win solution to our conflicts? Are we encouraging others and looking
for the potential they have?
Barnabas was a good man because he was teachable and we assume he corrected his unbiblical view of fellowship – Gal. 2:11-14.
When the apostle Peter was in Antioch-on-the-Orontes,
he ate with both Jewish believers and Gentile believers in the Lord Jesus. Once, when certain men from James came
to visit, Peter separated himself from the Gentile believers and ate only with
the Jewish believers. Barnabas,
following the lead of Peter, separated himself as well. Paul rebuked both of them. The issue at sake is not what Barnabas
and Peter ate, but whom they ate it with.
In other words, fellowship, not the Òkosher-nessÓ of the food, was the
issue.
Paul rebuked them because this issue was the Òtruth
of the GospelÓ (2:14). Peter was
marring a beautiful picture that Paul would later write about, of Jews and
Gentiles in One Body (Eph. 3).
Barnabas had been hoodwinked by Peter, but corrected by Paul.
Do
we seek the fellowship of the LordÕs people? Is our fellowship based on our common life in the Lord Jesus
or the light one has regarding the Scriptures? In other words, is my fellowship based on whether a person
is a brother or sister in Christ or if the person agrees with all my theology?
What
happened to Barnabas after he and John Mark went back to Cyprus? When Paul wrote First Corinthians about
AD 55, Barnabas was still active in the LordÕs work (I Cor. 9:6). Where he was and what he was doing is
not stated. Church tradition,
however, says that he and John Mark Òcontinued their missionary work and
Barnabas became the first Bishop of Salamis, his native city, where he is said
to have been martyred and secretly buried by his cousin MarkÓ (Meinardus 1973:
11; Acts of Barnabas). The Recognitions of Clement states that Barnabas was active in ministry in Rome,
Alexandria in Egypt and Caesarea in Judea (1994: 78-80; Zahn 1907: 459,
footnote 2).
To
the west of the ancient ruins of Salamis there is a Greek Orthodox monastery
dedicated to Barnabas. In the area
is a tomb that is said to be that of Barnabas. Whether it is or not, only the resurrection will tell for
sure.
In
our study of the Life of Barnabas, were discovered that he was a Ògood manÓ
because he was filled with the Holy Spirit and a man of faith who trust the
Lord for his daily needs. He was
also good because he had a biblical view of financial giving, of building up
the Body of Christ, and of disciplining others, missions, idolatry, conflict
management and a teachable attitude when he was wrong.
Dr.
D. Edmond Hiebert summarizes the life and ministry of Barnabas in this
way: ÒBarnabas stands out as one
of the choicest saints of the early Christian Church. He had a gracious personality, characterized by a generous
disposition, and possessed a gift of insight concerning the spiritual potential
of others. He excelled in building
bridges of sympathy and understanding across the chasms of difference which
divided individuals, classes, and [ethnic groups]. He lived apart from petty narrowness and suspicion and had a
largeness of heart that enabled him to encourage those who failed and to succor
the friendless and needy. He did
have his faults and shortcomings, but those faults arose out of the very traits
that made him such a kind and generous man – his ready sympathy for
othersÕ feelings and his eagerness to think the best of everyoneÓ (1992: 52).
Bruce, F. F.
1995 Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans.
Hiebert,
D. Edmond
1992 In PaulÕs Shadow. Friends and Foes of the Great Apostle.
Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University.
Meinardus, Otto F. A.
1973 St.
Paul in Ephesus and the Cities of Galatia and Cyprus.
Athens: Lycabettus.
Philo
1991 The Embassy to Gaius. Vol.
10. Translated by F. H. Colson. Cambridge, MA: Harvard university. Loeb Classical Library.
Roberts,
Alexander, and Donaldson, James, eds.
1994a The
Acts of Barnabas. Pp. 355,493-496
in Ante-Nicene Fathers. Vol. 8. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.
1994b Recognitions
of Clement. Pp. 77-211 in Ante-Nicene
Fathers. Vol. 8.
Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.
Safrai, S., and Stern, M.
1974 The Jewish People in the First Century. Vol.
1. Assen: Van Gorcum and
Philadelphia: Fortress.
1975 1976 The
Jewish People in the First Century. Vol. 2. Assen: Van Gorcum and Philadelphia: Fortress.
Slavitt, David
1994 The
Metamorphoses of Ovid.
Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University.
Tertullian
1994 On
Modesty. Pp. 74-101 in Ante-Nicene
Fathers. Vol. 4.
Peasbody, MA: Hendrickson.
Zahn,
Theod.
1907 Missionary Methods in the Times of the Apostles. Expositor, 7th series. 4: 456-473.
Posted
3/27/06.