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Presented, March 16, 2008

BARNABAS, SON OF ENCOURAGEMENT
Acts 4:36

This morning I would like for us to take some time to examine the life of an extraordinary Christian, Barnabas. What makes him so extraordinary (to me) is that in the relatively short time span of his recorded life in scripture, he has such a great impact upon the church and those around him. He enters the scene in the book of Acts 4:36 and is leaves it in Acts 15:39 where as Paul begins his second missionary journey, they part ways. But during those few years we have much to be grateful for as a result of his life.

In our lesson today we want to briefly notice his life and then we want to notice some lessons we can learn from his example and the various recorded events.

I. I. Who was Barnabas?

a. Mentioned only 29 times in the New Testament. All but 5 of them in Acts 4-15. The other five times deal with his relationship to Paul in his epistles (1 Cor. 9:6, Gal. 2:1, 9, 13, & Col. 4:10).

b. Background

i. His name means, “Son of encouragement” (Ac. 4:36 which is very appropriate for this man). He was also known as Joses.

ii. He was a Levite from the island of Cyprus (Acts 4:36) and did some teaching there.

iii. He was the cousin of Mark who accompanied him and Paul on the first part of their first journey and later took Mark with him when there was dissention between him and Paul. (Acts 15:35-39)

iv. He was a prophet (Acts 13:1)

v. He was a man of high character and respected by the brethren at Jerusalem which also attests to his character. Acts 11:24 calls him a “good man” – a small word with great significance.

vi. He was full of the Holy Spirit and faith (Acts 11:22-24). This is demonstrated as he accompanies Paul on his journeys and is able to perform miracles along with Paul.

vii. He was well-off to say the least. Demonstrated by his generous gift to the church and also his working with Paul on their first journey without taking wages (cf. 1 Cor. 9:6).

viii. In Acts 14:14 he is called an apostle along with Paul. Like Paul, he was interested in going to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:9)

ix. We also know that he was human and made some mistakes. One is recorded in Galatians 2:13 where he was carried away with the hypocrisy of Peter.

c. The Chronicles of Barnabas

i. To help with needs of the saints in Jerusalem, he sold land that he owned and gave the proceeds to the apostles to distribute as needed. (Acts 4:36)

ii. After Paul’s conversion, when he went to Jerusalem for the first time – Barnabas stood up for him while others were afraid (because of his past persecutions) as Paul sought to join the brethren there (Acts 9:27)

iii. After the persecutions caused by the stoning of Stephen resulted in people taking the gospel throughout the empire, as news of converts, (especially Gentiles) came to Jerusalem, Barnabas was sent to go as far as Antioch to inquire and teach (Ac. 11:22-24). While there and seeing the prosperity, he goes to Tarsus to seek out Saul (Ac. 11:25) and brought him back to Antioch where for a year they taught and assembled with the saints. (This is where we read “and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” – 26.)

iv. When there was a famine that caused brethren in Jerusalem to become needy (again), brethren from Antioch determined to send relief. They chose Barnabas and Saul to present their gift to the elders (11:27-30).

v. When they return to Antioch from Jerusalem (Ac. 12:25) shortly thereafter they begin what is known as Paul’s first missionary Journey. Events of this journey are recorded in Acts 13 -14. In these chapters we find both of them interacting and teaching.

vi. Together they defend the gospel to the Gentiles in Acts 15 and together return to Antioch with an inspired answer to the dilemma.

vii. After this, as Paul begins his 2^nd missionary journey he and Barnabas have a sharp disagreement, because Barnabas wanted to take his cousin Mark with them again. Paul disagrees and they go separate ways.

viii. That is the last we read of Barnabas in the book of Acts.

II. II. Lessons to learn

a. The value of character.
By the word character I mean he was a man of integrity and highly respected (where he needed to be respected).
We know the importance of integrity – it is to be added to our faith in 2 Peter 1:5 (virtue).
Ephesians 4:1 speaks of us walking worthy of our calling.
1 Peter 2:12 speaks of living our lives “honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation”
In Barnabas we find yet another example of one whose life is worthy of imitation because of his character. How many of us could have such things said about us?

b. The need for generosity and benevolence -
The FIRST thing we read about him was an act of giving. He had land that he sold and gave all the proceeds to the Apostles.
Christianity is to be a life of generosity toward others.
The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourself, which according to Jesus in the parable of the good Samaritan is anyone whom we have the opportunity to do good for (Luke 10:30-37).
Christians are to do good and to share, Hebrews 13:16.
1 Timothy 6:18-19 speaks of the rich being willing to “do good” and to be “rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share…”
Are we willing to share with others the way Barnabas did?

c. We all need friends to stand by us
The reason Barnabas was called, “Son of consolation” is because he was there for others who needed a friend. And these people were not perfect – they had flaws and weaknesses. But Barnabas believed in them and saw the best in them. He did that when he defended Paul before brethren in Jerusalem. And he did that when he defended his cousin Mark.
How many of us are willing to be TRUE friends to our brethren? What is the standard that we use to determine whether or not we will stand with them? Is it based upon the word of God (i.e. when someone is in sin we should NOT defend them in that! 1 Corinthians 5:1-6; Romans 16:17 (avoid them); 2 Timothy 3:5, “And from such people turn away”, 2 Thess. 3:14, etc.)? Or do we determine whether or not we will stand with someone based upon what it will cost us?
It is when one is down that they need us to stand with them – 1 Thess. 5:14 “comfort the fainthearted”, Hebrews 12:12 says, “Therefore strengthen the hands which hand down, and the feeble knees…”, Galatians 6:1-2 tells us that when he is overtaken in a trespass, we need to go to him – as a brother and treat him as such (cf. 2 Thess. 3:15 – “admonish him as a brother.”)

d. He was dependable
Whenever there was a problem, Barnabas was one of those men they could turn to to get the job done. This happened in Jerusalem and in Antioch. In addition to this, GOD could turn to Him and He did (Acts 13:2).
1 Corinthians 4:2 says that a steward must be faithful. We are stewards.
In the parable of the talents, the dependability of the 5 and 2 talent servants was rewarded and noticed by the master when he returned. ( Matthew 25:21, 23).
How dependable are we? Can the elders count on us? Can our brethren count on us? Can God count on us?

e. He shared the gospel with others
He did not hide his light, but took it out into the world. That is why he went on missionary journeys with Paul and Mark. That is what he did while at Antioch for a year.
As Christians, we must never forget our need to teach others the truth. It is a point that is difficult to overemphasize and one that is still neglected by so many.
We are to be able to defend our faith – 1 Peter 3:15; Mark 16:15 – the great commission; Our example – Matthew 5:16, Luke 8:5 – the Sower (cf. 1 Cor. 3:6, 9-10 – “We are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building”, etc.),2 Cor. 5:11, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord…”, etc.
Never forget how God is counting on us!

f. He was content to not lead at the top.
Understand, Barnabas WAS a leader! But he was also willing to follow! The reason for this was that His motives were not egotistical. He was more concerned about the results than the credit. (Like any good spiritual leader.)
We have stressed the importance of every Christian developing into a leader according to our God given capacity, but in so doing we must be careful not to become arrogant as so many leaders do!
Why do we do what we do? How quick are we to brag to others about our successes? WHY do we brag?
While we ought to strive to develop into godly leaders, we must still be content to serve.
Remember the words of our Lord in Luke 17:10 where He said, “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’”
Paul said, “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6)
Let us all be willing to accept our lot in life and be best we can with what we have been given!

g. Even the godly can stumble.
We all stumble in many things. Even the godliest among us will at times do things he ought not to do and leave undone what he ought to be doing! That was Barnabas.
But, while Barnabas was carried away in Peter’s hypocrisy (elitism), Paul makes a defense of his Character in 1 Cor. 9:6 (which had to have been written later because this letter was either later than or during Paul’s second journey). This indicates that he repented and returned.
From Barnabas we can learn not only the importance of going to those overtaken in a trespass (Galatians 6:1, James 5:19-20) but also that God WILL forgive us again (and again) if we will repent. We have an example of that in Acts 8:20-23 where Peter condemns Simon who is told to repent of his sins. 1 John 1:9 tells us to confess our sins to God and pray for forgiveness. This is addressed to Christians.
Let us learn from Barnabas that we are not all perfect and we will stumble. But when we do, get back to God just as he did.

Well, the lesson is yours. I am certain we could find more lessons on this godly example worthy of imitation, but it is my hope that these are sufficient to cause us to give Barnabas greater consideration and that we desire to be like him in those things pleasing to God. What about you? Are you like Barnabas?