Barnabas, a pastor
Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another (Acts 15:37-39).
After all the blessing of Acts 13 and 14, chapter 15 does not start well. Men arrived in Antioch from Jerusalem determined to undermine the grace of God by insisting on circumcision being necessary for salvation. Paul and Barnabas forcefully resisted this false teaching. This led them with other brethren to Jerusalem. At the Jerusalem Council the matter was settled by the witness of Peter, Barnabas, Paul and the judgement of James (Acts 15:6-21). This was communicated to the churches in a letter which referred to “beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (vv. 25-26).
After returning to Antioch, Paul is exercised to revisit the brethren he and Barnabas had ministered amongst, to see how they were progressing (v. 36). It is important to distinguish between the direct calling of the Holy Spirit in Acts 13:2, and Paul’s personal exercise. (This personal exercise led to another direct calling from the Holy Spirit in chapter 16:6-10.) Barnabas was willing to go with Paul, but wanted to take John Mark, who had gone on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:5) but left to return to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). Paul doubted his suitability for similar service.
So these two great men of God and close friends disagreed about John Mark and went their separate ways. Paul’s remarkable service is outlined by Luke in the rest of the Book of Acts, and Barnabas goes with John Mark to Cyprus. Barnabas understood that, when we serve God, He is not only working through us, He is working in us. Paul would later write about what he had learned whilst serving God (Philippians 4:10-13). Barnabas had taken Paul and introduced him to the apostles, and he had left Antioch to find Paul and include him in the valuable ministry in that city. He cared about individuals and their spiritual progress. So he personally took responsibility for John Mark. Paul viewed the work of God in its extensiveness: Barnabas was seeking the restoration of a failed servant. Some think that Barnabas was influenced by his family relationship (see Colossians 4:10). This thinking belittles his character, but would to God that we all had such a deep interest in the spiritual welfare of our relatives. The children of the saints can suffer from spiritual neglect.
But Barnabas was following the Lord’s example. Thomas wilfully rejected the news of the resurrection of Christ, and the Lord restored him. Peter denied the Lord Jesus three times, yet the Lord did not stop him serving, but restored and called him to be a shepherd. John Mark failed the Lord in service, but ultimately the Lord called him to write the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel that speaks of Jesus as the Servant of God. Paul did not need Barnabas, but John Mark did. And the young man who went with Barnabas to Cyprus became the servant of God Paul refers to in some of the last words he wrote: “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11). I wonder if Paul saw at the end of his life the devotion to service and the friendship he shared with Barnabas in his younger fellow-servants, Timothy and John Mark respectively. We need the vision and purpose of servants like Paul, and we need the hearts of pastors like Barnabas, who would always keep us close to the Lord.
