I have been fascinated by the figure of John the Baptist for a long time. There is just something about this man who was very popular at his time – and even it seems after his time, as the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus mentions him decades after John’s death – completely submitting himself to Jesus and declaring, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). When people left his side to go follow Jesus, he didn’t fret but rather encouraged them to do so because He recognized who Jesus was: the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And when Jesus told him to do something that surprised him – to baptize him – John did what Jesus said to do and in this way, he and Jesus “fulfilled all righteousness” (see Matthew 3:13-17). Since he was born six months before Jesus, and we are now six months away from Christmas, it seems fitting to think about him at this time (in fact, the day this blog post goes “live” – June 24 – is the day some churches celebrate the Nativity of John the Baptist).
Another figure in the Bible that I have been thinking about recently, in part because he reminds me of John the Baptist, is that of Barnabas. He was not one of 12 disciples who followed Jesus (though some think he was one of the 70 or 72 mentioned in Luke 10) nor does it seem that he wrote books in the New Testament (though some think he might be the author of Hebrews), but he “was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith” (Act 11:27) and played an important role in the early church. We should not forget him and can be inspired by what we know about him.
Who Was Barnabas?
The first reference to Barnabas in the Bible is Acts 4:36-37. Here we learn that he was from the island of Cyprus but now seemed to be living in Jerusalem. He was a Jewish man whose lineage was from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of priests and temple servants in the Old Testament (and through which John the Baptist also traced his lineage). His name was actually Joseph, but it seems that the disciples called him Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement.” We don’t know how he got this nickname, but it seems appropriate as he embodies that nickname in many ways. One way is that he is one of the people who sold their possessions (in his case, a field) and then gave the money to the apostles to distribute as they saw fit, something that I am sure was an encouragement to the Apostles and the fellow believers in Jerusalem. His example stands in contrast to that of Annais and Saphhira – who we meet in the next chapter – who claim to sell their possessions and give all but actually withheld money and are struck down by God for their selfishness and deceit towards God.
The next time we see Barnabas is in Acts 9:27, where he does something that may seem very small but ultimately has a tremendous impact on the church. Saul of Tarsus – the Apostle Paul – had just had his vision of Jesus on Damascus Road and now the former persecutor of the church was proclaiming Jesus. However, some were understandably suspicious of his new found faith (see Acts 9:26). Barnabas essentially serves as a character reference for Saul, as he “took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus” (Acts 9:27). Instead of fearing Saul, they end up protecting him when some Jewish people tried to kill him (Acts 9:30). Had Barnabas not stepped in, Saul might have died and never gone on mission or written the letters we have from him in the New Testament.
Many years later, Barnabas would help propel Saul into his wider ministry endeavors.When some unnamed men from Cyrene and Cyprus (Barnabas’s homeland) started to tell the good news about Jesus to non-Jewish people (Greeks) in Antioch and many believed in Jesus, the church in Jerusalem heard and sent Barnabas to Antioch (Acts 11:20-22). When he arrived, Barnabas lived out his name as he “encouraged all of them to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts” (Acts 11:23). He then traveled to Tarsus to find Saul and brought him to Antioch where they worked together to teach the believers (Acts 11:25). Saul was likely ministering in his homeland in the intervening years, but now he would be ministering alongside Barnabas in this important city and beyond, as Barnabas and Saul served as prophets in Antioch (Acts 13:1) and they would bring an offering from Antioch to their fellow believers in Judea who were experiencing a famine (see Acts 11:28-30; 12:25).
The Holy Spirit then told the church to send them out on a mission (Acts 13:2-3) and they would then go to Cyprus, where Barnabas was from (Acts 13:4-5), to proclaim the gospel message to Jews as well as non-Jews (Acts 13:6-7). This was a significant moment, as it seems to be the first explicitly organized missionary endeavor.
Something interesting happens on that journey, as it seems to shift from the pair being called “Barnabas and Saul” (Acts 13:2, 7) to “Paul and Barnabas” (Acts 13:43, 46, 50, 51; see also Acts 13:9 where it is Paul and his companions). Not only is Saul now going by Paul, but he is listed before Barnabas! This order is not always maintained, as there are some spots in Acts 14 and 15 where we read about Barnabas and Paul (Acts 14:14, following discussion of the people thinking that Barnabas was Zeus and Paul Hermes; see also Acts 15:12; 25), but more often it seems that Paul comes first (see Acts 15:2, 22; 35), which seems to point to Paul taking a larger role if not the lead; the pupil seems to be surpassing the master. But, similar to John the Baptist, Barnabas does not seem to mind being eclipsed by one who comes after him.
This partnership would end, but not because of any sort of resentment from Barnabas or a competition between them. Rather, it was because Barnabas wanted to take along Mark (who may have been his cousin) on their next trip while Paul did not because Mark had abandoned them on their previous trip (see Acts 15:37-39). This does not seem to be the first time there might have been tension between the two, as Galatians 2 talks about a time in which there was a conflict between them as Paul disapproved of a shift in Barnabas’s interaction with the non-Jewish believers. This conflict would cause them to go their separate ways, with Barnbas and Mark going to Cyprus and Paul, taking along a man named Silas, went to the other areas he and Barnabas had previously visited (Acts 15:39-41). This difference of opinion did not cause either of them to stop ministering but actually led to two different missionary teams who would be preaching the same message.
We don’t really hear what happens to Barnbas after this point. The only other reference to him is when Paul mentions him in 1 Corinthians 9:6 as a positive example. This is interesting in that it would be many years (5-7 years) after their “breakup” and Corinth was not a place to which they travelled together. This seems to point to them being reconciled at some point. Paul mentions the individual at the center of their dispute – Mark – in positive ways in Colossians 4:10 and 2 Timothy 4:11, which also seems to point to their reconciliation. As I thought about the reconciliation of Mark and Paul, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was only possible because Barnabas did not give up on Mark even after his failure; had Barnbas and Paul gone out on his mission together rather than going their separate ways, who knows what would have happened to Mark? This is the same Mark who wrote the Gospel of Mark, so Barnabas may have played a role in the book coming into being too!
We aren’t told what else Barnabas does or what happens to him in the New Testament. Church traditions have him ministering in and then being martyred in Cyprus, which makes sense as that was his homeland.
What Can We Learn From Him?
While there is much that we don’t know about this man, I believe what we do know about him can benefit us and that followers of Jesus can learn from his example. I’ll highlight three traits of his in particular.
First of all, he was a generous man. The most obvious way we see this is in the way he sold his property for the benefit of his Christian brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. He thus seems a fitting vessel to bring the generous gift of the Christians in Antioch to believers in Judea. In addition to being generous with his possessions, he was also generous with his position, using his status to help Saul/Paul when others were afraid and also inviting him into ministry. His generosity also is apparent in his willingness to decrease in the wake of Paul’s increasing role in the ministry.
Second, he was willing to take risks for the sake of the gospel. One risk was in selling his property, believing that God will provide. He also took risks in sticking his neck out for Paul shortly after Paul’s conversion when others were afraid. He took a risk in recruiting Paul into the ministry and going out on mission back to his homeland, as he didn’t necessarily have previous models for such mission work. The risky nature of such work is seen in the fact that he and Saul/Paul faced opposition as they ministered. He may have been taking a risk in trusting Mark again after he had abandoned them in the previous ministry. All these risks were for the sake of the gospel advancing forward; he was not reckless but more focused on proclaiming Christ than protecting himself.
Third, we see that he was a man of encouragement. While some nicknames can be ironic, it does not seem that his nickname of “son of encouragement” was ironic as there were multiple times in which we read about him encouraging others. He seems to have spoken encouraging words, but it is also his actions that encouraged others – both those who lived at his time and also us today.
Let us be generous people who take risks and encourage others like Barnabas.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Bible translations are from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers.
