This is posted as a resource for anyone wanting to learn about our Church and the Christian Faith. Please do not plagiarize.
Acts 15:36-16:5
“Sad Departure, New Partnership”
15:36 – Paul & Barnabas agree on a plan to go back and visit the churches that they had previously established and to those converts they had won to Christ, to strengthen and encourage them; they don’t agree on who to take with them, but there’s no question on whether the plan itself is good and necessary.
they don’t make the mistake that has too often been made in missions, to let new converts go without follow-up so that they grow to maturity and persevere in the faith.
Conversion not the end goal of the Christian life and so it’s not the end goal of missions or evangelism. Too often we act as though it is.
Conversion is the beginning of the Christian life – and so they aren’t content to have just had these people say a prayer or raise a hand or walk an aisle – and then they’re in and that’s it; no the Christian life is a long journey – and conversion is just the beginning of that; and that just as physical birth is followed by a time of immaturity and greater dependence & the need for growth and strengthening; so is spiritual birth; and of course we never outgrow our need for growth, our weakness and dependency upon Christ, but his desire for us is not to remain in spiritual infancy but to grow up into maturity in Him.
Conversion is just the beginning of a long difficult journey which requires perseverance – and so they go back to strengthen them.
They agree on the plan, and the result (15:41, 16:5) is that the churches are strengthened;
but before they go something happens such that they end up going in separate directions to accomplish that plan.
Sad Departure, New Partnership
Paul and Barnabas have been partners in ministry and missions – they have been this unstoppable missionary force used by God in powerful ways to spread the gospel outwards to new people in new places in fulfillment of what Jesus had promised to do –
they had labored and suffered together for Christ; & not only had they been partners – they had served & suffered for Christ together – but certainly they had also been friends.
But, though they partnered together, though they shared a friendship, they were very different people, with different temperaments, gifts, and convictions. God has made us all different – which is a wonderful thing – a beautiful thing – and those differences are intended to bind us together in mutual need, dependence, giftedness and service in the body of Christ – but those differences can also cause difficulty;
But not only were Paul and Barnabas different, they were also both sinners.
You know, I think we tend to assume that Paul was right here and Barnabas was wrong – and we tend to assume that because Paul was an apostle who wrote Scripture which we believe was divinely inspired and inerrant – true and trustworthy in all it teaches – as he wrote under divine inspiration as a mouth-piece of the Holy Spirit of God;
And because of that, we tend to assume that Paul himself was inerrant;
But, though his words written as Scripture were inerrant, that doesn’t mean he himself was sinless or perfect; he was not Jesus – only a messenger of Jesus – human like us; exceptionally gifted and driven with an extraordinary calling by Jesus on his life; but, still a human; still a sinful human.
Both Paul and Barnabas were sinners.
And, so what happens when when not only two different people, but two sinful people, partner, work, fellowship, live together?
conflict.
Christians should not be naive about the reality of conflict in this life. Christians should not be unprepared to deal with conflict not if but when it arises; and Christians should be equipped and committed to dealing with it in a biblical way, rather than simply reacting to it in a way that is informed by the values of the world around us or motivated by our own sinful desires.
Because the reality is – conflict will arise. Not just among non-Christians; not just between Christians and non-Christians; but In churches. In Christian families. In Christian friendships.
And many of us have felt the damaging, destructive, divisive effects of that conflict.
And, in the body of Christ, we should always be saddened when conflict isn’t resolved with the result of reconciliation – even if we know sometimes it won’t be and even if there are times when people shouldn’t be fully reconciled, we should still be saddened at that because we of all people have the greatest resource in the universe to deal with conflict; and so we should always be sad when conflict causes divisions, but the reality is that sometimes, even in the Church, even among Christians, people will disagree and part ways.
And here we see long-time partners in the gospel and brothers in Christ part ways.
And the cause is something that happened back in chapter 13 – at that point it was so brief a mention that we probably wouldn’t have thought twice about it, if not the fact that it becomes the cause of this departure.
As Barnabas and Paul set out from Antioch, 13:5 – “John was with them as their helper.”
But then not too long after, 13:13 “From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.”
And, it’s this departure that is the source of this disagreement and resulting division.
and Luke doesn’t hide the seriousness of it: v39 – “they had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company”
Luke doesn’t tell us the details of it:
only a general description in v38 – in which he gives the reasons Paul did not want to take John Mark along: “he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.”
He doesn’t tell us the specific reason John Mark left; all we know is that Paul considered him to have deserted his team and friends.
Luke doesn’t tell us the details of it: nor does he give an verdict on who’s right or wrong:
probably because Luke recognizes the difficulty of the situation in that it wasn’t a black & white issue of right & wrong – not everything in life is black & white – this was a gray area – an area of judgment, – v38 – Paul did not think it wise –
The language suggests that it was a judgment call over an issue of wisdom:
Paul doesn’t think it’s wise to rely upon someone who has proven himself in the past untrustworthy;
But Barnabas – Now, some people assume that Barnabas simply thought differently about John Mark because they were cousins; and that he let family ties blur his judgment on John Marks’ fitness for ministry;
and I guess that’s possible – but the more likely scenario is that Barnabas is simply acting true to his character that we’ve seen all through the book of Acts.
Barnabas – whose name means “the son of encouragement” and who in the book of Acts is always living up to that name – who sees the gifts that others have and looks for opportunities to put them to use – who was the one who reached out to Paul to give him and opportunity in ministry and who seems to willingly step aside as the leader in recognition of Paul’s greater gifts in teaching – now wants to give a second chance to John Mark – wants to give him an opportunity to serve God in ministry again; wants to encourage him to use his gifts and have the time to be developed into a leader and restored to usefulness in ministry.
Paul put the team first; Paul put the mission first; Barnabas put the person first.
And so these two believers judged this situation differently and felt very strongly about their own judgment, and couldn’t be convinced otherwise.
This will happen, and sometimes when that happens, people can agree to disagree and move on together; but because they were missionary partners, and their disagreement centered on who to take with them, this disagreement would necessarily result in departure – they couldn’t agree to disagree and move on together; but their disagreement meant going their own separate ways.
And this is incredibly sad; you’d think these two mature seasoned Christians could find a way to work through it; that one of them could give a little; budge a little; that they could hold their friendship of higher value than their judgment on this matter; find a way to live with the other option.
But they couldn’t; and it’s a reminder that even the most mature of Christians have faults and weaknesses; even the best of christians don’t always agree;
“the best of men are men at best”
But though it’s sad, though it’s certainly far from ideal for brothers in Christ; nevertheless Luke highlights the good which results from it.
Division and departure are not good; but God is so gracious that he works good from it; because this sad departure results in a new partnership – 2 missionary teams instead of 1 – both of which are still working for the gospel,
now can cover more ground;
Now they can reach more people;
Now both Paul and Barnabas can focus on the mission without being perpetually distracted by this disagreement and constantly arguing about it; able to go on serving Christ with freedom rather than with resentment about what had happened.
Though they go their separate ways; but they are both still working for the same Gospel and serving the same Savior.
Because though their departure is sad, what would be more sad is if one of them counted the other out of the church and gospel-ministry because they didn’t agree with me about everything.
Our present reality is that there are divisions in the body of Christ; and that’s sad but what would be sadder is that if we used those divisions to draw the boundary-lines of the kingdom of God, such that only those within our borders were part of the kingdom and that all those outside our borders weren’t.
That would make for a very small church; and of course in our pride we want to insist that the true church is only he church that looks exactly like us; but the reality of course is that there is true church even in those places that we don’t agree with about everything; even in those places where we might they think some things a little odd; and, that the things that are wrong are not just on the other side of our walls but that there are are some things about myself and ourselves that aren’t right!
And when we remember that we remember that we have a spiritual organic unity in Christ even where our outward organizational unity fails and falls short.
Our present reality is that their are divisions in the body of Christ, and that is sad. Some conflict goes unresolved; some gets partly resolved yet full reconciliation is still wanting;
but though that is the present reality, we should not let that discourage us from seeking unity with all our strength, and remembering:
conflict/division isn’t our present aim; and it isn’t our final end
Not our present aim:
because the gospel is all about God restoring and reconciling what has been fractured and torn apart by sin; the gospel is all about reconciliation – the gospel accomplished the greatest reconciliation – that between us and God when we were sinners; when we were ungodly; when we were enemies of God –
there’s not a greater distance between anything, than between sinners and a holy God; there’s not a greater barrier between anything, than that which is caused by the hated towards God that ruled our hearts when we were dead in sin, and the condemnation of God that stood over our heads before Jesus stepped in to pay the penalty; and bring close what was once at an infinite distance; and cross over what was once an insurmountable barrier;
and if we have experienced that, then our aim is always to overcome the separation that sin and conflict threaten to cause in our lives.
because the gospel gives us immense resources to achieve reconciliation and live in peace with one another:
And, when we are hesitant to want to endure the awkwardness that comes with bringing a conflict into the light to work through;
remember, that Jesus endured far more than awkwardness to deal with the conflict that was between us and God; his dealing with that conflict didn’t just put him in an awkward situation, it put him in between God’s wrath and your sin.
And when we don’t feel that we have the ability to forgive someone that’s wronged us, and would be tempted to just go our own separate way; remember, that the degree to which you need forgiveness and to which Jesus forgives you is infinitely more than what he’ll ever call you to forgive in someone else.
And maybe the realization of how much you’ve been forgiven by Jesus can not only enable you to forgive; but also create some humility in you, such that you can admit that you’re wrong and ask for forgiveness once in a while rather than insist you’re always right;
And maybe the understanding of how weak you are – strengthened only by the strength of Jesus – can enable you to endure with patience with those around you who are weak;
And maybe the receiving of Jesus love poured out in abundant measure into your heart, can create love in you for others, being patient and charitable towards them instead of assuming the worst about them and their motives; or slandering or making them look bad in front of others.
conflict/division isn’t our present aim; and it isn’t our final end
Not our final end:
This is sad, but it would be even more sad if it were the final word.
Not the final word in this situation;
We don’t hear much more about Barnabas in the New Testament; but we do hear about John Mark; In fact, it’s likely that we hear from him – as it’s thought that he is the author of the Gospel according to Mark.
But we also hear about him; and guess who we hear about him from?
From Paul;
Col 4:10-11 “My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousins of Barnabas… If he comes to you, welcome him… these have proved a comfort to me.”
2 Tim 4:11 (Paul’s final letter, probably near end of his life) “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”
Not only was John Mark restored to usefulness; but he and Paul achieved reconciliation.
we don’t know how this reconciliation came about – but it’s enough to know that it came about.
and I think that’s a beautiful picture of the reconciliation that the gospel can bring – that those who were so at odds that they parted ways, became friends again.
Mark and Paul were restored to partnership and friendship.
Because conflict doesn’t have to be the final word in this life; maybe you’ve had a sharp disagreement and a sad departure;
and maybe it feels like the door is closed; but maybe it’s time to open the door of reconciliation.
not the final word in eternity. In eternity, all the fractures will be mended; all the conflicts will be ended; all the divisions will be reconciled; we will be one;
and so we should strive towards that aim here and now knowing that we will spend eternity with the people that we are called to live together with in this life.
Right now, Paul and Barnabas are restored to full friendship; now they probably think back to this and wish they hadn’t let it come between them.
The differences aren’t gone between one believer and the next but the sin is gone – the sin which gets between one believer and the next and which responds sinfully to those differences; the dimness of our vision is gone; the uncertainty of direction to walk in this life is gone;
And if unity in Christ is our eternal destiny; then we ought to strive to live together in unity in this life. And not just to co-exist together; but to have real unity.
Sad Departure; New Partnership.
Paul encounters Timothy, who becomes like a son to Paul, and Paul a spiritual father to Timothy – Paul in his letters to timothy refers to him as “my true child in the faith”; as “my beloved child”.
Now there’s one complication of this new partnership – and that is that Timothy was raised as a Jew by his mother – and later came to faith in Christ; but Timothy’s father was a Gentile and probably that was the reason Timothy was not circumcised (which we learn in v3).
We’ll come back to that, but we learn a little extra information from Paul’s second letter to Timothy:
where it seems that Timothy’s Greek father – apart from preventing his circumcision – played little further role in his nurture – some people think that perhaps he died when Timothy was still young – and we learn that Timothy’s mother (Eunice) and grandmother (Lois) played a significant role in his spiritual nurture – they taught him the OT scriptures, and that became the foundation for his faith in Christ – the thing which “was able to make him wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus”
Timothy, who became missionary partner of the apostle Paul and leader of the church in Ephesus;
all this was traced back to the spiritual influence of his mother and grandmother in his life.
Moms; Grandmoms; not to exclude Fathers & grandfathers too, but moms; grandmoms; on those days when you wonder if the significance of your role only extends to cleaning poop off people & things & maybe yourself;
or that all you teach are things that you wouldn’t think you would need to teach to a human being ever – once – certainly not 8,000 times in a day;
When you’ve tried to teach your child to pray and and all you get is a stuck out tongue or the ever-hilarious fart noises;
When you’ve tried to do family devotions, and distraction reigns; or disinterest is an obstacle;
Don’t give up; Don’t lose heart; persevere in teaching your child the faith, because it is worthwhile; it is the most valuable thing you can impart to them – in an age where lots of things are thought to be necessary to impart to children, don’t lose sight of the one thing that is of eternal value.
Or maybe you have a spouse who is not a believer, like Timothy’s mother did; and that brings extra challenges in the already difficult task of raising a child in the Lord.
Or if you are a single parent: it is difficulty enough to raise children on your own and perhaps to think of raising them in the Lord seems an impossible burden;
Remember: you can do something eternally significant: you can begin to lay the foundation of faith in your child. Don’t forget that; and don’t underestimate the significance of that;
and maybe you feel inadequate for the task and in that case join the club of inadequate people.
And so Timothy is circumcised by Paul here – and this is odd – considering that in the last chapter we saw that Paul fought against the imposition of circumcision for salvation.
Many, many, then see this and charge Paul with inconsistency; with flip-flopping; with doing the very thing he called Peter a hypocrite for – caving to the pressure of those Judaizers who were teaching that circumcision was essential for salvation.
But those who do so are searching for false consistency that misses the standard of Paul’s consistency: which is Christ and the gospel.
Because, in the situation of Acts 15, and his refusal to circumcise Titus – the context of those things were that people were requiring circumcision for salvation – as an addition to the sufficiency and perfection of Christ’s work in the gospel to make us right with God – and Paul would have none of that.
But here, in Timothy’s case – the matter has been established that that’s not the case; there’s no one saying that with any credibility anymore; and certainly not in Timothy’s case; and so the issue is one of greater inroads for the preaching Gospel of the gospel; and greater likelihood for the reception of the gospel; when Timothy was ministering to a Jewish audience.
Though Timothy had been raised jewish; his Gentile father and his lack of circumcision – and I have to confess ignorance as to how people became apprised to that –
but these things would have left him as Jewish from the perspective of Gentiles; but Gentile from the perspective of Jews: he would have been in ministerial no-man’s land;
He couldn’t undo his Jewish upbringing to fit fully into the “Gentile” category; but he could be circumcised to fit fully into the “Jew” category.
Timothy was not required to do this; no one was pressuring him and he had freedom in Christ not to; but he denied his freedom for the sake of the gospel; and that’s where Paul’s consistency lied – doing everything for the sake of Jesus and his glory.
Might look like inconsistency; (Bruce): “Paul’s consistency is driven by the standard of the gospel, and subordinating every other interest to the interest of the gospel.”
1 Corinthians 9:19-23: “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”
“A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject of all, subject to all.”