I. The Setting
A. The Early Years
1. Paul saved in Acts 9.
a. Former Pharisee, persecutor of Christians.
b. Begins to Preach Christ
2. Paul’s Introduction to Church in Jerusalem
a. Christians very suspicious of Paul
b. Barnabas vouches for Paul’s authenticity
c. Paul accepted because of Barnabas
d. “The rest is history”. Paul linked w/apostles because of Barnabas.
3. Barnabas sent from Jer. to Antioch to investigate salv. of Gentiles. Acts 11:22
4. Barnabas taught @ Antioch; sought out Paul to assist in ministry. Acts 11:25,26
5. Barnabas & Paul delivered financial aid to the church in Jerusalem. Acts 11:30
6. Brought John Mark with them from Jerusalem to Antioch. Acts 12:25
B. First Missionary Journey
1. Paul & Barnabas set apart and sent out by Holy Spirit. Acts 13:1,2
2. 10 years +- since they first met.
3. John Mark accompanied them as an assistant. Acts 13:5
4. Successful ministry together: Island of Cyprus- Salamis, Paphos
5. John Mark departs from Pamphylia. Returns to Jerusalem. Don’t know why.
6. Paul & Barnabas continue. Difficult, successful missionary journey.
7. Paul stoned and left for dead in Lystra. Acts 14:19
8. Paul & Barnabas stood together against the Judaizers. Acts 15:1-29
9. They return to Antioch: serve effectively together. Acts 15:30-35
10. Both strong & principled men, committed to God, church, ministry.
C. The Contention Between Paul & Barnabas Acts 15:36-40
1. Paul desires to revisit the churches they had established.
2. Barnabas determined to take John Mark with them. To have a set purpose.
3. Paul insisted- J.M. not go with them. He had been unfaithful, deserting them.
4. Verse 39- “Contention”- Incitement, irritation, explosion, angry dispute.
5. No one would have imagined this ministry team splitting up over a contention.
6. Paul & Barnabas never served together again.
7. Knew each other for at least 10 years. Served together for 6 years.
II. Their Strengths- We All Have Different Strengths
A. Paul
1. Extremely strong willed man. The church needs strong willed men.
2. Man of deep conviction and principle. Tenacious and extremely focused.
3. Perhaps more concerned w/the work than w/the people.
4. Low tolerance for quitters, weak people. Needful in a man blazing a trail.
5. Didn’t want others to jeopardize the work of God with their weaknesses.
6. Ministry of Paul & Silas followed, recorded, validated throughout Acts.
7. “Pauls” have to say “no” to re. people & ministry. Too early, not yet, not gifted.
8. Sometimes inflexible re. the standards for serving God & what is required.
9. Have to deal with the backlash of disappointment & criticism from people.
B. Barnabas- “Son Of Encouragement”; “Son of Consolation”
1. Levite from Island of Cyprus. A blessed calling in life, blessed history.
2. Good man, full of Holy Spirit. Acts 11:24
3. An encourager. Easy to be around Barnabas. Acts 11:23
4. Barnabas was a relationship builder.
5. Wanted to give John Mark a 2nd chance. God given gift & character trait.
6. Barnabas did the same thing for Paul in Acts 9. Defended & encouraged him.
B. John Mark
1. Under Barnabas’ mentoring (presumably), J.M. becomes a great leader.
2. Becomes Peter’s right hand man.
3. Writes Gospel of Mark as dictated to him by Peter.
4. Later in life, he becomes Paul’s “go-to” man. 2 Timothy 4:9-11
5. John Mark took advantage of Barnabas’ 2nd chance, he proved himself to be “called”.
III. Their Weaknesses- Our Strengths Can Become Our Weaknesses
Oswald Chambers- “An unguarded strength is a weakness”.
Damien Kyle– “A strength is a strength to a point. If left unchecked, it becomes a weakness.”
A. Paul
1. Paul’s strong will needed to be tempered by God’s grace.
2. “Pauls” make a mental note of those who fail in ministry. They need to stay open.
3. Paul’s disqualifying of John Mark was not to remain permanent.
4. “Pauls” need to realize that not everyone thinks, lives, or responds the same way.
a. Some people respond well to a “boot camp” regimen.
b. Others respond well to a Barnabas type-encouraging ministry.
c. “Pauls” need to accept that God will develop people in different ways.
d. Those “school of Barnabas” leaders will also turn out strong, faithful, fruitful.
5. “Pauls” need to learn about the effectiveness of giving a 2nd chance.
B. Barnabas
1. His graciousness was also a liability. Went too far in his graciousness to John M.
2. His willingness to give 2nd chances caused him to miss God’s best plan for him.
3. Gave in to nepotism. J.M. was his cousin.
4. No mention of blessing from church as he departed with John Mark. Acts 15:39
5. Possible that his concern for people sometimes blinded him re. the work of God.
6. Barnabas never mentioned again in Acts. Missionary journey not recorded.
C. John Mark
1. He had deserted Paul & Barnabas during ministry.
2. Perhaps the conflicts & struggles were too much for him.
3. Perhaps gospel message to Gentiles difficult for him. He was from Jerusalem.
4. Perhaps immaturity. Zeal without character. Weak in faith & character.
5. He left Paul when Paul needed great assistance. Opposition, stoning, etc.
6. John Mark wasn’t there to help when things got difficult. He went home.
IV. God’s Grace In Their Lives
A. Paul
1. Paul learned about giving 2nd chances.
a. Col. 4:10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him),…
b. Philemon 23, 24 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you,
c. 24 as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.
2. 1 Cor. 9:6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working?
3. Paul is finally united with John Mark at the end of his life. God does what Barnabas couldn’t do.
4. Early on, Paul sees J.M. only as a failure. At the end, he sees him as a close ally.
B. Barnabas
1. Barnabas doesn’t quit when disagreed with by the great Apostle Paul.
2. He continues in ministry. He doesn’t get bitter or unforgiving, but continues to serve God, and to prove himself to be a true servant. He becomes re-noticed by Paul.
C. John Mark
1. He persevered. He didn’t quit serving God, even though he failed at the beginning.
2. He became a great leader in the church.
3. He became Paul’s requested ministry partner. When others departed, J.M. was there.
4. J.M. doesn’t quit, & grows to love & serve Paul.
5. He becomes that assistant he failed at previously.
V. Application For Us
God links us together with people that we formerly didn’t want to be around.
Damien Kyle– “It’s always too early to count someone out with this God that we serve.”
God makes a Paul dependent upon J.M. whom he earlier sought to separate himself from.
God, in His grace, changes us. We become glad to see a John Mark, and to have him close.
God makes a Barnabas persevere, we begin to realize that God is working through him as well.
We see that “Barnabas” laboring, toiling, serving.
They have a different character than we do, serve differently than we do, etc.
But we begin to appreciate them for who God made them to be.
We begin to value them, when previously, we had departed from them.
God takes a John Mark, & makes him more than the man he started out to be. No longer a failure.
Instead of one missionary team, there were now two. Romans 8:28
God used this contention to further His kingdom.
Was it the best way to do things? No. Did God use it anyway? Yes.
We change from year to year, month to month, week by week.
What may be a contentious point one year becomes a secondary issue the next year.
We need to have confidence in God’s grace re. others and re. ourselves.
Rest in God’s grace that He made you and them a certain way.
God may have allowed you to separate when the “contention” happened.
But that day is past, and you are different. Perhaps it is time for a 2nd chance.
We can’t afford to lose anyone to failure. We will all fail. Look to give the 2nd chance.
God doesn’t want the final word in our lives to be “failure”.
“Grace” should be the final word in our lives. God’s grace in us, through us, and towards others.