WHAT WE LEARN FROM BARNABAS  

(ACTS 11: 19-26) 

 The South-central pastoral retreat, held in Dallas from February 12th to 14th, was a great opportunity for me in many aspects.  From the lecturing pastors, as well as other pastors in attendance, I was able to gain refreshing insights and challenges.  One item that caught my attention came from one of the lecturers, as he was describing several pastoral programs that were in progress at his church.  Called “Barnabas task for new member integration and settlement,” this was a program designed to take care of newly registered members to a congregation in order to integrate them as a member of the congregational family.  

My curiosity centered on the choice of name for the project.  Among numerous names that they could have chosen from the Bible, why did they choose “Barnabas task”?  Instead of using something like “Paul task,” “Timothy task,” “Peter task,” or “Andre task,” in describing the program to integrate and settle new members into their congregation, why did they choose “Barnabas task”?

Our church must pay particular attention in managing new members, since majority of the members of this congregation are military families who move to and come from locations all over the US.  To reiterate, one of the key interests of this church is maintaining a program to integrate new members as a integral part of our congregational family, so that they do not feel alienated or ignored and become a vital worker of this church and God.  With this task—keeping and maintaining new members—as a foremost thought that preoccupied my mind for several days, I read the verses in the Bible pertaining to Barnabas and deeply thought about Barnabas.

The conclusion was startling.  Barnabas, in the early Christian church, was a great leader—perhaps on par with Paul in regards to status.  Adding the name Barnabas to the task of keeping and maintaining new members was not a coincidence, for it was Barnabas who made it possible for disciple Paul to become the foremost leader of the Christian community in the early days.  Without Barnabas, Paul would not have been able to convince other Christian leaders that he had converted on the road to Damascus, and hence would not have become the leader of the early Christian church.  Then who exactly was Barnabas?

 First, Barnabas was the person who recommended and vouched for a worker who had the ability to carry out God’s tasks.  In book of Acts 4: 36, Barnabas was a Levite who was born in the country of Cyprus, considered a land of gentiles, with a name that translated into "Son of Encouragement.”  In order to become the one with authority, one’s words must be trustworthy and responsible.  In looking at the Bible’s description of Barnabas, we can see that he indeed was a man of his words, a responsible and trustworthy individual worthy of his name and the reverence of those around him.

 Before he converted, Paul was a leader of an anti-Christian group that voraciously persecuted Christians.  Paul was present when Stephan—one of the first seven deacons of the early Christian church—was stoned to death by the Jews.  Paul was on his way to Damascus, with a list and warrants for Christians that he was to arrest, when he suddenly converted to Christianity after meeting Jesus Christ.  The fact that Paul, who persecuted Christians with the utmost of fervor, desired to be persecuted himself, for Christ, must have been big news for the early Christian church.  

Had there been newspaper, television, or other mass media during those days, this news of Paul’s conversion would have made the headlines.  The problem arose when other Disciples of Christ, whose headquarters was in Jerusalem, refused to accept the fact that Paul had converted.  They probably wondered whether this conversion was a true change in heart or a deception designed to capture more Christians for persecution.  

According to book of Acts 9, verses 26 and 27, the foremost task for Paul to accomplish was convincing the leaders of Jerusalem, the direct disciples of Christ, that he had indeed converted; however, no one accepted this fact outright from the beginning.  This was when Barnabas took Paul to Jersusalem to explain, confirm and verify to others that Paul had, indeed, converted to Christianity on the road to Damascus.  Because of Baranbas’s endorsement, Paul was able to enter the early Christian community.

 Second, Barnabas not only ensured that Paul was able to enter the Christian church, but also took measures to assist Paul in becoming the most important leader of the early Christian community.  Based on the fact that Barnabas introduced Paul to the rest of the leaders of the Jerusalem church, we can glean that Barnabas had quite an authority within the Christian community when Paul converted to believe in Jesus.  In Acts 13, verse 2, since Paul was not yet the leader of Christian church and Barnabas wielded more influence than Paul, the Holy Spirit refers to them as “Barnabas and Paul.”  The fact that Barnabas’s name is mentioned before Paul’s name signifies the fact that Barnabas was more influential than Paul.  There is another fact that supports the notion that Barnabas was as important a leader for the early Christian community as Paul was to become.               

 Acts 15 records the intense debate between the Jewish Christians, who stressed the validity of the laws of the Old Testament, and the gentile Christians, who advocated freedom from the binds of the old laws.  During the famous apostles’ meeting in Jerusalem, the ones who were to represent all Gentile Christians and evidenced the salvation work of God were Paul and Barnabas.  In Acts 15, verse 12, when the names of Barnabas and Paul are mentioned as God evidences his promise of salvation, Barnabas’s name appears before Paul’s name.  In Acts 13, verse 2,

Barnabas was the first missionary from Antioch, the first church of the gentile Christians, dispatched to convert the world to Christianity with Paul.  Barnabas, on his second missionary voyage with Paul, held a different opinion than Paul regarding adding his nephew, Micah, to the missionary team; this becomes the reason for their separation.  After their separation, Paul become the focal point of early Christian church, and Letters of Paul, the first document of the church of the New Testament, has no mention of Barnabas and his independent work as a missionary.  

The important thing is that Barnabas played a key role in ascension of Paul as the leader of the early Christian church.  In Acts 14, verse 12, in a place called Lystra, Paul and Barnabas perform missionary work.  When they were able to make a crippled man leap and walk, the people referred to Paul as Hermes, one who is well versed in oratory skills.  But people likened Barnabas to Zeus—the most powerful God in Greek mythology—indicating that perhaps Barnabas possessed more dominating aura and better appearance than Paul did.

 In all aspects, Barnabas did not fall behind Paul.  We must think about the fact that Barnabas, while possessing perhaps greater qualities than Paul, assisted Paul in becoming an excellent leader for the early Christian community.  In today’s ultra competitive society, where most people strive to cut down other people in order to further their own interests, a person like Barnabas, while precious, is difficult to find.  Just as Christ himself stated, “those who come later will become first,” we must expend our effort in ensuring that the new members of the church become valuable workers and leaders in our church.  

 Third, in verse 24 of today’s scripture, not only is Barnabas a good person, he is also full of faith and Holy Spirit.  Because Barnabas was such a person, a greater multitude came to Christ.  Verse 37 of Act 4 proves the fact that Barnabas was such a person.  He sold his land in order to give money to the disciples.  All people harbor some degree of greed when it comes to possession; the fact that Barnabas, without hesitation, sells his land to make an offering to God and His Church testifies to the fact that Barnabas, while being benevolent, was also a faithful man.  “One who, while being benevolent and good-natured, is also faithful and full of Holy Spirit”—these are the type of people we need in our church today.  If we have more of these people, more new members will settle among us, and new leaders of the church will come from the midst of new members.

 A woman named Nancy in Philadelphia was severely handicapped, able to move only with a use of wheelchair.  Although people around her believed there was nothing she can do, as a Christian, Nancy held a firm belief that there is a purpose to her existence—that there is a task only she can perform.  One day, in the local newspaper, Nancy ran the following advertisement:  “If there is someone lonely out there, give me a call.  

Because I’m in a wheelchair, I rarely go outside.  We can share your problem.  Just call me.  I would like to talk to you.”  After she ran the personal ad, over 30 people called Nancy.  Nancy, through listening to these people’s problems and offering advise, is leading many people into the embrace of Christ.  We need people like Nancy in our church.  Despite being in a wheelchair, Nancy believed that there is work she can do for God, and extended her hand of love and help to her neighbors; we need workers like Nancy in our church.

 As we looked over the scripture this morning, there is a valid reason behind using Barnabas’s name in describing a program designed to integrate new members  into a church.  Barnabas played a key role in developing Paul as a great leader of the early Christian church.  Without Barnabas, the great missionary work of Paul may have been impossible; at least, it would have been very difficult.  Although Paul is a great disciple of Christ, people like Barnabas, who quitely supported him from behind, enabled Paul to shine.  Our St. Luke’s Church thirsts for lay leaders and workers.  

Like Barnabas, let’s help new members become an integral part of our church; with a humble heart, let’s love them, encourage them, and assist them, so that they will be able to accomplish God’s task laid before them.  Assist the new members in becoming a vital part of this church, so that they become our spiritual relatives.  Let us become Barnabus!  Amen.