STU:A body of a paper prepared for Dr. James Frerksen at Liberty

University by Thomas P Wynn.

   Barnabas

   I. INTRODUCTION

   The life and times of Barnabas was an exciting time in the early
church. The church was still developing its characteristics of how it
was going to impact the world. Many of those that we consider to be the
church fathers were struggling to define what it was that Christ had
instructed them to do. They did not have the Bible as a guide to them
on how to live a Christian life. The biblical book of Acts and many of
its supporting epistles give us a glimpse at the struggles that they
went through in defining the church. This paper will examine the person
of Joseph surnamed Barnabas which means the son of encouragement.

   II. HIS BACKGROUND

   It is believed that one of the early church fathers, Barnabas, was
born on the island of Cyprus. He appears to have been a Levite. As a
Jew who resided outside of Jerusalem he was considered by the Jews of
Jerusalem as a Hellenist, whereas the Jews of Palestine were considered
Hebrew.

   He apparently has made a conversion to Christianity either through
the preaching of the disciples in Jerusalem of even through the
preaching of Christ himself. Because of the large number of Hellenists
who were present on Pentecost he might have been one of the thousands
who were converted on that morning. As a man of some financial means he
sells some of his property and turns the proceeds over to the disciples
during a time that the church was going through some financial
troubles. He appears to have a generous, nature whereas he donates the
entire proceeds to the church.

   He seems to be trusted by the disciples, and has received their
respect because it appears that they are the ones who give him the name
of Barnabas over his original name of Joseph. He seems to be a good
judge of character, because even thought Saul has been a persecutor of
the Christians, Barnabas sees the new nature of Saul after his Damascus
Road experience.

   He seems to be a dominating man, probably in both stature and in his
manner of presenting the Gospel. This is implied by the fact that
Barnabas's name is presented first of those who are mentioned as going
on what is known as Paul's first missionary journey.

   It is recorded that Barnabas is a good man full of the Holy Spirit.
He is open to the leading of God and this is recognized by Luke and the
other disciples. He was obedient in that he goes from Jerusalem to
Antioch to help establish the church there.

   III. BARNABAS AND PAUL

   After the stoning of Stephen many Christians leave Jerusalem. Many
of the Hellenist who leave go toward Antioch of Syria. The fact that
Barnabas does not flee indicates that he is in good standing with the
Apostles, who also stay in Jerusalem. He also has a somewhat safe
relationship with the Sadducees because of the fact that persecution
does not follow him as it had Stephen.

   While Barnabas is in Jerusalem we have a glimpse at him as an
encourager. While in Jerusalem a young convert named Saul has come to
the apostles seeking help and guidance. Because of his reputation as a
persecutor of the early church prior to his meeting Christ on the
Damascus road, the disciples are afraid to meet with Saul. It was only
after Barnabas steps in that two of the disciples meet with Saul. It is
during this time that Saul and Barnabas develop a deep friendship that
carries them through the first trying missionary journey. After they
spend some time together in Jerusalem, Saul returns to Tarsus to do
some preliminary work there in his hometown.

   While Barnabas remains in Jerusalem, probably being trained by the
apostles and training other new disciples, the early church takes root
in Palestine and Syria. Antioch is a Hellenistic city in the
northwestern corner of the Mediterranean Sea. It was a busy shipping
port and ranked among the top three cities of the known world. The city
is made up of a mixture of Macedonians, Greeks, native Syrians plus a
band of Jews who were given some land as a gift for their services
during one of the city's occupations. Because of its flourishing trade
status it develops into a center of Greek culture. Also, because of its
nearness to eastern trade routes, it receives many cultural and
religious influences from the Orient. During the Roman occupation,
Antioch is beautified and enlarged by King Herod in an attempt to
please the new rulers. Rome, in an attempt to calm the people in their
new province, builds new roads and offers protection to travelers
around and about the area.

   Following the persecution of Stephen the early church spreads out
throughout Palestine and as far north as Syria. As far as church
planting they aimed at the Jews in the areas first. This was because it
is felt that the Jews aree the holder of the Messianic promise. They
also have the synagogues, which allows the early church get a foothold
in the various areas. When the early believers reach Antioch they
preach to both Jews and non-Jews, partly due to the fact that the
population is such a mixture. This causes much distress between the
mother church in Jerusalem and the church in Antioch because of the
bringing of God's message of hope and love to the Gentiles.

   The church at Antioch grows rapidly, and soon the missionaries there
need help from the mother church in Jerusalem. Possibly because of his
cultural heritage, the church in Jerusalem sends Barnabas to help guide
the church in Antioch. He encourags and urges the church and its
leaders to follow Christ's example. After some time Barnabas feels a
need for his friend Saul's help. The need may have developed from the
cultural and ethnic make-up of the people in Antioch, or the church may
have grown beyond his ability to control it. Barnabas goes up to Tarsus
and finds Saul and convinces him to come to Antioch to help him there.
They spend a year there among the people. They must have done a very
good job because it was here in Antioch that the followers of this new
religion are called Christians.

   During their time in Antioch a prophet by the name of Agabus comes
and tells of a coming famine that will affect the church in Jerusalem.
The church takes up a love offering and sent their leaders, Barnabas
and Saul, to deliver it to the church in Jerusalem. The church in
Antioch has grown beyond its infant state and had become
self-sufficient to the extent that it is able to help the mother
church. This seems to be the start of the shift of power from the
church in Jerusalem to the church in Antioch.

   IV. BARNABAS AND PAUL'S JOURNEY TO CYRPUS

   It appears that the church in Antioch feels a burden for the Gospel
to be spread to other regions. They commission Barnabas, Paul and
John-Mark to go out into the world and spread the Gospel. This must
have been a very hard decision for the church to make because the
scriptures indicates that the fasted and prayed over this matter above
and beyond their normal amount of fasting and praying. The church
yields to the Holy Spirit and sends them out on what is called Paul's
first missionary journey.

   They first sail to Cyprus, the home of Barnabas. The decision may
have been based on a selfish desire of Barnabas to "go home" and bring
with him the word of God. Other factors that may have contributed to
this choice as the first stop might have been that it was only seventy
mile from the port of Seleuceia, from where they had set sail. They
also may have heard talk of the first missionaries there, who may have
fled from the earlier persecutions. Regardless of the possible selfish
reasons for going to Cyprus first, the three missionaries, being of
Hellenistic backgrounds, are well suited to the task of bringing the
Gospel to the people in this area.

   It is here that it appears that Paul takes over the leadership of
the journey. With the exception of the events surrounding their work in
Lystra, Paul's name is mentioned first in all references to the
missionary team. This may have one of the factors that later cause Paul
and Barnabas to go separate ways on Paul's second missionary journey.

   Cyprus is not a small unimportant island. It is three hundred ninety
miles long and one hundred sixty miles wide. It supports up to 15
separate towns. The fertile plan between the Mountains of Olympus and
Aos is able to supply most of the agricultural needs of the large
population. The mines within the mountains supply copper and also
sulfate of copper, which is used for medical purposes. The city of
Salamis is the birthplace of Aristos, a famous historian. Citium is the
birthplace of Zeno, the founder of the Stoic philosophy. The island
also harbors many different gods and goddesses, which came from both
the peoples' Greek background as well as the new Roman influences.
There is a large Jewish population on the island. It is so large in
fact, that the island supports several synagogues.

   The three disciples travel from one end of the island with no
recorded hardships or successes. It was not until they reach Paphos on
the other side of the island that we have any recorded encounter. As
they enter Paphos they were summoned into the home of Sergius Paulus,
who is the Roman procouncul. It is customary in those days for somebody
in power to have a sorcerer or astrologer in their confidence. Such is
the case here with Barjesus. When Sergius Paulus hears of the Barnabas
and Paul he calls for them to come see him. As the disciples share with
Sergius, Barjesus sees a gleam in the eyes of his boss, and fears for
his position. He continues to interrupt the message of Paul and
Barnabas so much that Paul loses his temper and curses Barjesus to be
blinded for a time. As the result of these things that were said and
done, Sergius Paulus believes the Gospel message.

   V. BARNABAS AND PAUL'S JOURNEY TO GALATIA

   After Barnabas and Paul have visited all of Cyprus, they again board
a ship and travel up to Perga. Now it is here that Barnabas and Paul
have their first problem. John-Mark, who had been accompanying them,
for some reason decides to leave them and return to Jerusalem. There
does not appear to be any bitterness between the Barnabas, Paul and
John-Mark, but it should be noted that he is referred here with his
Hebrew name only. It is thought that John-Mark left the journey because
he might have been home sick. Regardless, he is not seen again in The
scriptures until after Barnabas and Paul split up at the beginning of
Paul's second missionary trip.

   Now Barnabas and Paul travel up the over rugged mountainous road to
Antioch of Pisdian, where they go into the synagogue to worship on the
Sabbath day. As is the custom, after the scriptures were read in the
synagogue, qualified visitors are asked if they had anything to add to
the teaching. Barnabas and Paul are recognized and asked if they had
anything they would like to say. Paul takes this opportunity to share a
historical presentation of the Gospel. The people who were there are so
impressed with the message that Paul deliveres that Barnabas and Paul
are invited back to preach the following Sabbath. Throughout the week
the people all follow and seek more information from them. The
following Sabbath the synagogue is filled with an an overflow crowd
that included many Gentiles. These things cause the Jewish leaders to
become very upset. They took every occasion to disrupt the sermon. This
causes Barnabas and Paul to leave the Jews behind and for them to
preach to the Gentiles, who were receptive to the message. The Jews
become so upset that they made life so intolerable that Barnabas and
Paul leave with a gesture of disapproval.

   They then go up the road to Iconium where they follow the same
pattern of going to the synagogue to share their message first with the
Jews. There too they were well received. But because many of those that
believe are Gentiles, the Jewish people again become upset. They are
able to stay at Iconium for a little while, but as soon as they learn
of a plot against their lives they again leave.

   They then flee to the cities of Lystra and Derbe. There they again
preach the Gospel to all who will hear them. There are very few Jews in
this area; therefore they did not have the luxury of having a synagogue
for their starting-off points in this area. They are able to preach to
the Gentiles freely in their everyday places.

   While in Lystra, Barnabas and Paul perform a miracle by healing a
crippled man. This causes the people to forget about the power of the
one true God and they perceive that Barnabas and Paul are Greeks gods
come down from their palaces. They think that Barnabas is Jupiter or
Zeus, which means the king of gods and men. They call Paul Mercurius or
Hermes, which is to mean the interpreter and prophet of the gods.
Barnabas and Paul do not know what was going on, possible because of
language differences. But once they realize that the people want to
worship them as gods, Barnabas and Paul rent their clothes and plead
with the people to not worship them, but rather God the father.

   The troublemaking Jews finally follow Barnabas and Paul up to Lystra
and stir up enough trouble that the people stone Paul outside the city
walls. They believe that they had killed him when he gets up and
returns to the city to rest. Barnabas and Paul later leave Lystra for
Derbe. In Derbe they are able to preach and teach many people about
Christ.

   They then retrace their steps back through the cities in Galatia
where they had planted churches. As they go they encourage the
believers and tell to them that they would be persecuted much by the
people, but through this they will be worthy citizens of heaven. They
also establish leadership within each church. After they return to
Antioch of Syria, they give a full accounting of their mission to the
members there. They remain there for a long time. It had been a year
and a half since they left on their missionary trip.

   VI. THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL

   Barnabas and Paul had gone into a land that was primarily not
Jewish. They had presented the Gospel to whomever would hear them. In
many cases this meant that Gentiles not only heard the Gospel, but also
accepted it. This caused the good Jewish-Christians problems, because
they felt that one must first accept the Jewish laws and rites before
one could accept Jesus as their Messiah.

   The most common thing that stands out in the minds of some of the
church leaders is that the male converts from the Gentiles have to
become circumcised. This problem causes so much commotion that they go
to Jerusalem to explain their case. Once there they present a very
convincing case. The two opposing groups come up with a compromise in
that the instructions that are sent back to Antioch do not include any
instruction about circumcism, but rather contain instructions
concerning staying away from idols, fornication, and drinking the blood
of dead animals. The church in Jerusalem, in a gesture of good will,
not only return Barnabas and Paul, but also send Silas and Judas
Barsabas, who are well respected within the church. After the news of
the compromise is delivered to the church in Antioch, Barnabas and Paul
remain in Antioch both continuing to preach and teach.

   VII. THE SPLIT OF BARNABAS AND PAUL The rift between Barnabas and
Paul comes at a time when plans are being made to go back out on a
second missionary journey. There are several factors that contribute to
this split. One is that Barnabas wants to again bring along John-Mark
and Paul doesn't. The loyalty of Barnabas possibly stems from his
family relationship with him. He is possibly feeling generous in
allowing him to have a second chance. Paul, on the other hand feels
that John-Mark deserted them on the first trip and holds that against
him. Barnabas is very intent on bringing John-Mark with him.

   Another contributing factor possibly is that Barnabas seems to be
wavering in his opinion of how the new converts should be received by
the church. It seems that Barnabas was not associating himself with the
Gentile-Christians whenever Jewish-Christians are around. Paul, on the
other hand will not make any distinction between one type of Christian
from another. Paul may see this as a weakening of Barnabas in his
commitment to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles.

   It seems that the two old friends part in good nature, whereas they
divide the mission field between them, Paul taking Galatia and eastward
and Barnabas taking Cyprus, Antioch and the areas close by. This is the
last recording of the two early church planters seeing each other. It
is a little surprising that Paul makes so few remarks about a man that
had helped him establish his connections before the Apostles following
his conversion.

   VIII. BARNABAS: THE FINAL CHAPTER

   No more is included of Barnabas in the Bible. It is believed that he
and John-Mark again go to Cyprus. It is also thought that he is
martyred outside Salamis by being burned at the stake and having his
ashes spread out over the sea. One additional writing exist that was
possibly done by John-Mark entitled "The Acts of Barnabas". It seems to
have been based on the original book of Acts account of Barnabas and
Paul's journey.

   Bibliography

   Cairns, Earle E., Christianity Through the Centuries, A History of
the Early Christian Church, Zondervan Publishing House, 1954

   Halley, Henery H., Halley's Bible Handbook, Zondervan Publishing
House, 1965

   Kent, Homer A., Jerusalem to Rome, Studies in Acts, Baker Book
House, 1972

   National Geographic Society, Everyday life in Bible Times, 1967

   Radice, Betty ed.,Early Christian Writings, The Apostolic Fathers,
Penguin Classics, 1968

   Smith, David, The Life and Letters of St Paul, Harper Brothers, New
York and London, no copyright date)

   Steen, John Warren, Barnabas and Paul: Brother in Conflict, Broadman
Press, 1973

   The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, 1962, "Barnabas"
Willmington, Dr H. L., Willmington's Guide to the Bible
