Acts 4:32-37 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.
And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Joses didn’t think he’d done anything very wonderful. Moved by the Holy Spirit, Joses sold some land he had inherited and donated the money to the apostles. Joses was one of those men with a perpetual smile. No matter how bad the weather, no matter how frightening the threats from Jewish religious leaders, no matter how many personal conflicts others were having, Joses continued to smile and deal quietly and effectively with problems. Donating the proceeds from the land sale just seemed to be the right thing to do. Too bad that some others in the church, a couple named Ananias and Sapphira, sold land and then held back some of the proceeds while lying that they were donating the full price just as Joses had done. Those lies resulted in Ananias and Sapphira being struck dead by the Lord.
Say the name “Joses” to most Christians and they won’t recognize it. But say “Barnabas” and lots of people will recognize the name instantly. “Barnabas” means “son of encouragement” and is an affectionate nickname Joses earned by his sunny disposition and his willingness to cheer others on, seeing the best in them. From this point on, Joses would forever be known as Barnabas.
Acts 9:26-30 And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.
“Saul of Tarsus has become a Christian??? Are you kidding me?” Once Saul escaped from Damascus, he immediately made his way to Jerusalem, where he expected the Christians to welcome him with open arms. But these were the same people Saul had recently been persecuting, and they had no intention of trusting this guy. For all the Christians knew, Saul might be play-acting to entice Christians to expose themselves so that Jewish religious leaders could capture them. Only when Barnabas met with Saul and then met with church leaders did the church leaders relax. But the church leaders rapidly realized they had a tiger by the tail, for Saul immediately took on the Hellenists, the very people whose accusations had led to Stephen’s death. Church leadership had to hustle Saul off to the port of Caesarea, where he caught a ship for Tarsus.
Acts 11:19-26 Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
One of the hallmarks of Barnabas’ ministry was his humility. Recognizing that Saul was a brilliant scholar and speaker, Barnabas had no problems recruiting Saul and bringing him to Antioch to teach.
Acts 13:1-5 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John Mark as their assistant.
As a Cypriot, for Barnabas, returning to Cyprus was returning home. And Saul and Barnabas were taking John Mark, a young cousin of Barnabas, with them as an assistant. This first missionary journey would set the tone for the rest of Barnabas’ life, for he would continue traveling, preaching, and encouraging for the rest of his life. When Judaizers tried to force Gentile converts to Christianity to follow Jewish laws, Saul, now Paul, and Barnabas were the ones sent to Jerusalem to settle the matter with church leaders. (Acts 15)
Eventually, Barnabas separated from Paul, not because he disliked him but because Paul refused to take John Mark along on his second missionary journey. John Mark had left Paul and Barnabas at Pamphylia, refusing to accompany them at that point. Paul rejected John Mark as an unreliable quitter, while Barnabas felt John Mark was simply young and inexperienced and had the potential to do far better. Once more, Barnabas was living up to that nickname. Although this dispute created some friction, ultimately, Barnabas and John Mark returned to Cyprus while Paul recruited Silas to accompany him, thus doubling the number of missionary outreach teams.
According to tradition and the apocryphal Acts of Barnabas, Saint Barnabas was martyred around AD 61 in Salamis, Cyprus. He was reportedly stoned to death by Jews who were angered by his successful preaching. Another account suggests he was bound with a rope, dragged, and then burned to death. There’s one thing we can be sure of: Barnabas died trying to point as many people to Jesus as possible, remaining a “son of encouragement” to the very end.
What can we learn from Barnabas? Barnabas was faithful, generous, honest, and humble. Although Barnabas interacted well with people, there’s nothing to indicate that he was unusually wealthy or highly educated. Barnabas demonstrated his humility while recruiting Saul from Tarsus, thus launching Saul’s missionary travels. Barnabas salvaged John Mark’s career as a missionary when Saul would have marked him as a failure. Barnabas continued to see the best in people and to encourage them to live up to the divine standard wherever he went.
Any one of us can be a son or daughter of encouragement. If we eat in a restaurant or buy something in a store and we receive excellent service, my husband will find the supervisor and praise the worker in front of their supervisor. My husband thanks janitors, cleaners, and other service personnel who remain invisible to many passers-by. Kind words and sincere smiles cost nothing but may save lives. There’s a frequently repeated story of a high school kid who was walking home when he noticed one of his classmates carrying a huge load of books. The boy helped carry the books and then invited the other boy back to his home, where they played video games together and then enjoyed supper together. After that day, the boys became friends, sharing meals, playing, and attending school games together. At graduation, the boy who had carried the huge load of books gave a speech as the top student in his class. That was the day that everyone learned that when he was heading home with all his books, he had cleaned out his locker and was going home to kill himself because he felt nobody cared about him. When the second boy helped him and then shared games and a meal with him, the depressed boy changed his mind, rejecting the idea of suicide. You never know when you might become someone else’s lifeline.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to become enthusiastic encouragers, knowing that You are the Source of all comfort, all hope, and all joy. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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