St Barnabas - An Unsung Hero of the Faith?
A Biblical Reflection

Also see: 'The Short Biography of St Barnabas'

By The Reverend Ian Davies

It’s a privilege to be serving in this church, and an honour, too, that it’s named after Barnabas – who is a real “Unsung Hero of the Faith”. It’s good to remind ourselves of his (and others’) legacy, because it’s a challenge for us to live out this gospel as they did in those early years: Here’s a description of how things were from Acts 4:

 All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.

For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles

So Barnabas’s real name? Joseph. He received the nickname of ‘Barnabas’? (meaning Son of Encouragement) from the apostles. As with all Hebrew names, whenever you see a Jewish name beginning with “Bar”... that means “son of.” For instance, Peter’s name was originally “Simon, Bar-Jonah.” That is... Simon, Son of Jonah. As we see from the information we’re given “Son of Encouragement.” was a very fitting description of Joseph the Levite.

And that’s the other thing else we need to notice. He was a Levite who had become a believer in Jesus the Messiah. In other words, he had been part of the Jewish religious system... and to break away from that must have been a huge step! And his home? He was from the island of Cyprus originally – and ends up going back to his homeland on a missionary journey with Paul. What is remarkable is his generosity: he gave freely (financially) to the Church – but also had a huge generosity of spirit. You’ll probably recall that after his conversion to Christianity, the Jews didn’t like Paul, he was a traitor, so they planned to kill him. And when he discovered this, the Christians helped him escape safely from Damascus and he ended up going to Jerusalem... where many of the leaders of the Christian Church were located. But when Paul tried to meet with them, there was quite a strong adverse reaction to his presence. We’re told: “They were all afraid of him, and didn’t believe that he really was a disciple.” I guess you can’t really blame them after the persecution he’d meted out – and, not surprisingly,  nobody would have anything to do with Paul - nobody that is.. except one man.... Barnabas. Here’s what we’re told in verse 27:

Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus.

I think there are probably people all around us who need someone to believe in them. Like Paul they may have made some pretty bad mistakes; they may have developed a bad reputation. I wonder, are we willing to be an encouragement to them? Or do we refuse to believe that they’ve changed? If we’ve learned anything about the teaching of Jesus on the Kingdom of God (or heaven) it’s how much God is on the side of those whose faces don’t fit – our there on the margins – like Matthew the tax collector, or the woman who’d been haemorrhaging for 12 years. And there’ll be people in any community who may be afraid to come and worship with us... for fear of being rejected; people needing friends like Barnabas who are willing to reach out to them and introduce them to the rest of the believers. Risky – yes - and yet, Barnabas was willing to do it because that’s what Jesus had done for him. Barnabas was simply following his Saviour’s example. I wonder how much we do this??

We get a good insight into the character of Barnabas in Acts chapter 11. The Good News of Jesus had reached a town called Antioch and a new Christian Church had started there. They needed someone to teach them. Who was sent to them? Barnabas! And what did he do when he got there? – he exhorted, encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion – for he was a good man, “full of the Holy Spirit and of faith”. And there were amazing results:  “A great many people were brought to the Lord.” Imagine how much the Christian Church would grow today if more of us would be willing to encourage the faith of others the way Barnabas did!

And what did Barnabas do next?? Sit back and bask in the glow of his success? No. He knew it was the power of the Holy Spirit working through him that had caused this to happen. So rather than pat himself on the back, Barnabas knew there were more people to reach, so he went and got help – no one-man show here – it needed a team effort. He could have gone out on his own but instead went to Tarsus to find Saul... better known as Paul. And Paul would become his missionary companion. I suspect that Barnabas was the one who recognized the great talent that was in Paul. As you read through the account in Acts chapters 12 & 13 you’ll notice that the team is always listed as Barnabas and Saul or Paul. That is, until chapter 13 verse 42. All of a sudden the team becomes known as Paul and Barnabas. Paul was beginning to show how powerfully he could preach the Gospel. But it probably tells us something very important about Barnabas too. He didn’t mind not being in the limelight; never complained about playing second fiddle to Paul... even though he was the one who gave him the break and befriended Paul when no one else would touch him with a barge-pole. Reputations seemingly weren’t important – people coming to Jesus was the most important thing.

The same was true (if you remember) with young John Mark who’d bailed out on them on a previous missionary journey. Nobody knows for sure why this happened, but Paul figured they had lots of work to do and they needed helpers who would stay totally committed.

Barnabas wanted to give John Mark another chance. Paul didn’t. He thought the mission was too important to risk another problem. But once again, we see Barnabas being willing to reach out; willing to believe John Mark had changed. In fact Barnabas was so passionate about this that it caused a major rift between Paul and him and they decided to split up and go their separate ways. Paul took a man named Silas with him to Syria. And Barnabas took John Mark and went to Cyprus again.

And we shouldn’t think for a minute that this was a trivial thing that Barnabas had done. Anyway, the encouragement that he gave to that young man paid off. John Mark evidently proved that he was a reliable because years later John Mark became one of Paul’s closest helpers and friends. In Colossians 4:10, Paul says that Mark was helping him while he was in prison. And he commends him in his second letter to Timothy (4:11), “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.” You’ve got to wonder if this change in the relationship between Paul & Mark would have ever taken place if Barnabas hadn’t stuck his neck out and encouraged Mark the way he did. And thank the Lord he did – because John Mark is none other than the man who wrote the Gospel. What a privilege to belong to this Parish Church and have such a legacy. And just imagine what could be accomplished for the Lord if we believe in people and befriend them – recognizing their gifts and ministries.

Remember Barnabas’s real name – Joseph? The name actually means “Exalted One.” Perhaps that was an apt description of Barnabas before the Holy Spirit got a hold of him. Once he’d learned what Jesus had done for him he changed…

 May the Lord continue to work his change in all of us – in this place, at this time, with these people - for God’s glory and the recovery of his reputation.