Feast of St. Barnabas

Text: “36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet” (Acts 4:36–37).

Based solely on the level of knowledge that most Christians have about Barnabas, one would be excused for thinking that he is a very minor figure who makes one— or, at most, two— appearances, who does not do anything particularly impactful, and then disappears. That is not at all the case. It is worth noting at the outset that Barnabas played a significant role in the early church, to say the least.

You do not need to accept Tertullian’s claim that Barnabas is the author of the Book of Hebrews (De pudicitia 20.1-5) to recognize his importance; you do not need to believe Clement of Alexandria’s claim that Barnabas was one of the seventy-two disciples Jesus sent out in Luke 10(Stromata, ii, 20) to recognize it; you do not need to agree with the tradition that Barnabas founded the apostolic see of Milan to recognize it. Nor should you be smeared as a Barnabite monk— believe it or not there is such a thing— for recognizing how significant he was.

There really can be no question about his importance. He starts off quite humbly. In Acts 4, Luke tells us about a particular Levite from Cyprus by the name of Joseph who sold a field that belonged to him, brought the money, and laid it at the disciples’ feet. In the process, Luke tells us that the apostles chose to call him Barnabas— son of encouragement, (or ‘son of exhortation’, or ‘son of comfort’, depending upon how you choose to translate υἱὸς παρακλήσεως). A humble introduction, but anyone who gets a nickname from the apostles is probably worth paying attention to.

We can go a step further. Not only was he known and liked by the apostles, he must have had quite a reputation among them. Consider the following: During the persecution that arose over Stephen (Acts 11:19-22) some of the believers who fled from Jerusalem settled in Antioch. A few of them actually shared their faith with the Greeks there and “a great number” of Greeks believed the Gospel. When the church in Jerusalem heard about it, Barnabas was the man whom the apostles sent to serve this new church in Antioch. Under Barnabas’ leadership there, many more came to believe the Gospel “24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (Acts 11:24). Not a bad way to be remembered by history. This is a significant individual in the early church.

There are other details about his life that we won’t go into, except for the fact that, if Barnabas is known to someone today, he is probably known because of his connection to St. Paul. On one level, how could Barnabas’ name not be remembered when he accompanied perhaps the greatest missionary that the church has had on what is, reportedly, the first missionary journey ever? But, again, there’s more.

At least from a human perspective, without St. Barnabas, there may not have been a St. Paul— at least not like the one we know. It was Barnabas who brought Saul to the apostles and told them about Saul’s conversion and his bold preaching in Damascus in the years since (Acts 9:27). Barnabas was responsible for that. Think about the level of respect that Barnabas must have earned to be able to secure an audience for himself and Saul with the apostles in Jerusalem.

There’s no mystery why Barnabas was sent out with Paul for the first missionary journey. In fact, if you want to be technical, “Barnabas and Paul” were sent out from Antioch, not “Paul and Barnabas” (Acts 13:1-3). “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul,” the Holy Spirit told them. Whoever got “top billing,” they set out together and, together, they found some success at Antioch Pisidia, together they fled Iconium, together they were mistaken for Greek gods in Lystra…. The stories that they must have from that trip must be truly epic.

They testified together before the Jerusalem council about the “signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles” (Acts 15:12) and together they were sent out with the council’s letter outlining the decision that was made (Acts 15:22). Barnabas was there and he had a role in some of the seminal events in the life of the church.

And his story does not end after he split with Paul over the question of whether or not to take Mark with them on their second missionary journey, Barnabas did not simply find a nice, quiet place to retire there in Antioch. He took Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus (Acts 15:39).

Personally, I think the history is pretty interesting. Hopefully you do, too. Plus, like any of the saints, they are precious because they point to Christ. Barnabas— the ‘son of encouragement,’ or ‘son of exhortation’, or ‘son of comfort’, whichever you prefer— pointed to Christ.

When the “son of encouragement” sold that field, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet, it was because he had taken our Lord’s words to heart: “Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation” (Luke 6:24). He understood that His Redeemer had purchased for Him a place in His Kingdom at the price of His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death. This “good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith,” knew that he had received a greater righteousness than he could ever earn through any gift: the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which was a gift that he received by faith.

The ‘encouragement’ that filled his teaching during his years in Antioch and through his missionary journeys was far more and far greater than self-help mantras or motivational cliches. He taught young and old, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile about “3 …the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

As he served that congregation of people, many of whom had fled persecution, but who lived with the daily threat of persecution, he encouraged them with Paul’s sentiments, even if not his actual words: “5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer” (2 Corinthians 1:5-7).

If you’ll allow me to borrow from the readings for this past Sunday for just a minute we can consider the sort of “encouragement” that Barnabas offered those he served. Those of you who use the 3-year lectionary had the opportunity to preach on Genesis 3, on 2 Corinthians 4, and the wonderful assurance in Mark 3 that those who believe are Jesus’ mother and brothers. You may or may not have chosen to focus on Genesis 3, but consider what Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller said a few years ago now in a discussion of the book of Job: “…[The Lord] uses His Christians to mock the devil. And we have this in Romans chapter 16[:20], where Paul says that, even now, the Lord is putting the devil under *our* feet! …The devil is under His feet already, Genesis 3:15 is fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus, He’s crushed the devil under His foot, but now Jesus is ruling and reigning and putting the devil even under *our* feet and using *our* feet to crush his head” (Issues, Etc., episode 1553, “Introducing the Books of the Bible: Job” with Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller, June 4, 2018, approx. 20:00 – 22:00).

Whether you are a 1st century believer or a 21st century believer, the devil, this world, and your sinful flesh seem to enjoy throwing all kinds of suffering at you in a staggering array of different forms. And they enjoy tormenting you with the slow decay of aging. But your Lord, who has crushed the devil under His foot, is ruling and reigning even now. And He is putting the devil under your feet and using your feet to crush satan’s head. He assures you that, “16 …[although your] outer self is wasting away, [your] inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). He promises that “17 this light momentary affliction is preparing for [you] an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Whether you are living in Antioch or in the Thumb of Michigan, the greatest weapon that the devil wields is Death. He has all sorts of tools, all sorts of temptations at His disposal, so many different ways that he tries to deceive and mislead you into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. But the greatest weapon that he wields is the curse of death that he put Adam and Eve and all of their children under. But your Savior has defeated death by rising from the dead. By faith, you are able to stand at the grave of a loved one and speak of victory. You lay down to bed each night in the confidence that you sleep more soundly in your bed than you will in your grave— because, unlike your alarm clock this morning that you probably ’snoozed’ at least once, there will be no ‘snoozing’ the trumpet sound as the dead are raised imperishable and you shall be changed (1 Corinthians 15:52).

On that day, the devil will be crushed fully and finally. All his might will have come unravelled as He sees the mass of humanity that he worked so hard to divide and to set against one another standing before God once again— one, Holy, catholic church, imperishable, undefiled, unfading (1 Peter 1:4) through the living and abiding word of God (1 Peter 1:23).

And Satan’s humiliation will be complete as you reach out your hand and take from the fruit of the tree of life and eat, because “3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it.” You will not need to hide yourself. “4 [You] will see his face, and his name will be on [your] foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. [You] will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be [your] light, and [you] will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:3–5).

To borrow the words of whomever wrote the book of Hebrews, “22 I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly” (Hebrews 13:22). This has been a very quick survey of the life of St. Barnabas. What is true of the rest of scripture is certainly true about him, as well: “4 whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:4–6). “11 Command and teach these things. 12 [Young or old,] set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 …[D]evote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching” (1 Timothy 4:11–14). And “5 [Do not forget] the exhortation that addresses you as sons[.] “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives”” (Hebrews 12:5–6).

“16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word” (2 Thessalonians 2:16–17).