Only Thou Art Worthy

Going Back

Teaching a Baby to walk; needs support

Paul and Barnabas recognize need to “strengthen” (i.e. support) the churches they’ve been to

Christianity is not a ‘one and done’ faith. It requires constant training and support to flourish

It means going back where we’ve been before to strengthen the foundation, and support what’s already been put in place

The Disagreement

But what happens when we find that we’re not strong? What happens when we fail?

Paul and Barnabas’s disagreement is a real puzzle for some readers.

Even the apostles were not perfect men. They had problems too

Luke does not pull punches in describing this παροξυσμὸς (from “sour wine”, severe illness, modern paroxysm meaning sudden illness)

Are both right?

Paul urges wisdom and prudence

Barnabas urges grace and forgiveness

Paul is a purist, whereas Barnabas is conciliatory

Disagreement is even worse when both sides make good points

Nevertheless, Acts seems to draw our attention especially to Paul’s lack of grace

This is ironic, since Paul was in similar shoes as John earlier, and it was Barnabas who offered Paul a chance

Consequences

What were the consequences of the hard-headedness of these two apostles? Does the church fall apart when even two apostles have a shouting match and lose their cool?

Some scholars, based on this passage, suggest a split in the early church.

Did Paul begin to teach his own gospel? Was Paul suddenly at odds with the rest of the Church? Did this disagreement lead to two different Christianities?

Despite all of the conjecture, we see that Paul and Barnabas did eventually reconcile (1 Cor 9.6 depicts working together;

Paul even reconciles with John Mark (Col 4.10), who many believe may have been the ‘Mark’ who wrote the gospel.

In fact, Luke even depicts this split as something that lead to a positive outcome: now there were two missionary groups instead of just one!

Despite their stubbornness and the horrible argument that broke out, it seems that even this lead to good for the Church.

Everything happens for a reason

The argument was not God’s will. It was, in fact, contrary to God’s will

It is not the case that God causes evil, but that he is able to work good even when we’re evil

God goes back to strengthen his people. He’s not a ‘one and done’ God

Ultimately, God will have his way and the gospel won’t be stopped, even by human stubbornness. But things would be a lot better and the path less winding if we cooperated with God’s will.

Yet, we worship a God willing to work with people like Paul and Barnabas. Willing to work alongside a broken, sinful Church.