Barnabus
Acts 11:19-30
19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 22 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the
Lord. 25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year, Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. 27 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
Who is Barnabus?
He was mistaken for the Greek god Zeus whilst in Lystra, due to his miraculous healing in Jesus’ name. He was also named the ‘son of encouragement due to his belief in others
Barnabas is a character that appears in the early Christian church, named a disciple of Jesus in the book of Acts. He became a prominent teacher of the Gospel and taught alongside Paul (at this time still known as Saul) on a Christian mission to Antioch. He spent a year setting up and overseeing the early Christian church in Antioch and then ventured onto Lystra, a Greek city. While in Lystra, Saul, now named Paul, and Barnabas healed a man who had been crippled since birth. Because of this, the two men were viewed as the Greek gods, Hermes (Paul) and Zeus (Barnabas). They even went so far as to build temples to them to bring sacrifices to them, at which the two disciples tore their clothes and proclaimed they were only mere humans. Barnabas was a companion as well as a mentor as he oversaw the growing discipleship of John Mark after Paul was wary of taking him on another mission (as he had fled the first).
What can we learn from Elijah?
Barnabas is often called the son of encouragement. He was resilient and a strong disciple of Christ. He spent a lot of time preaching the word of God on various mission trips. Most notably however, is that he stayed and nurtured the early church in Antioch, as one example. As Christians, one lesson we can learn from Barnabas is to be the ‘son of encouragement’ to our fellow peers. Encouraging others is a gift that is often forgotten, yet is such
a blessing to those around us. When we nurture and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ, they in turn can help us keep our hearts directed to God’s love and stop us from hardening with sin. Similarly, when we look after new Christians, Barnabas’s year in Antioch reminds us that bringing someone to Christ is the easy part, it is keeping them grounded in this new faith that is necessary. Let’s encourage our brothers and sisters in and out of Christ-like Barnabas did.