The Jerusalem council has written a letter to the Gentile believers and have selected Judas Barsabbas and Silas to go to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas to deliver the letter. In yesterday's study we took a look at what the letter said. Now Luke tells us how much the letter encourages the Gentiles.
"So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message." (Acts 15:30-31) We can only imagine how discouraged the Gentiles had previously been after some of the men from Judea erroneously informed them that they had to be circumcised and follow the law of Moses to be saved. The Gentiles didn't even know the law of Moses. They weren't brought up hearing the law read on every Sabbath in the synagogues. They couldn't begin to fully comprehend what keeping the law entailed, but the fact that the ten commandments had grown into a body of six hundred and thirteen laws would have been enough to make them feel like quitting before they even started. They are thrilled to receive the loving letter from their Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ. The letter only advises them to refrain from living in sexual immorality and to refrain from eating meat offered to idols or with the blood still in it. These practices of their former way of life were creating a barrier between the Gentiles and the Jews, but now they are to live in a way that fosters unity in the church between the two groups. After all, in Christ these two groups are now one.
"Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers." (Acts 15:32) I have never noticed before that Silas, the man soon to be Paul's close friend and companion on his missionary journeys, was a prophet. Luke doesn't tell us what word from the Lord these men give the Gentiles, but whatever the Lord has to say to the church gives the believers a great deal of comfort and strength.
"After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. But Paul and Barnabas remained at Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord." (Acts 15:33-35) The believers at Antioch see Judas (also known as Barsabbas) and Silas off on their journey back to Jerusalem with much prayer and blessing and good wishes.
Earlier in our study of the book of Acts we discussed John Mark. He did not finish the first missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas. We talked about some possible reasons why this young man returned home to Jerusalem in the middle of the trip. Today Paul and Barnabas will have a sharp disagreement concerning Mark. "Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, 'Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.'" (Acts 15:36) It was important to give continuing support and encouragement to these new churches that began during the first missionary journey. Paul is concerned about their well-being and eager to hear about all that the Lord has been doing in those territories.
"Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work." (Acts 15:37-38) Luke doesn't record the conversation between these two men, but we can picture Paul saying something like, "Mark already quit on us once. I'm not willing to risk having him quit on us again. Having him leave the missionary trip was upsetting and discouraging for the others in our company. It looked bad to the new believers to have that young man suddenly get up and go home. I don't believe it's a good idea to take him along." We can imagine Barnabas saying, "Give the boy another chance! He wasn't ready the first time. He'd never been outside of Jerusalem before. He'd never seen the spiritual warfare we must engage in when entering regions where the word of God has never been preached. It was all a bit of a cultural shock to him and it was quite frightening. But he's sorry for leaving us. He's matured a great deal. I think we ought to take him along and show him forgiveness."
Barnabas is Mark's cousin. Naturally he wants to give him a second chance. Naturally he is able to make allowances for Mark's youth and inexperience. He feels a familial duty to him and that causes him to strongly oppose Paul when Paul refuses to take him on another journey.
As for Paul, he was probably hurt and embarrassed when Mark left them in Pamphylia. Nothing tends to make us angrier than when someone hurts and embarrasses us, so Paul strongly opposes Barnabas' suggestion that they take Mark on another trip with them.
Both these men feel they are right. Because neither is willing to concede to the other, they are unable to go on a second missionary trip together. "They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company." (Acts 15:39a) This is a sad statement. They have been very concerned about unity in the church and now they have failed to maintain unity with each other. It is often in the area where we feel the strongest in our faith that Satan attacks us, and I think this is what happened to Paul and Barnabas. They were so busy worrying about unity in the church that they weren't prepared to stand up to an attack against their own friendship. This is the last thing they expected to happen and they don't react to it in the best way by praying to the Lord together to find out His will in the matter. Instead, exhausted from their journey to Jerusalem and back and worn down from their worry over division in the church, they lose their tempers and snap at each other.
"Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches." (Acts 15:39b-41) We don't know what the Lord's will was in this situation. Did God agree with Paul not to take Mark along? Did God agree with Barnabas that Mark should be taken along? Or would God have offered a third option, something that would have kept the peace between Paul and Barnabas? We don't know, but we do know that it is worldly and unseemly when brothers and sisters in Christ disagree so sharply that they can no longer be in each other's company.
The division that occurs between Paul and Barnabas underscores the importance of always being on guard against the snares of the devil. While these men were preaching unity to the believers, they were falling out of unity with each other. How many times have we all failed to practice what we preach? How many times have we talked the talk but have stumbled when walking the walk? After this sad disagreement between Paul and Barnabas, it's not surprising to find Paul cautioning the believers in his first letter to the Corinthians, "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:12) The KJV rendering of this verse has an even more ominous undertone, "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."
Satan finds it particularly pleasurable to cause us to fall into the very sin we've spoken out against. I think he deliberately tempts us with the very thing we think we would never do. This is why it's vital to be on guard at all times. We must pray for strength even in the areas where we feel the strongest. We must never fool ourselves into believing we are standing so firmly that we are incapable of falling.
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