October 4-8 2010

And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Acts 15:36

I hope you are a good map-reader. You may want to keep your atlas handy! For those who aren’t familiar with downloading a picture from the Internet, simply RIGHT click on the map or picture you want to download. In this case, it would be the map above. A dropdown menu will appear. Highlight “Save image as..” then LEFT click, and it will then allow you to determine where you want to save the image. The image will be stored on your computer as a jpg (or picture) file. Once it is downloaded onto your computer, you can either open it by itself as a picture, or copy it into a word document and then print it out. You would do well to have a copy of it to follow as we continue our journey with Paul.

As I mentioned before, Paul was from Tarsus in Cilicia. This is interesting as we read Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Paul tells of his personal journey after he came to know Jesus Christ. For most of the fourteen years after his encounter with the Messiah, Paul was in Syria and Cilicia. A quick look at your trail map and you will see why that is so significant. There are two cities in these provinces that played a major part in Paul’s life. The first one is obviously his hometown in Cilicia. The second is a city called Antioch. As you can quickly see, these two cities were in reasonably close proximity to one another.

Antioch not only played an important part in Paul’s life, it was a key city in the furtherance of the gospel. Antioch lay in the province of Syria and was a city of major importance. It was the capital of the Seleucid Empire that ruled the region before being seized by Pompey the Great in 64 B.C. and brought under Roman rule. It played a major role in Mark Antony’s life. Caesar Augustus stationed a legion there to keep the peace and to act as a reserve troop if any problems should arise. Emperor Tiberius enhanced the city with theaters and temples. Because of its strategic location on the Eastern trade route, Antioch grew economically, as well as in strategic importance. The Roman legions considered it the easiest and most pleasant tour of duty in the Empire.

Because of its richness and prominence, Antioch became a desirable place for migration and education. Diversity of cultures encouraged intellectual achievement, but it was also coupled with strife. Antioch, like all of Syria, became a mixture of many religions and philosophies. Clashes between the Jews and the Greeks began to surface in both Egypt and Antioch around 40 B.C. This was also the same time that the Gospel was beginning to spread like a brushfire.

It was because of the death of Stephen and the persecution of the church in Jerusalem that the believers began to scatter throughout the Roman Empire. Some of them fled to Antioch, but had only shared the Good New of Jesus Christ with the Jews. It was some men from Cyprus and Cyrene, that brought the message to the Gentiles in Antioch. We are not even told their names, but they obviously made an impact on the Greek-speaking Gentiles and large numbers of them turned to the Lord. The news of this influential work traveled quickly and it wasn’t long before the leaders in Jerusalem sent a man named Barnabas to check it out. You may recall that it was Barnabas that eased the disciples’ fear of Paul when he was first converted. When Barnabas saw the magnitude of what was taking place, there was only one name that came to mind that was right for helping in this work. Paul would certainly have understood the culture and climate of this thriving metropolis; he’d lived in it for years!!!

The church of Antioch became a unique body that is rare, even in the church world today. You would find it IMPOSSIBLE to name the one man who was “pastor” of the church. We are given the names of five men who were prophets and teachers in this body of believers.

Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas and Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. (Acts 13:1)

The men who served the congregation in Antioch must have had a unique understanding of team ministry! They understood the concept of sending ministry out from among them, and also what to do with them when they returned. Although Paul and Barnabas were gone for lengthy periods of time, they were still received as leaders in the church when they returned. Those who remained in Antioch were as eager to hear about their journeys as if they themselves had gone. When questions arose concerning the truth of the gospel, they sent Barnabas and Paul as a delegation to make sure they had it right. Once they returned, Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch preaching and teaching for a period of time before they were sent out again.

We also discover that the leaders of this church were equipped to deal with difficulty, even among themselves. We may find it disconcerting that Paul and Barnabas could not quietly come to an agreement in the decision concerning taking Mark on their second missionary journey. It was Paul who felt the desire to return to the churches they had planted on their first journey. As we listen to their discussion, we find that it was no small rift.

And there arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. (Acts 15:39-40)

A quick study of the words “sharp disagreement” reveals that this became a rather heated discussion. It is understandable that Barnabas wanted to take Mark since John Mark was his nephew. We have a tendency to be more forgiving of our own “flesh and blood.” On the other hand, I’m sure Paul was aware that their second journey would be no easier than their first! They would face enough difficulty from those that opposed them; they didn’t need to deal with problems within their ranks. John Mark had already deserted them once. Obviously, the other three leaders mention in Antioch let these two men work out their own problems and didn’t become a factor in their decision making process. It is interesting to see that “Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus,” but “Paul chose Silas and departed, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.” Although they both left, it only says that Paul and Silas were “committed to the grace of the Lord.” Obviously Paul understood the strength that comes when you’ve got a body of committed believers standing behind you! Antioch continued to be the home church Paul returned to after each trip. Upon his return, Paul would find himself a leader among equals. He knew how to be a leader, without having to be “the” leader. Although Paul was an apostle and father to many churches which he planted, he knew how to come back to Antioch and be a teacher and prophet among other teachers and prophets. He was recognized as leadership when he returned, and knew how to function as leadership in that place until God sent him out again.

It was Antioch that laid hands on Paul and sent him out on his journeys. It was Antioch that was there for him when he returned. It was the leaders of Antioch that understood that each of them had a portion in the ministry of the church, as well as a part in the sending out of the Gospel to unreached areas. It was this group of leaders who saw that the church was not an organization that belonged to them personally, but was the body of Christ, which they were called to minister to. It’s no wonder that it was in this place believers were first called “Christians!” The church of Antioch, founded on Jesus Christ and no other! May it continue to serve as an example to us in this present age!!!

But whatever happened to Barnabas? History tells us that he went on to Cyprus and preached all over the country, bringing many people into a relationship with Jesus Christ the Messiah. As he was preaching in a synagogue in Salamis, some Jews from Syria came, as they had done before, and stirred up the people against him. Knowing that his days were numbered, Barnabas instructed John Mark to go to Paul after he was deceased. The death of Barnabas caused the believers to scatter once again. And as we will later see, John Mark did search out Paul and became a beloved companion. It is no wonder that Paul tells us not to judge one’s life while they still have breath in them. The person whose failure had become the center of Paul’s strong contention, ends up becoming a dear son in the Lord. And Barnabas’ life and death brought many into the Kingdom. God always has a way of working all things out for our good!!! What an amazing God we serve!!!