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BARNABAS THE ENCOURAGER
Unsung Heroes, Part 1
From Acts 4, 11, 15
July 29, 2007
Pastor Bob Sanders
Heroes are in short supply these days. I’m not talking about celebrities – we’ve got them by the truckload – Paris and Britney, Lindsay and the latest American Idol flash-in-the-pan. Celebrities are nothing more than people who are famous for being famous. But heroes are different. Heroes combine greatness with goodness, courage with commitment. Heroes help us believe that we can become something finer, something better. The best heroes come from the most ordinary backgrounds. They’re are not particularly powerful or impressive, but they rise to the challenge of their times and make a lasting difference. Think Nelson Mandela or William Wilberforce (or even Harry Potter). Think Mother Theresa or Rosa Parks. Who would you say is one of your heroes?
This morning I want to begin a brief series of messages entitled Unsung Heroes. It’s all about some of the lesser-known characters in the New Testament. Not the famous apostolic leaders like Peter and Paul, but the “second stringers” who are often overlooked, often ordinary, but who play such an extraordinary role in the life of the early church. People like Stephen the first martyr, Philip the evangelist, Timothy the young pastor, and Titus the trusty coworker. Today we begin with someone who is a bit better known to this congregation: Barnabas the Encourager. Better known because I preached on Barnabas not too long ago, back in September of 2003, on the day Libby Boatwright was installed as associate pastor here at Lake Grove.
I’m sure you remember that sermon. You do, don’t you?
That’s OK. I didn’t either.
So we’re going to take another look and follow his story through several chapters in the Book of Acts. What we’ll see is that Barnabas is not remembered as a visionary leader or a spellbinding preacher. He’s remembered for one thing: wherever he goes he encourages people. That is, he puts courage into the hearts of otherwise frightened, discouraged men and women. And that turns out to be pretty important because, as I’ll try to make clear, we probably wouldn’t have much of a church and certainly not much of a New Testament if it weren’t for the work of an unsung hero named Barnabas.
We first meet him in Acts chapter 4, and I’ll begin reading at verse 32 (Today’s New International Version):
Acts 4:32-37
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means "son of encouragement"), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.
Putting Courage Into the Young Church
The young church in Jerusalem is growing. But so is the opposition. Some of the Christian leaders are in jail. Some members have lost their jobs, lost their homes, lost their families because of their commitment to Christ. The congregation is trying to help these people, but funds are running low. It’s a pretty discouraging time.
Enter a man named Joseph, a native of Cyprus, a committed Christian and a part of this new church. In the midst of these difficult times he does something remarkable. He sells some real estate and gives all the proceeds to help the church’s relief efforts. And that act of financial generosity puts courage into the early church. No wonder they give him the nickname Barnabas, which in Aramaic literally means “Son of Encouragement.”
Never underestimate the power of a financial gift. Any pastor can tell you that what Barnabas did is one sure way to put courage into church leaders. Like what happened a few weeks ago when, thanks to the financial generosity of a number of you, we received the funds to pay off the debt on our Christian Education wing instead of having to take out a loan. That did a lot for our Session, I can tell you. Or like what happened recently when one of you cashed in some stock holdings and gave the money to help fund one of our projects in Senegal. That kind of giving puts courage into believers here and in Senegal. Your financial generosity becomes this tangible reminder of the faithfulness of God.
We have in this church something called a Barnabas Fund. You’re read about it in the View and now you know where the title comes from. It’s an entirely voluntary and anonymous “over and above” fund that your pastors use to help local people, including folks in this congregation, who need short-term financial assistance. People out of work, people needing medical help, people needing personal or marital counseling, people unable to pay their rent or mortgage or even feed their families (yes, these things do happen in Lake Oswego). And I can tell you the Barnabas Fund has put courage into the hearts of many folks right here in our own church family. And by the way, it’s getting a bit low on cash even as I speak. We’ve had more people needing help than we’ve had contributions to the fund lately. We’d love to hear from a Barnabas or two this coming week.
The next time Barnabas appears in the Book of Acts he’s at it again.
Acts 11:19-26
19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled 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 ears of 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.
Putting Courage Into Paul
News comes to the church leaders in Jerusalem from Antioch, the third-largest city in the Roman Empire. News that a great number of people there are coming to Christ. Help is needed, and the apostles know just who to send. We read that when Barnabas arrived in Antioch he saw what the grace of God was doing and according to verse 23 “he encouraged them to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.”
He encouraged them. That’s what new Christians and new ministries need most. That’s what new married couples need. That’s what new parents need. Someone to put courage into them. Someone like Barnabas. Someone who can see through the problems and spot the grace of God. Someone who helps us believe the Lord is at work in our situation.
And it worked in Antioch. The church there took off and grew faster than anyone expected. Barnabas needed help. So he goes to Tarsus to look up an old friend – a man named Saul (or Paul, as he comes to be known). As you know, this Paul had been a fearful persecutor of the church, but the Lord Jesus ambushed him on the road to Damascus and changed him from the inside out. The problem was, once Paul became a Christian, no one in the church was willing to trust him. No one wanted to get near him for fear it was a trap.
No one, that is, except Barnabas. If we had more time, we could read in Acts 9 how it was Barnabas who first reached out to Paul and then introduced him to the church. Unfortunately, Paul was so zealous for his new faith in Christ that he kept getting into trouble with the authorities in Jerusalem. So for everybody’s health, the church leaders sent him back to his hometown of Tarsus. By the time we get to Acts 11, Paul has been living there in anonymity for years, rejected by his fellow Jews for his faith in Christ, and kept at arm’s length by the Christian community because of his reputation for being a loose cannon.
Barnabas knows Paul is a little compulsive, a little rough around the edges. But Barnabas believes he’s got gifts for ministry. So he finds Paul and invites him to join the leadership team of the new church in Antioch. Can you imagine what that meant for Paul? For years he’d been on the shelf, doing nothing, friendless and forgotten. Then Barnabas shows up and says, “Paul, we need you.” Talk about putting courage into a person! Think what might have happened if Barnabas had not reached out to Paul. The church of Jesus Christ might have lost its greatest missionary and theologian. But Barnabas was there. The Son of Encouragement believed in this guy, and trusted him with a leadership position in the fastest growing church in the world.
Back in the early 1970s a man named Pete Hammond was starting up a Young Life club in the Cleveland area, and he needed help. So he came to this guy he’d met, a guy who had just graduated from college but had no idea what to do with his life, a guy who was working part-time as a bagboy at the local grocery store, a guy whose faith was pretty shaky and who had no experience whatsoever in ministry. But Pete thought he saw something more and asked this guy to help him work with the 250 kids who were showing up every week at Young Life to hear about Jesus Christ. If you haven’t already guessed it, I was that guy. And I can tell you without a doubt, I would not be here today doing what I’m doing if it hadn’t been for a Barnabas named Pete who put courage into me and invited me into the ministry.
If we read on in Acts, we see Barnabas taking Paul with him on that first great missionary journey. Barnabas was clearly the leader and Paul was the protégé. But something interesting happens as the story continues. Barnabas steps back and allows Paul to assume leadership. You can see this in your Bible. In the first part of Acts 13 their names are always listed as “Barnabas and Saul/Paul.” But a little later in Acts 13 and on into Acts 15, it becomes “Paul and Barnabas.” Barnabas is in the background and Paul becomes the recognized leader.
One of the acid tests of an encourager is the ability to let someone else take the lead and get the credit. To recognize potential in a colleague and encourage him/her to move ahead without becoming jealous or resentful – that’s Barnabas.
But the story of Paul and Barnabas ends on a somewhat sad note. Our final reading is from Acts 15, at verse 36:
Acts 15:36-41
36 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." 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 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. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Putting Courage Into John Mark
On that first mission trip one of their team, a young man named John Mark, deserted them. We don’t know why. It could have been illness or homesickness or just plain fear. But he bailed on them. Now, at the start of another mission trip Barnabas wants to take John Mark along. But Paul won’t buy it. “He failed us before,” Paul figures, “we can’t trust him any longer.”
It definitely wasn’t Paul’s finest hour. Paul sees only John Mark’s past failure. Barnabas sees his future potential. Just as he’d done with Paul, Barnabas believes John Mark can become effective if someone will believe in him and mentor him. In other words: put courage into him. It caused the breakup of the original team, but the net result was two new teams. Paul and Silas go one way, while Barnabas and John Mark go another.
Now, imagine what would have happened if Barnabas hadn’t been there for John Mark. In all likelihood he would have given up in shame and drifted away from the Christian community never to be heard from again. That happens in churches, doesn’t it? It’s happened to some of us. But it didn’t happen to John Mark because of a man named Barnabas. And tradition has it that years later John Mark became part of the mission team led by the apostle Peter, that he recorded Peter’s preaching about Jesus, and those records formed the basis for the Gospel that bears his name – the Gospel of Mark (John Mark, that is).
By the way, there’s one more reference to John Mark in the New Testament. It’s at the end of 2 Timothy (the letter Paul wrote just before he was executed in Rome). In chapter 4, verse 11 he tells Timothy, “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is useful to me in my ministry.” Eventually even Paul came around.
Our New Testament has 27 books and letters. The name of Barnabas is not attached to any of them. But if Barnabas had not put courage into a forgotten man named Paul, we probably wouldn’t have the 13 letters that bear his name. And if Barnabas had not put courage into a failure named John Mark, it’s unlikely we’d have his Gospel – or, for that matter, the Gospels of Matthew and Luke that are based on the outline set forth in Mark. Never underestimate the power of an encourager.
Never More Like Jesus
We need more Barnabases in the church of Jesus Christ today. There are so many things that discourage us, that leave us alone and afraid. We need those unsung heroes like Barnabas who put courage into us – by giving generously, by seeing and affirming the grace of God at work in the lives of others, by raising up new leaders and giving them the chance to succeed, by believing in folks who’ve made a mistake and helping them believe in themselves.
We need more Barnabases, more sons and daughters of encouragement.
How about you? Can you think of a person or a family in need of financial encouragement? A young couple who can’t quite make ends meet. A family whose breadwinner is out of work and the bills are stacking up. A person hit with medical expenses that insurance won’t cover. A single parent whose bank account and self esteem are both at rock bottom. Those are all real situations in this congregation. And you could be the one who makes a crucial difference. Might the Lord be nudging you to provide some financial encouragement this week?
Do you know someone who’s discouraged, alone, struggling with a heavy load of grief or anxiety? What if you became that person’s Barnabas, and made it your goal to put courage into that person? How? Well, you could begin by praying for that person every day. You could write a letter of affirmation and support. You could get together and spend some time just listening, letting the person feel your support, and then taking all you’ve heard back to God in prayer. If there’s sickness or grief, you could look for ways to cover some of the practical needs – meals, shopping, cleaning, child care. It’s amazing how much courage can be passed on through the gift of a good casserole!
And don’t forget the ones who feel like failures. The divorced and divorcing. The anxious parents whose teenage kids are rebelling. The folks swallowed up by depression. The people dealing with job loss. The alcoholic and his/her family. The person whose spouse is having an affair. And on, and on… If you know of someone who feels like a failure, are you big enough to extend a hand of encouragement? Will you get in touch with that person as soon as you can? Will you let the Lord use you to help lift the crushing feelings of failure by reaching out, by coming alongside, by putting courage into that man, that woman?
You can do this. You can make a difference that will change the lives of many. You don’t have to be a professional counselor or an ordained pastor. Be a Barnabas.
Sisters and brothers, we are never more like Jesus Christ than when we put courage into someone who needs it. So I urge you to fix in your mind the name of at least one person you know who needs a Barnabas. And let’s take those people to our Lord now, as we close in prayer.
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