Their relationship began in earnest when a
great number of Gentiles in Syrian Antioch
came to know Christ through the preaching of
refugees from Jerusalem (Acts 11:19-21).
That disturbed some of the leaders of the
church in Jerusalem who were not ready to
accept Gentiles into the fellowship of the
church. They wanted to send someone to
Antioch to investigate the situation.
Barnabas was their obvious choice. He was
a Jew of the tribe of Levi, so he knew the
law and understood the Hebrew mind. He was
raised on the Island of Cyprus, so he spoke
Greek, understood the Gentile mind and would
not inadvertently offend them. He was highly
regarded as a good man, generous, gracious
and godly (Acts 4:36,37).
It proved to be the right choice. Barnabas
remained there and the work in Antioch
prospered under his leadership. “Then when he
had come and witnessed the grace of God, he
rejoiced and began to encourage them all with
resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for
he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit
and of faith. And considerable numbers were
brought to the Lord” (Acts 11:23,24). The work prospered to such a degree that Barnabas
could not handle it any longer by himself.
The believers in the church were too young in
the Lord to be elevated to positions of
leadership, so his only recourse was to reach
outside for help.
He knew just the man. As far as we know, he
had first met Saul of Tarsus in Jerusalem three
years after Saul’s supernatural conversion on
the Damascus road. Everybody else in Jerusalem
was afraid that Saul had come to spy on them
and lay plans for his next attack against
them. But Barnabas believed in him, reached
out to him, encouraged other leaders in
Jerusalem to accept him (Acts 9:26-29), and
a genuine friendship was born. After those
days in Jerusalem, Saul returned to his home
town of Tarsus, from which he penetrated all
the surrounding Gentile areas with the
gospel. Word kept filtering back of his
powerful ministry (Galatians 1:23). Saul of
Tarsus was the man Barnabas needed in
Antioch. “And he left for Tarsus to look for
Saul; and when he had found him, he brought
him to Antioch. And it came about that for
an entire year they met with the church,
and taught considerable numbers; and the
disciples were first called Christians in
Antioch” (Acts 11:25,26). A great team
ministry was born.
Together they served the Lord with great
blessing. They seemed to fit together and
complement each other perfectly. It was meant
to be. When the church in Antioch decided to
send relief money to the famine stricken
Christians in Jerusalem, Barnabas and Saul
delivered it together (Acts 11:30). Together
they returned to Antioch (12:25), where three
others had been added to the staff (13:1).
But Barnabas and Saul continued to serve the
Lord there, together.
When the Holy Spirit gave directions for the
first organized foreign missionary thrust,
we’re not surprised to hear Him say, “Set
apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work
unto which I have called them” (13:2). And
they entered a new venture together. It was
a fruitful ministry of evangelism and church
planting—a magnificent spiritual success.
What a team! They returned to Antioch to
report what God had done, and then continued
to minister there, together (Acts 14:26-28).
When the false doctrine of salvation by works
began to infiltrate the church, these two men
stood against it together (Acts 15:2a). When
it was decided to send representatives to
Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and
elders about the problem, these two men were
asked to go, together (Acts 15:2b). Together,
they declared what wonders God had done among
the Gentiles (15:12). And when a decision was
reached and a letter was sent from the
apostles and elders to the churches, it said,
“It seemed good to us, having become of one
mind, to select men, to send to you with our
beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have
risked their lives for the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 15:25,26).
“Our beloved Barnabas and Paul!” That about
says it all. They were genuine friends whose
team ministry had brought great blessing to
the church and inspired great admiration and affection. When they finished their
assignment, they returned to Antioch and
continued teaching and preaching the Word of
God, together (Acts 15:35).
