10. The Book of Acts
July 26th, 2009
Becoming Barnabas
Through our study of the book of Acts we have been trying to see what the church is supposed to look like. In our efforts we have turned to pictures of the early church to see principles that we adopt today to become the church that desires for us to be. The church has many responsibilities and many things it should do. One of these important things in a church is building disciples through the raising up of leaders. So I have one question for you: are you a Saul or are you a Barnabas? This morning I want to tell you two stories and to see if you look more like a Saul or if you look more like a Barnabas.
Our first story is about Barnabas. To understand his story we need to see a little bit about Saul. Saul was a passionate man and one of the greatest enemies of the early church. He took legal responsibility for the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7 and had begun to kill Christians believing them to be enemies of God. One day then on his way to Damascus Saul had an encounter with Jesus that would change his life forever. Through this encounter he would turn from enemy to ally of the church. From that day on he would start down a path to becoming one of the greatest leaders in the history of the church. Of course in reality things weren’t so simple. Think about it. Saul has a private encounter with Christ in which he goes from arresting and killing Christians to calling himself one of them. If this were happening today, would you be totally willing to accept him? Wouldn’t some part of you think: maybe this is a trick to get us to bring him in so that he can kill us more effectively? That is a very logical concern. When it comes to a man who was killing your families you want to be sure his conversion is real before welcoming him into the church. So when Saul came to Jerusalem the disciples there were afraid of him because they were not convinced he was truly a Christian. This is where we see the character of Barnabas. When everyone else was afraid, Barnabas comes in and puts himself on the line. He took Saul to the apostles and stood up for him. Look at Acts 9:19 we see what Barnabas did for Saul:
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. Ac 9:20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. Ac 9:21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” Ac 9:22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ. Ac 9:23 After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, Ac 9:24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. Ac 9:25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. Ac 9:26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. Ac 9:27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. Ac 9:28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.
We can certainly see the risk that Barnabas took for Saul. If Saul had been faking he would have delivered the apostles into the hands of a killer. Yet he had faith in Saul and trusted his conversion experience. He believed in Saul when maybe no one else would have. Let me tell you a little bit about this man. We first meet Barnabas in Acts 4:36, his actual name is Joseph but the apostles call him Barnabas which means son of encouragement. In Acts 4 we see Barnabas selling a field that he owned and giving the money to the apostles so they could provide for the needs of the community. So we know he is encouraging and that he is generous. Now in Acts 9 we see another trait of Barnabas. He brought Saul to the apostles and talked of Saul’s fearless preaching putting his own reputation on the line for Saul. It is likely the apostles accepted Saul as a Christian because of Barnabas’s testimony. He took a great risk and put his life on the line because he knew that Saul was going to do great things for God. It couldn’t have been easy to do this. Saul had been killing their brothers and sisters. He had been arresting believers and their families. It would have been easy to hate Saul for the things he had done but Barnabas welcomes him into the church and sticks up for him when no one else did. Barnabas gives Saul a chance. So which one are you? Saul or Barnabas?
Our second story is about Saul. But not that Saul. Turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel 18:2. This is the story of Saul. Not Saul later called Paul but Saul the first king of Israel. Let me set the stage for a minute. Israel has gone to war with the Philistines in perhaps one of the most famous stories in the Bible. Goliath a great giant of the Philistines has been mocking Israel demanding they send out a warrior to face him. None of the men of Israel were brave enough to stand up and fight. Trained soldiers stood in terror when a young shepherd boy named David arrived. He was enraged at the insults Goliath hurled against God and so David went with no armor, no sword, just a sling and a few stones to face down the giant. The young shepherd boy killed the great warrior putting an end to the war and delivering Israel from the Philistines. As a result of his bravery David was then honored by King Saul and that is where we pick up our text:
1Sa 18:2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house. 1Sa 18:3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 1Sa 18:4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. 1Sa 18:5 Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul’s officers as well. 1Sa 18:6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. 1Sa 18:7 As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” 1Sa 18:8 Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom? ” 1Sa 18:9 And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. 1Sa 18:10 The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 1Sa 18:11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.
David was honored by Saul. He was a faithful servant in Saul’s house. Saul had given him a high command in his army and trusted David to carry out difficult tasks. Saul loved David until one day Saul heard the people praising David above himself. Rather than rejoicing that David had been blessed by God and had done such great things Saul became jealous. David had never betrayed Saul. He had never done anything to make Saul doubt his loyalty. But when Saul heard the people praising David he was convinced David would steal his kingdom. All the while forgetting that as king of Israel the kingdom never really belonged to him. When David’s glory surpassed his own Saul tried to kill David. So let me ask you: are you a Saul or are you a Barnabas? Saul tried to kill David when he felt himself being surpassed. You see Saul was concerned more for his own glory than he was for the glory of God. He was the king. He was a warrior. He wanted to hear his name praised by men. Saul’s pride kept him from rejoicing in the success of his servant David. The difference between Saul and Barnabas is that Saul tried to stop his friend’s success where Barnabas tried to help. Barnabas took a risk and found Saul or rather Paul and set him up to be a great leader in the church. Barnabas used all his power and authority to help establish Paul as a leader so that Paul could succeed. See as we move through the book of Acts Barnabas and Saul become traveling companions.
From chapter 11 to chapter 13 when we see Barnabas and Saul mentioned Barnabas’s name comes first. This is Luke’s way of identifying to his audience which of them was more important. At this time the first name given on a list was considered to be more important than the others. So at the beginning Barnabas was the more powerful leader of the two. Then something happens: Saul changes his name to Paul and his influence and power begins to grow. He even begins to exceed Barnabas in his power and influence. So in Acts 13:42 we see this:
Ac 13:42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. Ac 13:43 When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
Do you see what just happened? Barnabas is listed second and Paul is listed first. They switched places. Paul had become the more important of the two. What was Barnabas’s response? Did he grab a spear like Saul did and hurl it at Paul in efforts to maintain his own leadership and significance? No. Barnabas rejoiced that God was using Paul. Barnabas lifted Paul up on His shoulders proudly helping him reach knew heights. He set Paul up to succeed. So are you Saul or are you Barnabas?
Saul had the honor of being the first king of Israel and the shame of falling away from God. He could have been great but he put himself and his glory before God. Barnabas is the unsung hero of the book of Acts. We don’t know that much about him, many don’t know his name but without him we wouldn’t have a Paul. Barnabas reached out and lifted Paul up so that Paul could do the amazing things he did. Without Barnabas Paul wouldn’t have been much. So which one are you? Are you a Saul? Or are you a Barnabas?
The church needs Barnabas. We need people who work to raise up leaders. We need people who encourage others. We need people who will dedicate themselves to helping others succeed, people who will make sacrifices of themselves for the good of the community. For a church without a Barnabas will be a church without a Paul.
So often I think we see people come along who want to be noticed. They want to be recognized. They want glory. We don’t need glory seekers. We need Barnabas’s to support others and lift them up for the glory of God. You see our goal and our desire should never be to build our own kingdom. We should never seek to win glory for ourselves. Our job is to build up the kingdom of God and to glorify Him. Sometimes that means we will have to sacrifice. That is what it means to be servant. When we worry about getting what is fair, about getting our needs met, and getting what we want we set ourselves up to become like Saul for our attitude toward God and the church is “what can you do for me.” Rather than Lord what can I do for you? The cry of our hearts should be that of John the Baptist: “He must become greater, I must become less.” We are not here to seek recognition and appreciation. We are here for the glory of God. What we need to become the church God intended us to be is the church needs men and women to become sons and daughters of encouragement. We need lift each other up, to support each other, to encourage each other, stand up for each other, and defend each other because when we fight together we are strong. When we fight alone we will fall. If we want to see what the church is supposed to look like we need men and women who will use their gifts and abilities to help others succeed for the glory of God. What we need is a church that is dedicated to becoming Barnabas.
Maybe what you can do is this: try to develop an encouraging attitude. Maybe instead of insulting someone lift them up, maybe instead of complaining offer a compliment. Rather than using all your time and energy for your wants and needs maybe you can find ways to use your gifts to help others. Maybe you can stick up for the defenseless, stand by the abandoned, offer direction to the lost, and offer love to the unlovable. Maybe you can find when you use what God gave you for the good of others that the world around you changes and that through you God may raise up great leaders for His kingdom. If we are to a Barnabas we need to be willing to pour ourselves without thanks for the glory of God.
