God’s Word for You
Acts 15:35-39 they parted company
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, September 16, 2020
35 Both Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch along with many others, teaching and preaching the gospel of the word of the Lord.
This is the period, the winter months or at the least the closing weeks of winter early in 50 AD, when Peter arrived in Antioch. The incident is only described in a few lines of Galatians. Even though the Council had made its decision about circumcision, there was an element within the Jewish Christian community that resisted associating with Gentiles. Peter himself fell into this for all the wrong reasons. Paul writes: “Before certain men came from James (that is, from the Jerusalem church), Peter used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back from them and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined with him in this hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray” (Galatians 2:12-13). Paul’s rebuke of Peter “in front of them all” (Galatians 2:14) falls under Luke’s mild words here: “teaching and preaching the gospel of the word of the Lord.”
The Second Missionary Journey Begins
36 Some time later, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.” 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John, called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take him with them, since he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to continue the work. 39 This became such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.
Paul’s desire at this time, early in the year 50, was to go back to the churches they had planted already. This controversy with Jewish Christians who were twisting the gospel into something that it isn’t (making it into a law to be kept) had Paul worried about the spiritual health of those tender souls, so new to the faith. He had to go and see them.
Barnabas was happy to go. He wanted to take his cousin Mark once again (see Colossians 4:10), but Paul remembered what happened in Asia Minor when Mark left them, unable to bring himself to journey into the Turkish hill country (Acts 13:13). If there was a spirit of timidity in Mark at that time, Paul may have been concerned that he would leave them again. Professor Lenski draws from the Greek text: “Paul did not consider it wise to take Mark along, and his reasons are indicated briefly by the two participles. Mark had ‘withdrawn’ from Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary tour when they reached Pamphilia and ‘had not gone with them to the work.’ The implication is that the call of the work, the great work to be done, had failed to hold Mark” (Acts p. 633). Luke is the evangelist who recorded the words of Jesus: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks behind him is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Mark would be better prepared and fit for service later on, but for the moment, Paul was unwilling to take him. Deep down, Paul might also have had misgivings about taking Barnabas with him, since, as he said about their time in Antioch, “by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray” (Galatians 2:13). So the men parted ways. They had been a single team, but they parted (the same word for ‘divided’ appears in Revelation 6:14, “the sky divided like a scroll rolling up”). Their friendship wasn’t over, and neither was their Christian fellowship. They simply needed to work apart for the time being. In such ways the devil wants to stir up dissent among God’s people, but in such ways the Lord permits work to be done in more places at the same time. Barnabas went home to Cyprus and resumed the work there. The church there thrived under his preaching and leadership.
It is sad when two Christians who are friends must part company. It might be that nothing at all is wrong with either point of view, but for the moment it is just for the better that they distance themselves from one another. With Paul and Barnabas, it was temporary, and for the good of their ministry. With two friends, it might also be only temporary, or perhaps not, but it could be for the good of their emotional health. If so, they should do their best to part in love and friendship, without hard feelings or harsh words, but with blessing. Not all tears are evil.
It is a wicked man “who stirs up dissension among brothers” (Proverbs 6:19). But the Lord works through us even when we seem to fail. His kingdom is always in his heart, and our good is always in his plans. If your friend must part from your company, even for a while, find it in your heart to rejoice in what the Lord may accomplish until such a time when you can be reunited in joy, in friendship, and in love.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.