Saint Barnabas, Apostle

There was a Levite from Cyprus named Joseph, whom the apostles called Barnabas (a name meaning “son of encouragement”). He owned a piece of property which he sold, and then he brought the money and laid it at the feet of the apostles.

When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. Barnabas, however, took him in charge and brought him to the apostles, and explained to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem, preaching fearlessly in the name of the Lord. He spoke and debated with the Hellenists, but they tried to kill him. When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that arose because of Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, making the word known to no one but Jews. There were, however, some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large number of people were added to the Lord. Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians. During this period some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there was going to be a severe famine all over the world, which indeed happened during the reign of Claudius. So the disciples, each according to his ability, resolved to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. This they did, contributing to the elders through Barnabas and Saul.

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who was foster brother to Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, after fasting and praying, they laid hands on them and sent them off. So they, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They had John as their assistant. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for that is what his name means) opposed them, attempting to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mists and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Then Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. But John left them and returned to Jerusalem. They continued on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. On the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the law and the prophets, the synagogue officials sent word to them, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, speak it.” So Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and said, “Fellow Israelites and you God-fearers, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people numerous during their sojourn in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. For about forty years he put up with them in the desert, and when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance for about four hundred and fifty years. After this he gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. Then he removed him and raised up David as their king, of whom he testified, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will carry out my every wish.’ From this man’s posterity God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus. John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was completing his course, he would say, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ “My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those among you who are God-fearers, to us this word of salvation has been sent. The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize him, and by condemning him they fulfilled the prophetic oracles that are read every sabbath. For even though they found no cause for capital punishment, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead on the third day; and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. We ourselves proclaim to you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors he has brought to fulfillment for us, their children, by raising Jesus from the dead, as also is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my son; this day I have begotten you.’ And that he raised him from the dead never to return to corruption he declared in this way, ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ Therefore, he says also in another psalm, ‘You will not allow your Holy One to undergo corruption.’ Now David, after he had served God’s purpose in his own generation, fell asleep, was buried with his ancestors, and did undergo corruption. But the one whom God raised up did not undergo corruption. Therefore, let it be known to you, my brothers, that through him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and in him every believer is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, that what has been said in the prophets may not happen to you: ‘Behold, you scoffers, be amazed and perish, for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will never believe, even if someone tells you about it.’” As they were leaving, people begged that these words might be spoken to them on the next sabbath. After the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God. On the following sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said. Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. But since you reject it and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.’” The Gentiles rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who came to believe received eternal life. And the word of the Lord continued to spread throughout the whole region. But the Jews incited the women of prominence who were worshipers and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their territory. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

In Iconium they entered the Jewish synagogue together and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks came to believe. The unbelieving Jews, however, stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they stayed for a considerable period, speaking out boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the word of his grace by granting signs and wonders to occur at their hands. The people of the city were divided: some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews, with their leaders, to attack and stone them, they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding countryside, where they continued to proclaim the good news. In Lystra there sat a man crippled from birth, who had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him, saw that he had faith to be healed, and said in a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet.” He leaped up and began to walk. When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they cried out in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” They called Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, for he intended to offer sacrifice with the crowds. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their cloaks and rushed out into the crowd, shouting, “Men, why are you doing this? We are only men, human beings like yourselves! We proclaim to you good news that you should turn from these idols to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways; yet he has not left himself without testimony, for he has given you good from heaven, rain and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them. Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium arrived and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered around him, he got up and entered the city. On the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe. After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and made a considerable number of disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” They appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith. Then they traveled through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. After proclaiming the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now accomplished. When they arrived, they called the church together and reported all that God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. Then they spent no little time with the disciples.

Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.” Because there arose no little dissension and debate by Paul and Barnabas with them, it was decided that Paul and Barnabas and some of the others should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. They were sent on their way by the church and traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, reporting the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, as well as by the apostles and the elders, and they reported what God had done with them. But some from the party of the Pharisees who had become believers stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and order them to observe the Mosaic law.” The apostles and the elders met together to see about this matter. After much debate had taken place, Peter got up and said to them, “My brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that through my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness by granting them the Holy Spirit just as he did us. He made no distinction between us and them, for by faith he purified their hearts. Why, then, are you now putting God to the test by placing on the shoulders of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they.” The whole assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they described the signs and wonders God had worked among the Gentiles through them. After they finished speaking, James spoke up and said, “My brothers, listen to me. Symeon has recounted how God first arranged to welcome Gentiles into his name. And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written: ‘After this I shall return and rebuild the fallen hut of David; from its ruins I shall rebuild it and restore it, so that the rest of humanity may seek out the Lord, even all the Gentiles on whom my name is invoked. Thus says the Lord who has made these things known from of old.’ It is my judgment, therefore, that we ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God, but tell them by letter to avoid pollution from idols, unlawful marriage, the meat of strangled animals, and blood. For Moses, for generations now, has had those who proclaim him in every town, as he has been read in the synagogues every sabbath.” Then the apostles and elders, with the consent of the whole church, decided to choose representatives from among their number and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. These were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers. This is the letter delivered by them: “The apostles and the elders, your brothers, to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia of Gentile origin: greetings. Since we have heard that some of our number who went out without any mandate from us have upset you with their teachings and disturbed your peace of mind, we have decided unanimously to choose representatives and send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we are sending Judas and Silas who will also report the same things by word of mouth. It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to burden you with anything beyond these necessities, namely, to abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from strangled animals and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will do well. Farewell.” So they were sent off and went down to Antioch. When they gathered the community, they delivered the letter. When they read it, they rejoiced over the encouragement it offered. Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, exhorted the brothers with many words and strengthened them. After they had spent some time there, they were sent off with greetings from the brothers to those who had commissioned them. But Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch, teaching and proclaiming with many others the word of the Lord. After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, “Come, let us go back and visit the brothers in all the cities where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Barnabas wanted to take with them also John, who was called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them someone who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. So sharp was the disagreement that they separated. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. He traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.