A life that points to Christ
Barnabas
From Barnabas we learn to be an encourager who builds others up, to take a risk on people others have written off, and to be generous and glad when God works through anyone. His life teaches generous encouragement, and it points to the Christ who welcomes and restores the undeserving.
“And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,”Acts 4:36
“But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.”Acts 9:27
“For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.”Acts 11:24
“Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.”Acts 11:23
Their story, honestly
Barnabas, whose name means son of encouragement, first appears selling a field and laying the money at the apostles' feet for the needy. When the newly converted Saul, feared by everyone as a former persecutor, was shunned by the disciples, it was Barnabas who took him, vouched for him, and brought him to the apostles. Sent to the growing church at Antioch, he was glad to see God's grace at work and encouraged everyone to remain faithful, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. He went and fetched Saul to help teach there, partnered with him in mission, and later gave a second chance to young John Mark when Paul would not, restoring a man who had once deserted them.
What their life teaches us
First, Barnabas teaches the ministry of encouragement; he built people up, and the early church was strengthened by a man devoted to lifting others. Second, he teaches the courage to believe in people others reject; he risked his own reputation to vouch for Saul, and the whole church benefited from the apostle Barnabas helped bring in. Third, he teaches restoring grace; he took a chance on John Mark after a failure, and that young man became useful again, even to Paul in the end. Barnabas rarely stands center stage, yet the giants around him were partly made by his generous, believing love.
How their life points to Christ
Barnabas gave people the grace he had received, believing in the rejected and restoring the fallen, which is the very heart of Christ toward us. Jesus is the one who welcomed the persecutor Saul and the deserter Mark, and Barnabas simply extended that welcome to them in His name. In encouraging others, Barnabas reflected the Encourager, the Holy Spirit who comes alongside us. His willingness to spend his reputation to lift others points to the Savior who spent everything to lift us. The son of encouragement shows what it looks like when a person, filled with the Spirit, treats others as Christ has treated him.
Questions people ask
Why is Barnabas called the son of encouragement?
Because encouraging and building up others marked his whole life. He gave generously to the needy, vouched for the feared convert Saul, gladdened the church at Antioch, and restored John Mark after a failure. He teaches the quiet, powerful ministry of lifting others up in the strength of the Spirit.
What does Barnabas teach about second chances?
That grace believes in people others reject. He took a risk on Saul when everyone feared him, and later restored John Mark after Mark had deserted the mission. Both became fruitful. He teaches us to extend to others the same restoring grace Christ has extended to us.