The New Testament portion of our daily readings comes from Acts chapter 13, where we read of how Barnabas and Saul were separated to do a particular work. So, Acts 13:2 describes how “as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them”. And the rest of the chapter continues to describe their work both at Cyprus and at Antioch. But before we look at the work that they had to do in these two places, it’s worth noting that there is a history that lies behind the relationship between Paul and Barnabas.
Acts chapter four is the first occasion where we read of Barnabas, and we find that Barnabas wasn’t actually his original name: It was a surname added to his name, presumably because of particular characteristics that he had. And so, we read in Acts 4:36 of Joses “who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is being interpreted the son of consolation), a Levite, another country of Cyprus having land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” And so, he was example of one who sold all that he had and gave it to the service of the truth to meet the needs of the brothers and sisters.
The context of Acts chapter four is that there was a great number of converts being made, by the preaching of the Apostles. But when the people professed the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, they were they were excommunicated from the temple’s system of worship – and this included the welfare provisions for the poor. And so there was a problem where there were large numbers of brothers and sisters that needed looking after. This need was met by those who had land: They sold their land to obtain revenue to meet the needs of new brethren and sisters. So we read in verse 34 of Acts chapter 4, “Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of hands or houses sold them and brought the prices of the things that were sold and laid them down at the apostles feet”.
This is interesting, as Jesus had told the apostles – and they by extension to the Jews, that the Roman army was going to come against Israel and destroy Jerusalem. We read about this in Matthew chapter 24 and Luke chapter 21, where the Roman army was going to come and destroy Jerusalem. The logical thing for the disciples then, was to leave Jerusalem and dispose of the assets they had in that place. As the children of Israel were faced with destruction, their land would be taken from them anyway, and so what they did was to sell that land to make revenue from it to use in service of the truth. Their land was going to be destroyed anyway so why not sell it first – only those who disbelieved the words of Messiah would buy it!
Turning to Acts chapter 9, we are introduced to Barnabas and Saul: “when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed. to join himself to the disciples: But they were all afraid of him and believed not that he was a disciple” (Acts 9:26). All that they knew was that Saul had been sent to Damascus to with letters to find any who embraced the Lord Jesus Christ and bring them bound to Jerusalem. But what a remarkable change took place when Saul accepted the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ! And when he came to Jerusalem, they just couldn’t believe that he was now a disciple! How could a man so radically to change his position? But then we read Barnabas in his capacity of a son of consolation in verse 27.
“But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in a way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.” And so Barnabas was instrumental in the acceptance of Saul by the other disciples and Apostles, so becoming part of the Ecclesia of Christ. Turning to Acts chapter 11, we read:
“The hand of the Lord was with them and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. Then tidings of these things came into the ears of the ecclesia which is in Jerusalem; and they sent forth Barnabas that he should go for as far as Antioch” (Acts 11:21-22).
And so then Barnabas was sent to go to Antioch. The record continues:
“Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the ecclesia and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:25-26).
So Barnabas had an important role in bringing forth the Apostle Paul. There was a work to be done, and he went to Tarsus to seek Saul to perform that work.
In these things, we see that both Barnabas and the Apostle Paul (as he later became known) had this specific role appointed to them. And as we saw earlier, in Acts chapter 13, that work involved being sent to Cyprus and to Antioch. Galatians 2 describes this:
“(For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me towards the Gentiles:) And when James, Cephas and John who seem to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship that we should go unto the heathen and they to the circumcision.” (Gal. 2:8-9).
And so there was an arrangement whereby Barnabas and Paul were sent forth with the blessing of the other disciples to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. All this forms the background of Acts chapter 13.
Paul (as he was now called) and Barnabas were thus sent out for a particular work. Acts chapter 13 and verse two, “ … Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work where into I have called them” (Acts 13:2). Accordingly we read from verses 4-12 the experiences of the of Paul and Barnabas at Cyprus. “so they being sent forth by the Holy Spirit departed into Seleucia and from thence they sailed to Cyprus” (vs 4).
In verse 6, we read that, when they reached Cyprus, they found a certain sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet, by the name of Bar Jesus. He tried to prevent and restrict the preaching of the apostles. We read in verse seven that with this false prophet was with the deputy of the country “Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.”
The word “prudent” here, signifies intelligent. He was a clever man, and he desired to hear the word of God. The wording implies that he accepted what Paul and Barnabas was saying was true. He desired to hear more, but Bar Jesus sought to turn him away. The record continues:
“This man Elymas the sorcerer (for so is the name by interpretation) withstood them seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith” (vs. 8).
And so on the one hand then there is the teaching of the apostles and on the other hand the teaching of the Elymas the sorcerer, the false prophet. Notice the words used here, when we come to consider the way in which different “viewpoints” in the world in which we live are given equal merit. This event in Acts chapter 13 is most instructive because here it is a question of two individuals preaching different things. There is Paul and Barnabas teaching one thing and then the Sorcerer teaching something else. Now in today’s world, it would be said, that they just have “a different point of view”. And everybody’s point of view is of equal valid, of equal merit. And so we should all have the opportunity to state our own point of view.
But that’s not the way in which the apostle regarded Elymas. He was a false prophet, and so he is described as a false prophet. And we read in in verse 8 that he sought to “turn away the deputy from the faith”. 2 Timothy 4:3 also warns of such men:
“The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. And they shall turn away the ears from the truth and shall be turned into fables”
This is the true position: a different point of view is actually turning away from the Truth. The Truth is the testimony concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. The Truth is the word of God. Jesus said himself in his prayer of John chapter 17, “Thy word is Truth”. And so when somebody comes with a contradicting idea, it’s not simply different viewpoint, it’s that which is different to truth – it is not truth.
So we find the words of the apostle Paul in Acts 13:9:
“Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the holy spirit set his eyes on him and said, oh, full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the lord?
This is very severe language indeed. It’s not a question of having a different point of view, or contrasting point of view. He was the “enemy of all righteousness”. And that’s the same situation today when we encounter the churches who teach different things to what the Bible teaches: they are enemies of all righteousness. And that is a vital point for us to grasp.
So the record continues to describe how he was made blind because of his sin:
“And now behold the hand of the lord is upon thee and thou shall be blind not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately, they fell on him a mist and a darkness and he went about seeking some some seeking some to lead him by the hand” (Acts 13:11).
This is again very interesting because this is what happened to Saul himself, when he was on the way to Damascus in opposition to the Lord. It has truly been said that when he was blinded, that was when he could first see. Then he could see the truth of the gospel and recognise both the greatness of the risen Lord, and the duty he had to perform.
Paul alludes back to this experience later: “God who commanded the light to shine our of darkness has shined in our hearts to give the light to the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). But verse 3-4 describes how “if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them”. Both Saul first, then Elymas later were blinded by the god of this world: king Sin. Whether or not Elymas did eventually repent and hold to the Truth, we are not told. But Acts 13:12 informs us that, “the deputy when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord”.
This is what happened in Cyprus: the false prophet was made blind and deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus – an intelligent man – embraced the truth and believed in the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 14 describes to us the experiences of the apostles at Antioch. This is a different Antioch, in the land of Pisidia. The apostles went into the synagogue on the Sabbath and sat down. And then we read in verse 15: “After the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, ye men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. Then Paul stood up and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel and ye that fear God, give audience.”
And so we find that that the apostle went to the men of Israel first, and then to the Gentiles.
Verse 26 continues: “Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent”. Again, it was to the Jews first, and then the Gentiles.
In Acts chapter 13, we read the discourse of the apostle Paul from verse 17 to 41, and as we say, the apostle is speaking in the first instance to the Jews. He commences by speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, his line of approach was to demonstrate that the Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, in relation to king David:
“Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour Jesus” (vs 22).
And again, in verse 32: “ We declare unto you glad tidings how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he has raised up Jesus again”. And so God fulfilled the promises in the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, we read that “David after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep and was laid unto his fathers and saw corruption: But he whom God raised again saw no corruption” – alluding to Psalm 16, where David is not describing himself, but the Lord who was to come.
When the apostle spoke the word to the Jews, they rejected it. And they were filled with envy when they saw the multitude following the apostles. And so we read in verse 46 “then Paul and Barnabas wax bold and said, it was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: But seeing you put it from you and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles”
The Apostles then, turned to the gentiles because of the rejection of the word of God by the Jews. And this relates to our position. In Verse 47, we have an interesting use of the prophecy of Isaiah. Here, Paul states: “so have the Lord commanded us saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.” This prophecy of Isaiah then, was a prophecy of how the Apostles would shine the Gospel message to those who were in spiritual darkness, even the Gentiles. But in Isaiah 49, the prophecy is very specific in talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 6, he said:
“It’s a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribe of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles that thou mayest might be my salvation unto the end of the earth” (Isa 49:6).
This is obviously a prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ, but the apostle Paul interprets it to be a commandment to them also: “… For so have the Lord commanded us saying, I have set thee as a light to the gentiles.
The key to understanding this is in Acts chapter 1:1. There, Luke writes of the “former treatise of I made O Theophilus of all Jesus began both to do and teach until the day when he was taken up”. So what happens in the gospel of Luke? It describes what Jesus began to do. The acts of the apostles goes on to describe what Jesus would continue to do through the apostles and their work.
This means that when we look at the work of the apostles, we see the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ behind them. This prophecy that he should be a light to the gentiles had a fulfilment to them also because they did his work in causing that light to shine to the Gentiles. So it was that the Jews rejected the truth and the Gentiles embraced it:
“When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed” (vs 48).
And so we have that unique privilege that just as the word of God came to Israel first, it came to us second. We have the equal opportunity of also coming to the promises to Abraham that we might be justified through faith in them. And that we might be grafted into that Israelitish olive tree. So we read in Romans 11:15: “If the casting away them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead.” And that day of restoration is what the true believers yearn for during the darkness of the Gentile night.
This is the day of the restoration of Israel. When the Israelitish kingdom will be established once more with the Lord Jesus Christ reigning over the earth from Jerusalem. That’s the hope of true believers – it is the word of the true gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, being the word made flesh. In the example of Paul and Barnabas, we’ve seen a wonderful character of Barnabas who brought about reconciliation, and consolation. It was by him that Saul was brought into acceptance of the Ecclesia of Christ, who became a foremost exponent of the Gospel message – and he is an example, or pattern for us. It behoves us to embrace the Light of the True Gospel, like he did. Rather than to abide in darkness, we need to be filled with the Gospel-light – we need to open our hearts and allow that light to shine into them.
It us our earnest desire for the Lord Jesus Christ to come as the rising of the sun of righteousness. He will then shed light upon the earth, and by Grace, his followers will be the children of light illuminating both the restored kingdom of Israel and the nations at large.
Christopher Maddocks (Transcribed from an address given on 04.05.2014)
