Acts 15:36-41

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas
36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.


Dig Deeper
As Christians we know that we are called to love and unity. We are called by Scripture to be of the same mind with one another. Does this mean, however, that we will never have conflict or disagreements with other brothers? Of course, reality and experience tell us that this will not be the case. But what should we think of such situations? How should we respond? We find some important lessons to be learned in response to those types of questions in one of the more stunning passages in all of the New Testament. At the end of Acts 15, two great brothers in the faith who had worked together faithfully for years coming into such sharp disagreement that they felt it necessary to part ways and split their ministry. Rather than just viewing this as a sad and unfortunate blight on the early church, we must realize that it was a very important time from which we can learn invaluable lessons that will guide us through some of our most difficult times today.

In Acts 15 we are told of a decision by Paul and Barnabas to go back through their previously traveled ground and strengthen the churches (Acts 15:36). Out of this decision, however, a sharp disagreement arose between these two dear brothers over what we today might call their ministry philosophy. Barnabas thought that it would be a good idea to bring Mark with them but Paul thought quite differently.

Mark was the son of a Christian woman named Mary (Acts 12:12) and the cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10). He had been with these two great men of the faith on a previous missionary journey but abandoned the mission in Pamphylia to return to Jerusalem for unstated reasons (Acts 13:13; 15:38).

The difference in opinion may seem like a small one to use standing on the far-off peak of a mountain separated by a valley of nearly 2,000 years, but the disagreement was sharp enough that it cause the two brothers with such a long history together (Barnabas had initially vouched for Paul and caused him to be accepted by wary and fearful Christians who thought Paul’s conversion might be a plot, and had invited him into the ministry in Antioch) to part ways and apparently never work closely together again.

One of the questions that we humans always seem to need to know in a disagreement of this nature is who was in the right and who was in the wrong. That is a particularly difficult question when it comes to this issue because this was not a case of doctrinal purity or heresy in the camp. It was a difference of opinion over which aspect of the Scriptures to emphasize in this particular case. The difficult aspect of this situation is that a case can be made that both men were in the right in one sense, a situation that often leads to the most intense disagreements.

When we look at Paul’s argument it seems to have been sound and logical. Mark had been with them and failed. We don’t know the details but it is safe to assume that it greatly affected Paul and it was probably rather damaging at the time to their mission. After all, no one who puts his hand to plow and starts looking back is fit for the kingdom, right? (Lk. 9:62). There is a great danger in putting trust into one who has proven himself to be unreliable (Prov. 25:19) and being faithful is an absolute requirement for ministry in the kingdom of God (1 Tim. 1:12; 1 Cor. 4:2).

Acts 15:40 seems to imply that the church, at least in some initial way, may have agreed with Paul. Paul and Silas were commended by the brothers as they left but no mention is made of Barnabas and Mark. It may have merely been decided, though, that Paul would continue on the official mission while Barnabas was breaking away from that and going to cover ground that was not on the initial itinerary but would still be beneficial and would enable more ground to be covered in the long run. It might also simply mean that despite Paul’s breaking away from Barnabas, Luke emphasizes that the church was not going to cut Paul off and would support his journey, while their support of Barnabas would go without saying.

But before we jump to Paul’s side in this, we should consider Proverbs 18:17 which reminds us that the first to present his case seems like the way to go until another comes along and presents his case. Let’s look at this from the perspective of Barnabas. We are not told specifically of Barnabas’ reasons but based on his previous actions they are not too difficult to presume. It is safe to say that Barnabas was not defending Mark’s actions but he wanted to give him a second chance. Past sin and failure do not determine the future potential for faithfulness although they do need to be taken into account. I would be willing to bet that Barnabas might have pointed to Jesus giving Peter and all of the apostles a second chance after their initial failures. I would also imagine that Barnabas would have mentioned the times when he believed in Paul and gave him chances when very few others were willing. The Christian principles of forgiveness and grace seem to have been at the forefront of Barnabas’ beliefs and actions.

So who is right? You may have already come down on one side or the other, but I don’t think it’s necessary here. The Bible doesn’t clearly take any sides and neither must we. This seems to be one of those cases where the issue was a disagreement in which scriptural principles to emphasize. It was an honest to goodness difference in ministerial philosophy. There seems to have been no sin involved. Despite this dispute and subsequent parting of the ways of two great heroes in the faith, God’s kingdom continued on stronger than ever and both men were used powerfully by God. It is through situations like this, however, that we can learn some very valuable lessons for our own difficult times where issues are so often much more complicated than we would like them to be.

We wish that we didn’t have disagreements among brothers but the reality is that there simply always will be in the present age. Two godly individuals can sharply disagree over the directions of their ministries or whether another brother is ready to be counted on in the ministry, or a nearly endless cavalcade of possibilities but that does not mean that either one is acting in an ungodly manner, even if one or both sides have made mistakes. The reality is that God does not give us answers to every single judgment call that we must make in this age. We will never be free of mistakes and sincere differences of opinions until we all arrive safely in the age to come. Until that time we must firmly bear with one another and “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). There can be differences of opinion and mistakes will be made. That is the reality of the Christian life that we share in together (Phil. 1:6). Many of these differences and even partings of the way will hurt and be painful. Our task, however difficult it may be, is to do what is necessary to keep the bonds of peace and unity through even mistakes.

As Christians we are always called to step forward in love even with those that have hurt us, cursed us, or acted as an enemy. If this is how we are to react to our true enemies, then how much more with our brothers, even when they hurt us or feel like an enemy, or make a rash judgment or offer a harsh word? In fact, when someone most feels like my enemy or has hurt me the most, it is then and to them that I am called by Christ to step forward and show love. Not because I feel like it, but because that is who he is transforming me to be.

There is absolutely no indication or even hint that these two men thought any less of one another although this was surely an emotional time and situation. This was a rupture in their relationship and their ministry. It certainly hurt and could have caused hard feelings but later on we find Paul urging for support for Barnabas in his ministry (1 Cor. 9:6). That verse clearly demonstrates that Paul continued to love, value, and support Barnabas. Just because they could no longer work together did not mean that they did not love one another. Surely Paul and Barnabas made “every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Although Paul certainly called for Christians to be of one mind in living out the life of Christ and urged that there be no divisions among believers (1 Cor. 1:10-12), that does not mean that there won’t be differences of opinion. It is possible to have differences that even lead to partings of the way without it rupturing the unity and brotherhood of believers. The unity of the family of God must be of higher priority than my opinion or even my brother’s mistakes. That is the Christian life that we all signed up for.

It is significant to note that neither brother is clearly commended or condemned in this parting of the ways. The Bible does not take sides in this issue and we don’t need to either in every situation. That does not mean that we overlook issues or don’t engage in them or help our brothers. It is quite possible, however, to engage in a situation and offer godly input and counsel without taking sides. We can see the right and wrong in both sides of the argument without splitting into different camps. Splitting into different camps is the worldly response to differences of opinion. Commitment to love and unity despite differences and hurt is how the followers of Jesus are to respond.

The separation of Paul and Barnabas might have seemed like a great victory for Satan but that was not the case. Even when we make mistakes, even stupid ones, we must always remember that God is far more powerful than I am stupid. God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love him (Rom. 8:28). That means that if we are all committed to loving God and following him, God can and will work even through our failures and mistakes. We might have disagreements but if we remain righteous even through hard times, God will work powerfully.

In the case of Paul and Barnabas, God took one team of church strengtheners and turned it into two. He doubled the ground that they could cover. It also gave a ministry opportunity to Mark and Silas that might not have been there otherwise. Because of this, more work could be done, more people could engage in the work of the kingdom, and the gospel could be furthered.

It is also true that this disagreement may have been a real struggle and trial for all of those involved, but God uses such situations to teach us strength, perseverance, and to make us complete (Jm. 1:3-4). Even though mistakes may have been made, they could learn from them. Mistakes only become failures when we fail to learn. When we learn from mistakes they become opportunities. For instance, Barnabas may have learned through this disagreement to be more watchful and demanding of Mark which may have had a large hand in the growth that he experienced. Paul may have learned to be more on the look out to be patient and sensitive as he was later in his ministry when it came to the issue between Philemon and Onesimus.

We have shortcomings and we will all fail. The brutal reality is that we all probably have both planks and splinters in our own eyes all of the time. We can play the blame game or we can be active in our unity, brotherhood, forgiveness, growth, and commitment to God’s family. Paul was certainly committed to his decision at the time and it may have worked out for the good, but it is true that he would later change his opinion of Mark. Their disagreement did not cloud his judgment in the future of Mark or their commitment to one another as brothers. He would later call Mark useful and asked that he be brought to help him (1 Tim. 4:11). This must have been very comforting and encouraging for both Mark and Barnabas and a great reminder that they were still brothers in Christ despite their past differences. We will have differences and we will hurt one another; that’s a promise. When the Scriptures call for Christians to bear with one another and forgive one another it is an implicit promise that we will hurt one another. Our love for Christ and our brotherly love can and must triumph.

The mere fact that Luke recorded this sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas shows that the church was not ashamed of it. It was a reality and important lessons could be learned. In the same way, we need not be ashamed of differences of opinion or disagreements as though they are all signs of weakness, sin, or disunity. They only become such things when we fail to learn lessons from these times or we fail to put the unity of brotherhood above our own opinion, feelings, and emotions. These are not times to be glossed over and covered up but are times to be openly discussed and learned from in the proper venues for those who are mature enough in their faith to handle such matters.



Devotional Thought
Paul and Barnabas clearly came into conflict but it is also clear that they were both sincerely attempting to put the interests of Christ first. Could you say the same about your relationships and even your conflicts that you come into?