Acts 15:36-41 CSB
After some time had passed, Paul said to Barnabas, "Let's go back and visit the brothers and sisters in every town where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they're doing." [37] Barnabas wanted to take along John who was called Mark. [38] But Paul insisted that they should not take along this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work. [39] They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed off to Cyprus. [40] But Paul chose Silas and departed, after being commended by the brothers and sisters to the grace of the Lord. [41] He traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
For the Good of Others
Proverbs chapter 6 gives us a list of seven things that God detests, and near the top of that list is the sowing of discord. But discord does not always come from the worst among us. It does not always wear the face of arrogance or cruelty. It is not always the schemer plotting in the shadows, or the liar who poisons every room he enters. In life, we will encounter people like this, and their sin will be easy to see—a plank in their eye, plain as day. But we must be careful. We may be carrying the very same plank, and yet only see it as a speck.
This is not the kind of discord we find at the end of chapter 15. What we find there is a disagreement between two men of genuine faith and good intention.
Paul and Barnabas were planning to return to the churches they had established on their first missionary journey to deliver the news that Gentiles did not need to be circumcised to be saved—to relieve a burden that others were trying to place on them. Barnabas, known as the son of encouragement, wanted to bring John Mark along. This was the same John Mark who had abandoned them mid-journey in Perga in Pamphylia. Paul refused. The disagreement was sharp, with both men holding firm. And yet God used it. Rather than a stalemate, two missionary teams went out where one had been. Barnabas and John Mark disappear from the book of Acts after this, but Paul’s later letters speak warmly of both men. Something changed in John Mark—a change that may never have come without Barnabas’s belief in him. A past failure does not disqualify a person from future usefulness. We all stumble, and we all have the capacity to grow, particularly when someone chooses to walk alongside us.
Reflection Questions
- Paul and Barnabas both had noble, godly motives, yet they reached a point of sharp disagreement. How can we discern the difference between a conflict that stems from sinful flesh and one that simply reflects different, valid ministry perspectives?
- Barnabas lived up to his name as the son of encouragement by giving John Mark a second chance after a major failure. Who in your sphere of influence needs that kind of restoration, grace, and intentional investment right now?
- God used this painful division to double the missionary reach of the early church. How does it comfort you to know that God can override human conflict and still accomplish His sovereign purposes?
Prayer
Father,
Thank You that our past failures do not disqualify us from future usefulness in Your kingdom. We praise You that You are a God of second chances, and we thank You for the people who have chosen to walk alongside us and believe in us when we stumbled. Give us the heart of Barnabas to encourage and restore those who have fallen short. When disagreements arise among believers, give us the grace to hold to truth without harboring bitterness, trusting that You can take even our sharp differences and use them for the expansion of Your Gospel. Keep us humble, protect us from sowing true discord, and help us to always look for the good of others. In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
