Acts 15

Bible Passage:  Acts 15

In Church there are all kinds of jobs to be done. How then do we decide who is to serve, especially if there are doubts about an individual’s reliability?

In today’s reading, the two good workers of the church Paul and Barnabas had a dispute,  not over the gospel, but rather, about whom to serve.

Paul told Barnabas of his desire to retrace the steps of the first missionary journey, Barnabas agreed and wanted to bring John Mark along with them.

However, Paul did not want to take John Mark along because of their experience on the first journey, where as soon as they arrived back on the mainland, John Mark returned to Jerusalem.

What was the consequence of Paul’s unwillingness to take John Mark, and Barnabas’ insistence to bring him along?

In v39, we read that “..the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another.”

We know this is a simple disagreement about who the apostles wanted to use for the work and who they think can do the work. 1 Cor 9:1-6 also hints of a reconciliation between Paul and Barnabas.

Although Luke only recorded this incident within a space of 4 or 5 verses, this highlights a very good lesson for us today.

In all walks of life including church, different people have different abilities and capabilities.

Let us take a closer look at these two exceptional workers of God with very different characters.

Paul who was committed to God and the church, seems to be impatient and demanding, having little tolerance for lack of perfection. Sounds like a typical boss who saw an essential job and wants it done fast!

Barnabas on the other hand tended to be an advocate for people, focusing on the human side. Here Barnabas defended John Mark, giving him a chance to redeem himself, much in the same way he defended Paul when he first converted.

He was an exceptionally nice person!

As a result of this conflict, both pairs of workers parted ways.

Now let us think about John Mark. Although he felt loved by Barnabas, how does it feel to be rejected by Paul? He must have felt pain and the humiliation.

Sometimes we need to remember that people whom God calls to serve Him are just that, people. We might be dismissive of some church members because they are weak and unable to meet the standards which we think they ought to have.

We tend to be too quick to judge.

To echo the sentiments of biblereadingcompanion and ourking’swatchman, we could be more tolerant and encouraging like Barnabas.(1 Thess 5:11)

We could do with more Barnabas-es in church!

We could acknowledge others’ abilities and efforts, focus on their strengths as opposed to their weaknesses. With the right encouragement, they could grow to be useful to do the work as well.

Let us slow down and focus on the essentials of our beliefs, that is to be patient with one another and love each other. (Col 3:13)