The Trademark Qualities of an Encourager (Acts 11)

Welcome back to the podcast! Today we’ll examine a certain kind of person we see in Acts - so profound, his name still carries a reputation: Barnabas.

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We're starting the speed round: taking one chapter a week.

• Focusing in on one element in the chapter
• You’ll have to go back and read the whole chapter on your own
• Today: we’ll examine a certain kind of person we see in Acts - so profound, his name still carries a reputation
• There’s a name for this: a generic trademark or proprietary eponym. This happens when a brand name becomes so widely recognized that it’s used to describe a general product or category rather than the specific brand.
• tissue paper = Kleenex
• adhesive bandage = Band-Aid
• Cola = Coke
• lip balm = ChapStick
• cotton swab = Q-tip
• slow cooker = Crock Pot
• hook-and-loop fastener = Velcro
• Today: Q. What are the trademark qualities of a “Barnabas”? 
• Barnabas = Encourager
• We’re going to drill down to identify 5 qualities of a “Barnabas” 

1. A “Barnabas” gives more than takes. 

• We already saw this in ch 4
• Acts 4:32 (NLT) 32 All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had…. 36 For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. 37 He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.
• “Tribe of Levi”
• These were the priests, the givers
• They were supposed to serve the people
• “The Lord was their inheritance”
• Joseph had that kind of heart
• Giver, not a taker
• Do you know someone like that? (SG question this week)

2. A “Barnabas” sees the best in people.

• We saw this in ch 9 with Saul after his dramatic conversion
• Acts 9:26-27 (NLT) 26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer! 27 Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus.
• Barnabas miraculously appears to vouch for Saul
• He saw the best in him
• Paid attention to his changed life 
• rather than judging him on his past life
• Do you know someone like that? (SG question this week)

3. A “Barnabas” embraces the chaos.

• This is where we get to today’s text, ch 11

Acts 11:1-3 (NLT) 1 Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God. 2 But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticized him. 3 “You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!” they said.

• Some people - even Christians - can be like this
• God is on the move, but it means change and chaos
• Natural reaction for some: I object!
• The news of what God had done in Cesarea got back to Jerusalem before Peter did.  Even before the internet and social media, scandalous news traveled fast.  From a Jewish perspective, this was scandalous.  The Jewish believers are already facing persecution from the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem.  A big part of that persecution was that this movement called Christianity was causing Jewish believers to disregard the law and abandon Jewish customs.  Peter’s decision to go in and fellowship with Gentiles and share a meal with them, would have just added more fuel to the fire and would have been evidence that the accusations made by the religious leaders were valid.  
• Peter recaps his experience from ch 10. To the credit of Jerusalem believers, they rejoice:
• Acts 11:18 (NLT) 18 When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”
• If only church conflict could be so simple!
• But wait… we’re going to see in Acts 15 that there was a contingent of Jewish converts who weren’t so sure that salvation could be so easy. They wanted Gentiles to become Jews first!?
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) Acts 15 reveals that the underlying issue raised in v. 3 was not settled for some. Could Gentiles really become the beneficiaries of the New Covenant without conforming in some way to the demands of the Mosaic law? The impression is given in Acts 11 that the majority were persuaded of the rightness of Peter's actions in preaching to Cornelius and his household and then baptising them into Christ.
• Jerusalem believers rejoiced about Gentile conversion, but interestingly they did not participate in yet!? Instead…

Acts 11:19 (NLT) 19 Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews.

• These were Jerusalem-based believers. Still only went to Jews. 

Acts 11:20-21 (NLT) 20 However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. 21 The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.

• Some of them preached to the Gentiles
• These were Cyprus- and Cyrene-based believers. 
• Remember where Barnabas was from? Cyprus!
• These were the Barnabases!
• They were willing to embrace the chaos that comes with revival
• All these new believers coming from strange backgrounds
• Think about what was happening here:
• Christianity was moving to the big city!
• (IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition) The Jesus movement shifts from a predominantly rural movement in Galilee to an urban movement in Jerusalem to a cosmopolitan movement in Antioch.
• (IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition) Antioch on the Orontes in Syria was the third (or possibly fourth) largest urban center of the Roman empire (after Rome and Alexandria), though population estimates range from one hundred thousand to six hundred thousand.

Now look at what happens next:

Acts 11:22-24 (NLT) 22 When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. 24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord.

• They didn’t send the apostles this time. They sent Barnabas
• They knew he was an encourager.
• They knew he would embrace the chaos
• …and many people were brought to the Lord
• Do you know someone like that? (SG question this week)

And as we read on we see the fourth trademark of a Barnabas:

4. A “Barnabas” takes the backseat. 

• In the midst of all the chaos and conversion, Barnabas doesn’t need to be at the center of it all. He’s willing to team up with others and fade into the background.
• This is typical of the “Barnabas” type. I love these guys.

Acts 11:25-26 (NLT) 25 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)

• Saul had been a Christian for several years. Was back in his hometown. 
• Barnabas went and got him, bc he knew that this was Saul’s mission.
• And the rest of the book of Acts is about Paul’s missionary journeys. 
• Barnabas is an add-on. Fades to the BG.
• He’s OK with it. Do you know someone like this? 

And it’s during these missionary journeys that we learn the fifth trademark of a Barnabas:

5. A “Barnabas” believes in second chances. 

• One of the most well-known conflicts in the New Testament occurred between Barnabas and Paul over John Mark. John Mark, who had accompanied Barnabas and Paul on an earlier missionary journey, had abandoned the mission partway through. When Paul and Barnabas planned another journey, Paul refused to take John Mark along, citing his earlier failure. 
• Barnabas insisted on giving John Mark a second chance (Acts 15:36-41).

Acts 15:39-41 (NLT) 39 Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. 40 Paul chose Silas, and as he left, the believers entrusted him to the Lord’s gracious care. 41 Then he traveled throughout Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches there.

• How embarrassing for Paul
• He was the chief of sinners! 
• Barnabas saw the best in him, vouched for him.
• Now Barnabas is the only one doing this for John Mark
• Because a Barnabas believes in second chances.
• Do you know someone like this?