“Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. 23. When he came, and had seen the grace of God was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. 24. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord. 25. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul.”
The setting for the text is the beginning of the conversion of Gentiles in Antioch. In order to see what was going on there, they sent Barnabas. In Acts 4:36, we see that Barnabas was the nick name for Joses (Joseph), and meant “son of consolation. “Consolation” can be translated as “encouragement.” Barnabas was an encourager. He was just the man for the job in Antioch. We need more people like Barnabas, and the text will tell us why. First, in verse 24 we are told he “was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit.” He did not go to Antioch to enhance his resume; rather, he went there under the power of the Holy Spirit to win more people to Jesus. Second we are told that he was “full of….faith.” He was a man of faith in Jesus Christ, and he went to Antioch to share his faith in Jesus with the people of Antioch. Real faith in Jesus demands to be shared in some way. We are told that because of Barnabas’ witness of his faith, “much people were added to the Lord.” Third, in verse 25, we see the humility of Barnabas, for he went to “Tarsus for to seek Saul (Paul).” Barnabas realized that he was the encourager and needed someone with great leadership abilities and went and got Saul to help in winning Antioch to Jesus. Like Barnabas, we need to realize that we need to work with others who have differing gifts to help in the work of winning people to Jesus. We might even have to accept that God can use their gifts as well as ours, and can be even more effective than us. We need people like Barnabas today who are full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and who are willing to share the work with others. This is not the end of the story and will be continued in the next article. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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