Barnabas
“Let us trust him once more.”
First advocate for Paul the persecutor, second chance for Mark who had once failed.
His birth name was Joseph. But the apostles gave him a new name — Barnabas, 'son of encouragement.' That name defined the rest of his life. The first thing he did in the early church was sell a field he owned and lay the proceeds at the apostles' feet — a place where he shrank his own holdings to give the community life.
The most decisive thing he ever did was vouch for one man. When Saul the persecutor came to the Jerusalem apostles after his conversion on the road to Damascus, no one believed him — his reputation as someone who had hunted down Christians was too strong. That's when Barnabas took him and brought him before the apostles: 'This man met the Lord on the road to Damascus, and there he preached boldly in the name of Jesus.' Paul's ministry began that day. Later, when the church in Antioch needed a teacher, Barnabas went all the way to Tarsus to find Paul and bring him back. They taught together there for a year, and it was there that believers were first called 'Christians.'
Barnabas was also part of the first missionary journey. But over time, the order naturally shifted. What started as 'Barnabas and Saul' gradually became 'Paul and Barnabas.' Barnabas never tried to stop it. Just before the second missionary journey, a decisive moment arrived. Over whether to bring Mark (Barnabas's nephew), who had turned back partway through the first journey, Barnabas and Paul split. A gentle man who wouldn't yield when it came to seeing someone through to the end. As a result of that decision, Mark was restored, and later even Paul, in his final letter, writes, 'Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.' The son of encouragement had saved them both.
The 'son of encouragement.' He took Saul's hand when others turned away. The encourager who recognized people's potential first.
Defining Moments
The events that made this person who they were
Selling his field and laying the proceeds at the apostles' feet
When the early church community began, he sold a field he owned and laid the money at the apostles' feet. The apostles gave him a new name — Barnabas, 'son of encouragement.' His birth name had been Joseph.
Vouching for Paul before frightened apostles
When Saul — once a persecutor — came to Jerusalem after his conversion, no one believed him. Barnabas took him and brought him before the apostles, explaining what had happened on the road to Damascus. A moment that opened up a man's entire future.
Deciding to bring Mark along
While preparing for the second missionary journey, he splits from Paul over the decision to bring along Mark, who had turned back midway through the first journey. A decision to give a second chance to someone who had already failed once. Later, even Paul acknowledges Mark as 'very useful to me for ministry.'
Personality
The colors revealed through their story
An eye that sees a person's potential first
Saul the persecutor, Mark the one who turned back — where others refused, he was the first to see. A vision focused on a person's future rather than their past.
A gift for encouragement that yields its own place
He brings Paul to Antioch to teach alongside him, and eventually lets Paul take the greater role. Someone unafraid to make himself smaller.
Yet unyielding when a decision truly matters
Still, over the matter of Mark, he breaks with Paul. A gentle man who does not waver when it comes to seeing someone through to the end.
★ Strengths
- An eye that sees a person's potential
◐ Shadow
- Losing yourself while saving others
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