Sharp Words
Opening Prayer
Dear God, I wait for You and listen for You now. Speak to me, I pray.
Read ACTS 15:36—16:5
36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Timothy Joins Paul and Silas
16 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. 2 The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“Although we should seek unity in our relationships, we should not demand uniformity. Instead of avoiding all conflicts, or demanding that others always agree with us, we should rejoice in the diversity of God’s creation and learn to accept and work with people who simply see things differently than we do” (Ken Sande).
Just when it seems that everything is set fair, the two apparently inseparable allies fall out. They had stood side by side, both in mission and in defense of the truth. Now they fall out over an incident months earlier, when John Mark had deserted them. The situation was complicated because he was a relative of Barnabas. Nepotism (favoring your family) has been a problem throughout the history of the church. Another factor affecting Paul may have been Barnabas’s wobble when Peter came to Antioch (Gal. 2:13). Trust had broken down.
One interesting question is whether it was Barnabas’s support for John Mark or Paul’s doubts that led to John Mark’s restoration to useful ministry. The answer may well be a bit of both. Most of us need people who believe in us and others who sometimes are willing to speak the truth in love. In this passage, in a very abrupt fashion, a partnership that God had blessed was brought to an end. However, in the event, it led to the beginning of two partnerships, so that an unfortunate division resulted in the multiplication of the work. The friendship that Paul had developed with Silas during the journey back to Antioch and their ministry together unexpectedly bore additional fruit. We should take seriously the stewardship of our contacts.
So began what we call the second missionary journey, building on the work done earlier and reinforcing Paul’s letter to the Galatians. This time the fruit of their return trip was the addition of Timothy. When a principle was at stake Paul had resisted the circumcision of Titus (Gal. 2:3), but now he was happy to let Timothy be circumcised to make their mission easier. Sadly, not all leaders display such flexibility and ability to differentiate between situations. But here the church grew!
Apply
“God certainly over-ruled this disagreement since the result of it was that out of one pair, two were formed. However, God’s providence may not be used as an excuse for Christian quarreling” (John Stott). What is your response to this statement? How do you handle conflict?
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, You said that the badge of discipleship was the love we have for one another. Help me to show that love in practical and prayerful ways this week.
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