Study #51: Paul and Barnabas go their separate ways because of a disagreement over John Mark (15:36

Study #51: Paul and Barnabas go their separate ways because of a disagreement over John Mark (15:36 - 41)

Acts, Chapter 2.2: The Gentiles and Jews of Greece violently opposed the efforts of Paul and Silas to plant churches (15:36 - 18:22)

§Unique Introduction: The missionary ministry of Paul is transformed with a new partner, Silas, and a new helper, Timothy (15:36 - 16:5)

¶Opposite Paul and Barnabas go their separate ways because of a disagreement over John Mark (15:36 - 41)

¶Opposite Paul, Silas, and Timothy delivered the decrees of the assembly at Jerusalem to the new Gentile assemblies (16:1 - 5)

§Complement Body: Paul and his missionary team were imprisoned in Philippi and barely escaped a riot in Thessalonica (16:6 - 17:34)

¶Unique The Holy Spirit opened a door to establish a new assembly in Philippi of Greece (16:6 - 15)

¶Complement Paul and Silas were imprisoned by the Roman authorities in Philippi over a false charge (16:16 - 40)

¶Complement The Jews of Thessalonica disrupted the church-planting efforts of Paul and Silas in Thessalonica with a riot (17:1 - 9)

¶Opposite Many of the noble Jews of Berea believed in Christ (17:10 - 15)

¶Opposite Few of the pagan Greeks of Athens believed in Christ (17:16 - 34)

§Complement Conclusion: The Lord opened a door for Paul in Corinth; and another in Ephesus, on his way home to Antioch (18:1 - 22)

¶Complement The Lord blessed Paul’s missionary efforts in the Greek city of Corinth for eighteen months (18:1 - 11)

¶Complement Paul returned to the assembly at Antioch after stopping at a synagogue in Ephesus (18:12 - 22)

We begin our study of Acts Chapter 2.2 with the first paragraph of the Introduction Section.

The Bible text of paragraph 1, arranged according to the Golden Ratio design of one Unique, two Complements, and two Opposites:

§Unique Introduction: The missionary ministry of Paul is transformed with a new partner, Silas, and a new helper, Timothy (15:36 - 16:5)

¶Opposite Paul and Barnabas go their separate ways because of a disagreement over John Mark (15:36 - 41)

Unique And some days afterward, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the Word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.”

Complement And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.

Complement But Paul did not think it was good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.

Opposite And the contention was so sharp between them, that they separated one from the other; and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed to Cyprus.

Opposite And Paul chose Silas; and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God; and he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the Assemblies.

The Golden Ratio design of UCC-OO simplified:

Unique Paul wanted Barnabas to go with him to see their churches from their first missionary journey

Complement But Barnabas wanted to take with them John Mark

Complement But Paul disagreed with Barnabas about John Mark

Opposite Paul separated from Barnabas; and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed to Cyprus.

Opposite And Paul chose Silas, and departed

Comments: I believe that you can clearly discern the Golden Ratio design in this paragraph without further explanation.

You may remember from the previous study that Silas came down from Jerusalem to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas as part of a team that was sent by the Apostles and elders to explain to the Assembly in Antioch the doctrinal position that had been developed at the Council, regarding whether the Gentile Christians should be forced to follow the Law of Moses or not.

But when the other team members from Jerusalem returned home, the Bible says, “Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to remain there still.” Acts 15:34

Experienced Christians will recognize from these events that God had a plan for Paul on his second missionary journey for Silas to replace Barnabas as the missionary partner of Paul.

God sent Silas down to Antioch, because He knew exactly what would happen when Paul and Barnabas disagreed over John Mark; and so He provided Silas as the replacement for Barnabas, even before it actually happened.

I believe that God not only knew what would happen, but that God did not want Barnabas to go with Paul on the second journey. For whatever reason, God wanted Silas on that journey with Paul, and not Barnabas.

The problem was that Paul and Barnabas did not pray enough about the journey beforehand, and they just presumed that God wanted both of them to go together, like they had done the first time. They presumed that they knew the will of God, and tried to act on it; but they soon discovered that this wasn’t going to work!

Their disagreement was simply a manifestation of the fact that God didn’t want them together this time; they had no peace about it, and that lack of peace in their hearts was obvious in the way that they separated from each other.

“And the contention was so sharp between them, that they separated one from the other; and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed to Cyprus.”

On the surface, the issue was about John Mark; but in reality, the issue was the will of God, which evidently, they failed to pray about very much.

There is a great lesson here for all born-again Christians: God has a will for your life, in every part of your life. If we fail to pray seriously about what God wants us to do, such as “Should I accept this new job?” or “Should I date or should I marry this person?” or “Should I join the military?”; you know, very important, life-changing choices, then the danger is very great that we are going to make the wrong choice and go the wrong direction!

Now in this situation, Paul and Silas made a great team, because that was the plan of God for them. Paul was a man with great spiritual discernment; and no doubt that he recognized that God had brought Silas from Jerusalem for this purpose, and so the will of God was fulfilled in this situation; and no harm was done, except the bruised feelings between Paul and Barnabas.

But what if Paul had chosen someone else and tried to go on his missionary journey with someone that God had not chosen? It would have been a disaster and a failure!

Interestingly, both Paul and Barnabas were at least partly right in a sense, because Barnabas wanted to take John Mark on a missionary journey to give him a second chance to serve the Lord. He assumed that this journey should be with Paul; but that was not correct. Instead, God wanted Barnabas to take John Mark under his wing to help him to grow spiritually and become strong, so that later in life, he would be a useful vessel to write one of the Gospels of Jesus Christ. And this did happen; and John Mark did write the Gospel of Mark in later years.

Barnabas was very useful for God as someone who loved to help others. He helped Saul of Tarsus when he came to Jerusalem and needed a friend (Acts 9:27); and later, he brought Saul from Tarsus to Antioch to help the new church to become strong in the Word (Acts 11:25-26).

Barnabas had long been the senior Christian, and Paul his follower; but now Paul was the leader; and in the will of God, He wanted Barnabas to take on a new role with John Mark; and He wanted Paul to become the great Apostle that He had called him to become; but he could not do that in the shadow of Barnabas; so it was time for a change.

“And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Knowing the will of God is one of the most difficult parts of being a born-again Christian! How much better it would have been if Paul and Barnabas had had a season of prayer together and separately about what God wanted them to do, BEFORE making any big decisions! I feel certain that God would have enlightened both of their minds and hearts with his will, as it was in their first journey together:

Acts 13:2 “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work unto which I have called them.””

Do you see what they did there? “They ministered to the Lord, and fasted”; that means that they were seeking the will of God for their lives with all of their hearts through prayer and fasting.

They probably prayed things like this: “God, what do you want me to do? I see a great need here, but I don’t know you what me to do about it. Guide me in your perfect will, and may your will be done in all things.”

And I don’t mean they did this in a five-minute prayer, but they prayed for hours, and read the Word of God for hours, earnestly seeking the knowledge of his will with all of their hearts.

Knowing the will of God as a born-again Christian requires dedication and commitment to Christ, and a holy life! Paul and Barnabas had both of these, but evidently, they failed to pray and seek the Lord in this situation, which can happen to the best of Christians if we are not careful and consistent.

But you cannot know the will of God while you are daily sinning against God in some area that you know is wrong. For example, if you curse, smoke or drink, or if you are living in a sinful sexual relationship, or if you are a dishonest person, you are walking far from the Lord, and God will never be able to use you to do anything!

If you think that you do not need a local church or assembly, and you believe that you can serve God on your own without the aid and spiritual nourishment provided by a Bible-believing church, then you are in error!

God will not be able to use you until you begin to follow his PLAN in the Bible; and that Plan includes baptism in deep water AFTER you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, weekly attendance at the church, and learning to walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit and serve Christ through your local church.

Then, and only then, after you have been seasoned or experienced in your faith for a number of years, serving the Lord faithfully, God will be able to use you to do much greater things, for his honor and his glory. But only after you have learned by experience to put God first in all things, can God begin to use you for his service.

“But he [that is, a pastor] must not be a new believer, lest being lifted up with pride, he falls into the condemnation of the devil.” I Timothy 3:6

Most Christians blunder their way through life, stumbling over problems that were caused by their own poor choices! If they had prayed about the will of God FIRST, before making their decisions, their lives would be much happier and peaceful as they enjoyed doing the will of God.

An old preacher once said, “You will trip over happiness doing the will of God!”

True happiness is found by doing the will of God for your life. You will never be happy until you do.

Has God called you into the ministry? Then join a local church that preaches the Bible as the Final, Authoritative Word of God without error (Independent Fundamental Baptist), and start serving the Lord. Get an education in the Bible through a solid, Bible believing Fundamental Baptist college, and always seek the will of God in all things: marriage, job, place to live, any major or even minor decision in your life.

Put God first in your life no matter what, and then watch God begin to move in your life to do great things for his honor and his glory. Amen.

“Trust in Jehovah with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him; and he shall direct your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear Jehovah, and depart from evil. It shall be health to your navel, and marrow to your bones.” Proverbs 3:5-8

Are you saved? If not, you can be saved right now, and be saved eternally, if you know that you are a sinner; and if you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He died on the cross for YOUR SINS, and that God raised Him from the dead on the third day. Use this prayer as a model for your own:

“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, were buried, and rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”

If you have turned from your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and only Savior from sin, please message me through Facebook and let me know that you have done that, so that I can pray for you and rejoice with you in what God has done in your life. Amen.