Acts 15:30-16:5
As we open our section of Acts this week we see the ruling of the council being given to the church at Antioch. The ruling was that Gentiles were not required to follow the Law to be saved, but should abstain from certain things to promote unity in the church body. They stayed for some unspecified length of time there then headed home.
It is here that the careful reader will run headfirst into what appears to be a problem with the text. To illustrate this problem, find a copy of the New King James translation of the Bible (or KJV will work) and read Acts 15:34. If one is not handy, http://www.biblegateway.com has it online for you to use for free. Once you have done that compare what the NKJV says to the New International Version, or the Holmen Standard Christian Bible. Of course if you try to do this you will quickly find you cannot.
Acts 15:34 is missing from most modern translation because it appears to be a copyist note that was later added to the text. See in Acts 15:33 it says that the men from Jerusalem left, but in Acts 15:40 Silas is mention as if he was still in Antioch. So it appears that someone down the line added verse 34 to explain this. This of course is an unneeded addition, and it is dangerous to add anything to the Word of God, so most modern day translations leave it out.
However this is a great example of how Christian scholars are dedicated to accurately translating the Word of God and making sure we have the best possible resources in our hands to work from. It is also an example of how God protects his book. The fact we notice tiny differences like this, that really have no theological or doctrinal significance at all, shows just how good our translations are. If there was wide spread error and large differences in translations, minor differences like this would be lost in the noise. Its only in highly accurate work you see tiny differences.
Paul, Barnabas, and “many others”, (Acts 15:35) stayed in Antioch preaching and teaching the brethren there. The picture being presented here is that a large delegation went to Antioch to bring the good news of the ruling, and then some left and some stayed. Those that stayed went on to teach and preach. The church at Antioch at this time is a booming and exciting church. Paul and Barnabas would have had their hands full and potentially been very busy trying to keep up with all the needs of the flock there.
Knowing how busy they must have been may make the statement in Acts 15:36 surprising. Paul and Barnabas had it made where they were, and yet their minds and hearts were still with those churches they planted a few years prior. Paul would later write in Romans 15:20 and 1 Corinthians 19:20 that he was compelled to preach to the lost. He had a burning desire to reach souls for Christ. No amount of success or business could quench this team’s desire, but something else almost did.
Paul and Barnabas have a disagreement over John Mark. The text implies it was a very heated disagreement, and in such a case one can imagine words were traded that were later regretted. The disagreement was simple, Barnabas wanted to bring John Mark again, and Paul did not want him along. Paul who we know as a great Christian warrior who stared down death and torture many times over had no need for a quitter like John Mark (Acts 13:13 and Acts 15:38). Barnabas, who was know as the “son of encouragement” apparently wanted to give Mark another chance, and felt strongly enough about it that he was willing to fight for him. It is worth noting here that Paul himself owes his success and position to Barnabas fighting for him back when Paul first turned to Christ. They are unable to resolve this argument, so the once great team is split. Barnabas and Mark head one way, and Paul grabs Silas and heads another way.
At this point many Christians ask, who was right? There are people that come down on both sides of this. Those that support Paul note that you never read about Barnabas again after this incident. They also note that it appears that the church sided with Paul (see Acts 15:40) and that Paul was an Apostle so he had the authority to make the call. Those that support Barnabas point out that John Mark will later write the Gospel according Mark, and achieve great things for Christ thus proving Barnabas was right to put his faith and trust in him.
The question of who was right is not answerable today. We do not know any of the details about why John Mark left the team on their first journey, it is possible that his reason was entirely valid, and Paul is being unrealistic. It is also possible that John Mark was just still to immature for the hardship of the road ahead and that Paul was right. In the end the result of this fight was that two missionary teams hit the field instead of one, showing again how God can use everything to his advantage.
Paul started his trip by visiting the mainland cities from their prior missionary journey, in reverse order. This turned out to be advantageous to Paul because they met Timothy early on in the trip, instead of later. Timothy would replace John Mark on the team, just as Silas replaced Barnabas. This way Paul had Timothy’s help through out the trip, instead of just part of the mission. Our text tells us as they passed through they strengthen the churches and delivered the ruling from the council.
There are several lessons we can pull from this account. The first is that we can trust our translations, even when they appear to differ in some way. It’s the differences that show the precision that goes into creating our modern day translations. These differences also show that for serious study you should always use more then one translation to get a broader understanding of the text.
The second is that God can use anything, even a church spilt, to accomplish his purpose. I am sure that at the time seeing the two great leaders Barnabas and Paul fighting, and then storming off in separate directions must have been disconcerting and discouraging. I am sure some wanted to leave, and may have left the church over it. I am sure it hurt the witness of Christ to some degree in that city. Yet, God took even that and turned it around so that instead of one mighty team for Christ out spreading the Word to a lost and dying word he has two mighty teams, and out of those two teams comes a couple of great leaders of the next generation of the church, Timothy and John Mark.
At some point after this Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark are reconciled. We do not know when, or the manor of it, but we read of its result in several places, such as 1 Corinthians 9:6, Colossians 4:10, Philemon 24:2, and Timothy 4:11. This shows us that all of them ultimately believed and acted on what they preached. Love and forgiveness must have ruled the day for such a reconciliation to be reached. This is a great model for us to follow. Two great leaders could not reach an agreement, and went their separate ways. Instead of going the way of the world and holding a grudge forever, they let go of their argument and found peace.
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