Sunday, October 12, 2008: When Good Christians Can't Get Along

When Good Christians Can’t Get Along
Acts 15: 36 – 41.

I. Introduction.

It’s an old story, but it is one I like to tell…About the man who was stranded on a desert island. He lived there for months, alone. He learned how to eek out an existence with limited resources. Eventually, he was rescued by a group of sailors.

The sailors first noticed three hand-built, thatch huts lining the edge of the beach. They asked the man how he had built the huts. He described his struggle to find wood and cut it into lengths without any tools.

They asked what the huts were. He answered: “The first one is my house. The second one is my church. The third one is where I used to go to church.”

Some of us have found ourselves in that situation before. Church is a special place for all Christians. Church is supposed to be a place where we are surrounded by Christian men and women who share our love for Jesus and our passion to do God’s work. In an ideal world, that would be enough—to love Jesus and to feel a sense of calling to do God’s work. However, we don’t live in a perfect world. We live in a very messy world. Sometimes, even good Christians can’t get along.

God did not create this world to be a messy place. But the world became messy when sin became our way of life. Beginning with the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, we have felt the daily consequences of sinfulness in our lives. Sin has led to all of our human frailties—disease, natural disasters and even broken relationships.

The church is not immune to the consequences of sin. The church will always face disease, natural disasters and broken relationships as long as the church consists of imperfect, sinful human beings.

Whenever there is a conflict within the church, someone usually comes forward with a call for the church to become more like the church of the New Testament. The common misconception is that if our church were more like the New Testament church, then we would not experience conflict. Which New Testament church do you think we ought to be like?

The church at Corinth? This is the church which had begun to splinter into rival factions based on petty arguments like who was the best Christian preacher. They divided over how “speaking in tongues” was to be used in public worship. There was even a church leader at Corinth who was “living in sin” with his father’s wife.

Maybe the church at Galatia? This is the only church Paul did not write, “I thank my God on every remembrance of you.” Paul was not happy with them, because they had abandoned the Gospel. They stopped thinking the Gospel was sufficient for salvation. They thought it was necessary for a person to believe in Jesus and to keep the Old Testament Law.

Or perhaps we should be like the church found in the book of Acts? That is what we might gather from the sermons I have preached lately. But, not everything in the early church was rosy. They, too, had their share of conflicts. One such conflict is the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15.

Read Acts 15: 36 – 41.

This story marks the beginning of what we call “Paul’s second missionary journey.” His first missionary journey began in Acts 13 and ended in chapter 14.

On one hand, the first missionary journey had been successful. Paul and Barnabas preached the Gospel to the Jews first in synagogue worship services and then to the Gentiles in other gatherings. The Jews did not respond well to the Gospel, but the Gentiles did! These new converts were gathered together into local churches, and Paul and Barnabas helped these churches find their first pastors.

On the other hand, the first missionary journey had been very difficult work. Paul and Barnabas were driven out of most of the towns they preached in. The Jews who did not like the message of the Gospel joined forces with some of the pagan Gentiles to threaten Paul and Barnabas’ lives. In one of the towns, these threats actually materialized into a beating. Paul was stoned by the Jews and dragged outside of the city limits where he was left to die. However, Paul did not die. He got back on his feet and did the unthinkable—he went back into the town to continue preaching the Gospel.

We don’t know exactly how long it has been since Paul and Barnabas returned from their first mission. We can assume it was long enough for Paul’s wounds to have healed and long enough for Paul and Barnabas to have forgotten how painful their persecution had been. (Or perhaps it was like the pains of childbirth, where a mother’s joy in the birth of her child overshadows the pains she went through.) All we know about the timeframe is what the Bible tells us. It was “some time later (Acts 15: 36).”

One of the things we know about Paul’s ministry is that he took a holistic approach to evangelism. Paul was not like a modern-day evangelist who rides into town to lead people to Jesus, never to see them again. No. Paul was intimately involved both in the events which led to conversion as well as the ongoing work of growing new believers into mature Christian men and women. This is why Paul wanted to go back out a second time. He wanted to check on the health of the new churches and to learn about the progress and growth of the new Christians.

Now that the wounds have healed and the pain of persecution was a distant memory, Paul said to Barnabas: “Let’s go back to the places where we once preached and check on the new Christians.”

That’s what Paul said. But that is not what Barnabas heard. Barnabas thought Paul said, “Let’s get the gang back together for a reunion.” So, Barnabas tried to recreate the original mission team. Barnabas was willing to go on a second mission, but he wanted John Mark to go with them again.

I wish we knew more about what took place in this conversation. The biblical text leaves a lot of questions unanswered. The Bible simply says that Paul and Barnabas had a “sharp disagreement (Acts 15: 39)” that led them to part ways. Something happened that changed the relationship between Paul and Barnabas. These two missionaries who had recently celebrated their successful partnership were no longer able to work together.

II. Who Was Right?

Paul and Barnabas disagreed over John Mark. Barnabas wanted to take John Mark along on the second missionary journey. Paul did not.

It makes sense that Barnabas wanted John Mark to go with them for several reasons. First, John Mark went with them on the first journey. Second, John Mark was Barnabas’ cousin. Third, Barnabas had a reputation as an “encourager.” In fact, that is what Barnabas’ names means: “Son of Encouragement.”

However, it also makes sense that Paul did NOT want John Mark to accompany them on the mission. Acts 15: 38 presents Paul’s side of the disagreement: “Paul did not think it wise to take him (John Mark), because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.”

This is another occasion where the Bible leaves a lot of unanswered questions. We simply do not know why John Mark chose to leave the first mission. Acts 13: 13 tells us simply “John left them to return to Jerusalem.”

I find it a little unusual that John returned to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was John Mark’s hometown, but the Jerusalem church was NOT the church that sent John Mark out as a missionary. The Antioch church sent him out. Why would John Mark return to Jerusalem instead of Antioch? It would make more sense to me if John Mark had returned to Antioch and report the success of the mission to the church which sent out the missionaries. This tells me John Mark left for a specific reason.

Some people think John Mark abandoned the mission for personal reasons. Perhaps he was homesick and wanted to be close to his mother. Perhaps he had a girlfriend whom he missed. But these reasons don’t explain why Paul was so adamantly opposed to John Mark’s accompanying them on the second mission.

Other people think John Mark left over a personal conflict with Paul. In fact, the verse that describes John Mark’s decision to leave the mission is the first verse in the book of Acts where Paul is listed before Barnabas. In other words, the mission was no longer Barnabas and Paul. It was now Paul and Barnabas. John Mark’s cousin was no longer the group leader.

Another possibility is that John Mark left for theological reasons. Jerusalem was his hometown, so he might have felt more comfortable with the Jewish-Christian expression of faith prevalent in Jerusalem. If this is true, then John Mark was probably uncomfortable with Paul’s preaching Grace and not requiring the new converts to become practicing Jews. (This makes sense to me, because it explains why John Mark left to return to Jerusalem instead of Antioch.)

This is where conflict gets messy. It makes sense that Paul would not want John Mark on the team. But it also makes sense that Barnabas did want John Mark. So, which Christian missionary was right? Paul, the greatest missionary and church planter in the early church? Barnabas, the “Son of Encouragement?” They were BOTH right!

Paul was right to insist on a unified team. Barnabas was right to stand by John Mark. They were just motivated by different reasons. In fact, I think they were motivated by their different spiritual gifts. Paul was gifted and called to be an Apostle and therefore focused his attention on the mission. Barnabas was gifted and called to be an encourager and therefore focused his attention on the man. Paul was called to redeem the world. Barnabas was called to redeem John Mark.


III. Which Side Did God Choose?

While I am hesitant to say God is the One who caused the conflict, I do see the results of the conflict as bringing glory to God. Think of what might have happened if either Paul or Barnabas had “given in” to the other’s wishes. If Paul had “given in,” then John Mark would have gone on the mission. Paul would not have been as effective. If Barnabas had “given in” to Paul’s desire, then Paul and Barnabas would have gone out on mission without John Mark. More than likely, Barnabas would not have been as effective.

As it turns out, Paul and Barnabas settled on a solution that was a “win” for both parties. Barnabas took John Mark with him and set sail for Cyprus. Paul took Silas with him and traveled to Syria.

The very best thing Paul and Barnabas could do was to part ways and to use the gifts God had given them. They could go separate ways and accomplish separate missions by focusing on what God called them to do. In fact, they could accomplish more apart from each other than they could have accomplished together. Before the conflict, there was only one missionary team. After the conflict, there were two missionary teams.

We would be hard pressed to make a case that God chose Paul’s side over Barnabas’. God was with each mission team.

The way Paul and Barnabas parted ways is a wonderful model for us to follow when we encounter other Christians we can’t get along with. In my imagination, Paul and Barnabas left on their separate missions by saying something like this: “We are going North. You and your team go West. May God bless you in your work.”

This is not the way most Christians deal with disagreements today. I recently saw a cartoon that describes what we try to do. In the cartoon, there was a man standing beside a large table. There were five people seated at the table. The caption read: “Let’s summarize. Five people are in favor. God and I are opposed.”

Paul and Barnabas never took this attitude in their disagreement. Paul did not say, “You and John Mark go West. God and I are going North.”

Paul knew that God is able to use even the most difficult and painful situations to accomplish his good purposes.


IV. How Did the Story End?

As far as we know, Paul and Barnabas left on separate missions without resolving their differences. If this were the end of the story, it would be a tragedy. But this is not the end. Look at what Paul says in his later writings:


1 Corinthians 9: 6… “Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?”

The church at Corinth was founded on Paul’s second missionary journey, AFTER Paul and Barnabas had their disagreement. Paul’s words indicate that eventually he and Barnabas worked together in Corinth.


2 Timothy 4: 11… “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”

Eventually, Paul recognized Mark as helpful.


Romans 12: 18… “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Paul acknowledges that peaceful cooperation is not always possible.


Romans 8: 28… “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”



V. Conclusion