Acts 15

Acts 15 Commentary

by Brad Boyles

The first question we want to know is, who was right and who was wrong between Paul and Barnabas? I feel that when we approach it from that angle we really miss Luke’s point. Luke, the writer here, doesn’t even weigh in on what he thinks. It’s a disagreement between believers which serves as an illustration for us to learn from. Otherwise, why would Luke include it in his narrative? It would make more sense to simply state that Paul and Barnabas went their separate ways and leave the uncomfortable confrontation out of it.

John Mark was Barnabas’ cousin. He had accompanied Paul and Barnabas for part of their first missionary journey but had abandoned them at Perga. This story is found a few chapters before in Acts 13.

Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem.

Acts 13:13 NASB

Again, Luke gives no details as to why Mark left, just that he did. Evidentially, Paul was upset about it. So, the bottom line of this disagreement is that Barnabas believes in Mark and is convinced he has a lot to offer to the second missionary trip. Based on recent history, Paul feels quite the opposite. He may have been thinking, “If he abandoned us in Perga, what’s to say he won’t abandon us again?” The two are unwilling to compromise. Barnabas will not go without Mark. Paul will not go with him. So, they split.

Why did they feel so strongly about their position?

Two missionary ventures took place in different areas.

There were new cities were reached with the Gospel. If you remember, the original plan Paul had suggested was to only re-visit the churches from the first missionary journey. This split enabled the Gospel to go in different directions and opened the door for more people to hear about Jesus.

There was verifiable spiritual growth happening individually.

Paul becomes more gentle (evident in his letters to Titus and Timothy), and takes the Gospel to new cities. Barnabas gets to go back to his home country to disciple Mark. Mark writes a Gospel and starts a church in Egypt (based on church legend). Silas gets involved in the mix and becomes a useful companion to Paul. Timothy comes alongside Paul in Acts 16 and kind of becomes his right-hand man. We don’t read of any negative consequences from this disagreement. Both men were respectful, humble, and prioritized God’s calling and their own personal gifting.

Christians can disagree with each other and still both walk in God’s will.

There are many issues we will encounter in the church that are not doctrinal issues, but personal ones. Many of those specific issues are not defined in black and white for us. In Romans 14, Paul outlines some specific issues where it is acceptable for Christians to disagree while still being accepted by God and useful in their Christian walk.

Even though we are called to unity, we will have diversity in the body when it comes to ‘judgment call’ issues. We can disagree with each other over personal issues of conviction, spiritual gifts, and calling while preserving the unity of doctrine and the big picture of bringing the Gospel to the lost.

Disagreement is not a sin but it does create a tempting environment to sin.

This story of Paul and Barnabas illustrates to us that those who are humble, obedient, and dialed into the Spirit will see fruit in their relationships. We need to stop assuming that disagreement is a sin. In our world today, we have worked ourselves into a delusional frenzy of political correctness. We have been duped into believing that disagreement means hate and we must do whatever we can to make people feel good all the time.

I’m not saying we should look for opportunities to disagree. However, I am saying we shouldn’t avoid them and treat them as sinful because we have evidence right here in Acts that all these men became more complete followers of Jesus because of a disagreement that was handled with love, respect, and humility. The delicate issue at hand (with judgment calls) is resisting our urge to win the argument and convince everyone else that our way is always the best way.

Paul and Barnabas did not make this into a right vs wrong issue!

They didn’t over-spiritualize their position by invoking God into the argument. They didn’t demonize the other side or read too much into it like so many people do today. It would have been easy for Paul to say, “Well the Holy Spirit told me this so you are wrong Barnabas,” or, for Barnabas to say, “I’ve been a Christian longer than you Paul, I gave you your chance in ministry, you owe me!” We don’t read any of that, yet, how much of that kind of talk is going on in the church today?

It is vital that we use this story as an opportunity to learn how we can disagree respectfully while also following God’s calling for our life. In an issue of doctrine, it is also important to consider the method prescribed by Jesus in Matthew 18 for confronting another brother or sister in Christ.