“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.” Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 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. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.”

“He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches “He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. 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. The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 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. As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.”

“Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

“From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.  

“When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.” Acts 15:36-16:10

The dispute between Paul and Barnabas is one of those moments where we see the ordinary humanity of the characters of Scripture. Very simply, after about a year spent ministering in Antioch, Paul and Barnabas decided that a return visit to the churches they planted on their first missionary venture was in order. Barnabas suggested recruiting John-Mark, but Paul flat out refused to take him. The discussion turned ugly, becoming so sharp that they agreed to part company.

The issue of separation is not theological in nature. The Galatians 2 Incident It is possibly the case that this experience whittled away at the relationship between Paul and Barnabas, creating ground for eventual disagreement. It is a personal – ordinary human – issue that leads to their parting company. Whatever offense had occurred through John-Mark’s initial departure at Perga is eventually forgiven by Paul, who graciously received John-Mark back into the fold at a later date.

As Barnabas and John-Mark moved on to visit the church at Cyprus, Paul chose Silas, the one and the same who delivered the decree of the Jerusalem Council to the church at Antioch, to accompany him to the churches in Syria. The towns to which Paul and Silas now ventured, were places of extreme persecution. Paul’s desire to see the churches there strengthened outweighed the possible peril he would face; again, his calling supplanted the fear of possible suffering.

At Lystra, Paul met Timothy, who: was likely among the first converts in Lystra was in his early 20’s at this point in time. was recruited and circumcised “because of the Jews who lived in that area”. was the son of a Christ following Jewish mother and a Greek father. By Jewish law, Timothy was born a Jew because he was the son of a Jewish mother; being uncircumcised though, made him an apostate Jew. Timothy’s circumcision was performed to ease his witness for Jesus among the Jews.

From Lystra, Paul, Silas and Timothy made a tour of the churches, encouraging the Christians in each. Seeing success in these communities, they then began looking for their next Spirit led locale of ministry. Probably aiming for Ephesus to the west of them and on the coast of the Mediterranean, they were “kept by the Holy Spirit” from doing so. Paul’s ministry is one that occurs in response to the leading of the Spirit. Instead of moving west-ward, they moved northward until “the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to enter Bithynia”.

Paul, Silas and Timothy stopped heading to the north and set course to the west, to the town of Troas on the Aegean Sea, where Paul finally received some positive direction. In a night vision, Paul was encouraged to go to Macedonia; the gospel would extend next into Europe. Luke personally joined Paul, Silas, and Timothy at Troas for the journey into Macedonia.

There was no known synagogue at Philippi, so Paul and his cohort went to a riverside used by Jews as a place for prayer. There, they “began to speak to the women who had gathered there”. Paul, in the manner of Christ, extends spiritual truth to women, just as he would have to men. A Gentile, who had come to believe in the teachings of Judaism, by the name of Lydia came to faith through Paul’s preaching. Following her baptism, Lydia pressed the four missionaries to stay with her, which they obliged, her home becoming a center of the gospel in Philippi.

Following Jesus is a messy endeavour because we are called to follow Him as a community made up of fallen and imperfect humans. Truthfully, there is much room for conflict in the church, but it is in how we handle these conflicts that our faith is proven genuine. Sometimes a parting of ways is inevitable, but reconciliation is always the preferred route of the Christ follower. Is there any division in this place based on personality differences? Is an ongoing desire for reconciled relationship a core concern for you?

A necessary character trait – humility. Though we see the humanity of many Biblical characters in their stories, the ability to acknowledge one’s fallenness and appeal to the mercy of God for forgiveness and strength is what matters. Do you feel too weak, ill-equipped, or unworthy of God’s use? Then you are exactly the type of person God can use for great things. Are you willing to be Spirit-led, as were men like Paul and Timothy, or are you still trying to chart your own course in life?