Paul and Barnabas's Disagreement: Lessons on Christian Conflict and God's Plan (Acts 15)

“And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.” Acts 15:39, 40

One of the curious aspects of the story of the apostle Paul is his disagreement with Barnabas. Paul and Barnabas traveled together on their first missionary journey to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. They took Mark with them as a helper, but he decided to return home before their mission was completed. When it came time for another mission endeavor, Barnabas wanted to take Mark; Paul did not. The book of Acts says that the disagreement between them became so sharp that they separated and went in different directions. This would seem to be an ugly incident in the relationship between two friends and two great Christian saints.

Barnabas is someone of note in the New Testament. He is mentioned early in the book of Acts as a devout believer, to whom the apostles gave the name “Son of Encouragement” (Acts 4:36, 37). This suggests a warm, helpful spirit. He seems to be someone of deep compassion for others. After Paul’s conversion, the church in Jerusalem was afraid of him. Barnabas, however, got to know Paul and assured the church that his conversion was real (Acts 9:27). At a later point Barnabas recruited Paul to help with the ministry in Antioch, where God was doing great things among the people (Acts 11:22-26). In Acts 13 both Barnabas and Paul were called by God to take the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 13:2).

We see an aspect of Paul’s character in this disagreement – he has strong opinions. In many ways, we are grateful for that. It will help Paul hold fast to the truths of the gospel in the face of disagreement. Many people wanted Paul to compromise the faith to allow it to be more compatible with traditional Jewish practice. Paul would not do so. Though he had been a devout Jew, he was convinced that the way of salvation was not the law, but faith. We are grateful for Paul’s stubbornness on this point. He kept the gospel pure from influences that would have distorted it.

In the disagreement between the two, we see Paul’s stubbornness and Barnabas’s compassion. Barnabas wants to help Mark redeem himself from his previous failure. He also feels warmly toward him because Mark is a cousin or perhaps a nephew (Colossians 4:10). Paul, however, is not so forgiving. As it turns out, neither budges, and they go their separate ways. Barnabas takes Mark and goes in one direction. Paul takes Silas and goes in another.

We might take a couple of lessons from this incident. It is possible for Christians of good character to disagree. We may think that those who disagree with us have impure motives or are simply wrong. That is not always the case. We may simply disagree about something to which there are several possible answers, beliefs, or opinions. This may happen in the areas of theology, politics, and Christian practice. We will discover in the letters of Paul that he will continue to have good relations with both Barnabas and Mark. This is not a disagreement that permanently breaks their relationships. It will serve a purpose in the plan of God, however. It will get Paul out from under the shadow of Barnabas and allow Paul to develop his own unique ministry. That is important, since so many letters in the New Testament are written by Paul, and so much of the book of Acts follows him. Their separation will also double the size of the team evangelizing the Gentile world.

God uses all the moments in our lives for our good, even difficult ones. This account reminds us of that important truth. The continued positive relationship between Paul and Barnabas reminds us that we should strive to keep good relations with others, even when we disagree.