The beloved physician Luke shared how, “Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work”, and in chapter fifteen and verse thirty-nine of the book of Acts Luke shared how, “the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other” where we read:
And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other:
and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;
The verse begins, “And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: ...” Luke began with the words, “and the contention” or “and the provocation, incitement and irritation” “was so sharp between them” which means “was so great and passionate between Paul and Barnabas”, “that they departed asunder” or “that Paul and Barnabas left, separated and severed” “one from the other” which means “apart from each other”. Luke shared how the disagreement was so passionate between “Paul and Barnabas” that they separated from one another.
The verse continues, “... and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;” Luke added the words, “and so Barnabas” or “and therefore, consequently and on this account Barnabas whose name means son of rest and was the surname of Joses or Joseph, a Levite, a native of Cyprus and was a distinguished Christian teacher and companion and colleague of Paul” “took Mark” which means “associated with joined himself with Mark whose name means a defense and was an evangelist, the author of the Gospel of Mark. Marcus was his Latin surname, and his Jewish name was John. He was a cousin of Barnabas and a companion of Paul in some of his missionary journeys”, “and sailed unto Cyprus” or “and departed by ship to Cyprus whose name means love and a blossom and was a very fertile and delightful island of the Mediterranean, lying between Cilicia and Syria”. Luke shared how “Barnabas” departed by ship with “John Mark” and went to the “island of Cyprus”.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn how the disagreement was so passionate between “Paul and Barnabas” that they separated from each other. “Barnabas” took “John Mark” with him to “Cyprus”, and we shall see what “Paul” did in our next verse. God loves everybody, and sometimes those people have passionate disputes over issues that are viewed from different perspectives. God will save every person who yields to His Son Jesus, and He will forgive them of their sins and grant them everlasting life with Him. While they are on the earth, these believers have different make-ups and views, and sometimes the best action is to separate from one another and continue the work of the Lord. There were now two teams reaching out to fellow believers, and though these contentions seem great at the time, Almighty and gracious God is able to continue to use everyone, disagreements or not, when they keep in alignment with Him and His eternal purposes.
Next time Luke shares how “Paul chose Silas, and departed”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
No comments:
Post a Comment