Existentialism

BARNABAS

"When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord" (Acts 11:23 Ð'- 24)

The book of Acts sets the scene in the bible for the spread of the Christian church after Jesus' death. Many characters of the Bible imitated the way that Jesus taught; teaching or guiding with love and compassion. The character of Barnabas exemplifies Jesus in the gift of exhortation. Through the gift of exhortation Barnabas becomes a pivotal character in the progression of the early church.

BACKGROUND

Barnabas was born to Hellenistic Jewish parents. Born Joseph, he was later renamed Barnabas by the Apostles. He was a Levite from Cyprus and a member of a fairly well endowed community in the Jewish Diaspora with continuing connections with Jerusalem (Calvocoressi 1988, p. 33) Barnabas was a cousin to John Mark (Col 4:10, NIV) who joined him in spreading the gospel (Acts 11:33, NIV). Acts 4:36 - 37 sets the scene of Barnabas being a member of the early Jerusalem church, where he was among the earliest converts to Christianity. Barnabas owned land which he sold, and gave the proceeds of, to the church in Jerusalem (http://en.wikipedia.or/wiki/Barnabas). The sale of this land and sharing of the sale proceeds is a direct parallel to the kind of selfless love that Jesus displayed (Hayford 1995, p. 331) throughout his ministry in the early church.

ROLE IN THE EARLY CHURCH

There is strong consensus among the scholars that Barnabus played an influential role in the early church (Bruce 1988, p. 193, http://gardenofpraise.com/bibl60s.htm). Barnabas endorsed and encouraged new believers at Antioch and so became a key figure in the spread of the gospel to this strategic political centre where believers were first called Christians (Acts 11:25 NIV, Walter & Yarbrough 1998, p. 28). Barnabas had the insight to introduce Saul to the pillar apostles (Acts 9: 26-27) and encourage them to accept the converted Saul, in doing so he found a fitting sphere for Saul and his brazen ministries. He became a close collaborator with Paul and during their journey to Cyprus established one of the oldest Christian churches; it is the senior member of the

group of churches which together constitute the Greek Orthodox Church. (Acts 13: 2 -14 NIV, Calvocoressi, 1988 p. 34, McGee 1983, p. 566). In addition to the defined acts of encouragement

Barnabas also acts as an advocate representing the Gentiles and approaching the Pharisees with Paul. Barnabas and Paul act as witnesses in this context as opposed to being part of the debate

(Bruce 1988, p. 291) pivotal to the positive outcome at this meeting was the witnessing of Gods signs and wonders by Barnabas and Paul (Acts 15:12 NIV). Through Barnabas' encouragement both Paul and John Mark continued on as his protÐ"©gÐ"©es to evangalise the word of God and became authors in their own right, thus continuing the spread of the Gospel and the continued growth of the Church (Acts 15:39 Ð'- 41, Book of John NIV)

CHARACTER

Barnabas emulated Jesus' kind of selfless love for others (Acts 4:36-37 NIV, Hayford 1995, p. 331). Luke notes in his writings, the broadminded and magnanimous nature of Barnabas particularly in his acceptance of Saul and his faith in Sauls' ability to evangalise the word. Evidence of this magnanimous character is specifically noted in (Acts 11:22 - 30, 13:1 Ð'- 14:28, 15:2-4, 12, 22 NIV, Gaebelein (ed.) 2000, vol. 9 p. 400 Ð'- 405). Spirit filled; Barnabas had gained an outstanding reputation for piety and generosity amongst believers in Jerusalem (Acts 4:36 NIV, Lewis 1971, p. 87). The underpinning character trait of Barnabas, amongst the traits of trustworthiness (Acts 11:29-30 NIV), warm heartedness (Acts 15:1-29, Gal 2:1-10) and supportiveness (1 Cor 9:6 NIV) is that of Encourager (Acts 11:23 Ð'- 24, 13, 14 NIV, McGee 1983, vol. IV p. 566). Throughout the book of Acts, Barnabas displays several predominant character traits supported both in the scriptures, and reference texts. The overall scholarly consensus appears to be that Barnabas was a genteel, Spirit filled man, gifted in the abilities of teaching and exhorting.

REFLECTION

Barnabas Ð'- defined in the Greek language as Encourager was a spirit filled man, who taught of the undying love of God the Father. Barnabas was gifted in the ability to inspire and influence those around him to continue their apostolic duty of spreading the good news. He drew on the wisdom of the Father to encourage and positively reinforce the gifts that were given to the apostles by the Holy Spirit. Barnabas' application of positive reinforcement and encouragement largely reflects the way in which Jesus taught, that is to encourage or inspire one to continue on the journey of learning.

Everyone at some stage in their own personal journey requires an encourager, perhaps none more so, than the child finding their way through a myriad of new lessons in a school situation. Personally, as my professional journey begins as a Teacher there is no greater joy than knowing that God has bestowed on me the title of Ð''Barnabas' - Encourager. It is my desire to be, as Barnabas was to those he so successfully encouraged to complete their calling; an encourager that draws on the wisdom of God to teach and inspire. God promises in James 3:17 - 18 that Ð''. . . the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. . ." The Gift of teaching, is to me defined as; Ð''one who encourages and guides the students with wisdom, on a journey of learning'. If the gift of exhortation bestowed on me, together with the wisdom of God can guide me in facilitating my students to reach their God given potential then I have succeed in that which God has called me to do.