“They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus.”
– Acts 15:39
Hi James and Ellen,
Is there a kid – or a guy or gal, who you never want to talk to again? Is there a kid – or a guy or gal, who you never want to do anything with again? Is there a kid – or a guy or gal, who you never want to see again? Do you think that it is okay for a kid – or a guy or gal, to decide that he or she no longer wants to have anything to do with you because he or she has an alleged very good reason to remain upset with you? Do you think that it is okay for you to decide to no longer have anything to do with a kid – or a guy or gal, because you have a seemingly very good reason to remain upset with him or her? Paul estranged himself from Mark. Paul alienated himself with Barnabas. Acts 15 has Luke’s account of the sudden intense dissension – because of something that Mark inexplicitly did, that took place between Paul and Barnabas. Barnabas – whose name could mean or the son of consolation or the son of comfort or the son of exhortation, befriended Paul when very few other guys were apparently willing to have anything to do with Paul. Before he had his name divinely changed from Saul to Paul, Paul had been a fanatical hater and a hunter of Christ-follower guys and gals for the purpose of jailing and/or killing them. Mark was a cousin of Barnabas. When the leaders of the Christ-follower fellowship that was in the city of Antioch decided to send a small contingent of Christ-follower ambassadors – who are known today as missionaries, on what became the first missionary journey, Barnabas was chosen to lead this small missionary team with Paul being his sidekick and Mark their helper. When Barnabas, Paul and Mark arrived in the region of Pamphylia – in the city of Perga, Mark bailed on the two guys who he had gone with to help to return to his home in the city of Jerusalem. When Paul decided that he wanted to go back to the Christ-follower communities of guys and gals that he had visited with Barnabas on their first trip, Paul asked Barnabas to go with him. When Barnabas said that he wanted to give Mark another chance by taking him along with them, verse 39 reports what happened next, “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus.” Paul would end up having Silas go with him on what would become known as Paul’s second missionary journey.
It would be hard to convince your grandpaa that Barnabas did a lot of the yelling after he asked Paul if it was okay if Mark could go with them again. Barnabas to your grandpaa seems like a guy who invariably would take the high road – which would have Barnabas not wanting to make a fuss. Your grandpaa does not have the same feeling regarding Paul – who your grandpaa believes was more of a no nonsense, obstinate kind of guy. Your grandpaa can envision Paul seriously berating Barnabas for bringing up Mark’s name let alone having Barnabas suggest they take Mark along with them again on a pending journey. After Paul was given the go ahead by his Christ-follower bros in the city of Antioch to do another missionary journey, Paul took Silas with him when he went to the country of Syria and to the region of Cilicia. Earlier, two prophets – Judas – who was called Barsabbas, and Silas were selected by Christ-follower leaders who were in the Christ-follower fellowship of guys and gals that was in the city of Antioch to carry a letter to the emergent Christ-follower communities in the country of Syria and in the region of Cilicia. The core directive of the letter was to advise new Christ-follower guys and gals who had been Gentiles to not to comply to the teachings of Jew legalists who were known as Pharisees. The letter unequivocally counsels the guys and gals who had been Gentiles – who have become Christ-followers, to be intentional about abstaining from food that had been sacrificed to an idol, to stay away from blood, to not eat the meat of a strangled animal and to not participate in any way in immoral, devious behavior. The letter came about after a sharp debate that had Paul, Barnabas, Peter and James – who was Jesus’ half-bro and who was the recognized leader of the emergent movement of guys and gals becoming Christ-followers, pitted against several professing Christ-follower guys who had retained their Pharisee beliefs. This intense dispute took place shortly after Barnabas and Paul had returned to the city of Antioch after their first missionary journey. The heated confab was brought to a resolution by Peter– which to your grandpaa resulted in the short letter that Silas and Judas would . . .
Your grandpaa’s supervisor during the majority of the time that he worked in OC International’s headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado was a long term OC International Vice President. The vote of an OC International Vice President had equal weight as to the votes that were made by each guy and gal who were on OC International’s Board of Directors. A year or so before your grandpaa began doing what he did while he was at the headquarters of OC International in the United States, OC International’s Board of Directors dismissed/fired OC International’s President. The vote had to be a unanimous vote. Bill – who was your grandpaa’s supervisor, voted with everyone else on OC International’s Board of Directors to dismiss/fire his younger bro – Larry. Bill had not reconciled with Larry when Larry suddenly died several years later from DVT. Paul years later wrote in a letter to Timothy his appreciation of Mark. Your grandmaa and grandpaa are mindful to never become estranged from a guy or gal as . . .
Acts 15 (1099)